Episode 6: Ginny Nugent, Production Executive

Ginny Nugent: Production Executive/Producer

Ginny is currently an SVP of Physical Production at HBO, where she has been overseeing films and series for nearly 20 years. Prior to HBO, she produced several films for Roger Corman, and also produced two favorites of mine, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe and Anywhere but Here.  We talked about her journey through this business, that one time her husband was SO RIGHT, and how a recent incident on a set with her daughter helped to spur a policy change at HBO.

BONUS!! But wait! There's more!

If you, like me, just can't enough of Ginny Nugent, you are in luck.  Here is some bonus material....stories from the trenches...

Episode 5: Linda Burstyn, Writer/Producer

Linda had several careers in her life before her current one as a Writer for television dramas.  She has been a political writer, a TV news producer, a journalist and a feminist activist.

(She wrote a powerful article about female genital mutilation in America, which you can read here: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1995/10/female-circumcision-comes-to-america/306051/.)

Some of her TV writing/producing credits include The Education of Max Bickford, State of Affairs, In Plain Sight, NCIS and Chasing Life.  We talked about her journey to television writing (via a train ride with Seinfeld), her mothering, and her philosophy for achieving your dreams and having a happy life. 

We also talked about quid pro quo vs hostile work environment laws, and how the latter can sometimes be detrimental to women – by actually creating the hostile work environment it was meant prevent.

Episode 4: Yolanda Cochran, Production Executive, Producer

Yolanda Cochran, Production Executive, Producer

Yolanda started out as a CPA with KPMG and a production auditor at Disney. Not too many years later, she was Executive Vice President of Physical Production at Alcon Entertainment, where she oversaw a ton of movies – Point Break, Dolphin Tale 1 & 2, The Blind Side and my favorite, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. We dug deep into the important issues….like exclusively breastfeeding while being a badass at work.  Believe us when we say, it is not easy!  We also talked about the notion that for women to be more successful they need to behave like men.  Is that true?  Or can we shift the paradigm?

Episode 3: Jennifer Warren, Actor, Director, Producer

Jennifer Warren began her career as an Actor on Broadway, Television and in Films.  Some credits include Night Moves, Slap Shot and Cagney and Lacey.  She won an Academy Award for the short documentary she co-produced, You Don’t Have to Die, and she directed several award winning feature films.  She is also a founding member of the Alliance of Women Directors and teaches at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. We talked about how she encourages the young women of today to exhibit more political thought and not be so complacent about their basic rights.  She is an activist, a mentor, an inspiration.