(upbeat music)
- One of the interesting conversations that have gone on
in recent years is sort of the who can tell what story.
I know that's obviously one that
you've thought a tremendous amount about.
- The who the hell do you think you are question?
- Yeah but how much of that was self-imposed versus what
you were sort of facing
on the other side of that table,
whose blessing did you feel you needed
to sort of tell a feminist story?
- Well, you know, my situation was relatively unique because
I was writing based on a feminist novel
that have had a long life in people, you know.
And so, people had experienced it as a novel first
so it had a certain amount of credibility
and also had an alive author that could bless me in terms
of what I was doing with the books.
- This is not valid.
- It has it stamped.
- No, the document is no longer recognized.
You are not married.
(child mumbles)
- What?
- [Agent] It's forbidden.
- Forbidden? - What does that mean?
- [Agent] Forbidden by the law.
- What law?
- The law.
(ominous music)
- The biggest hurdle is always the hurdle
you put on yourself.
I mean, I didn't wanna do it if I was gonna...
I mean, I love the book too, I didn't wanna ruin it.
So if someone else, you know, I really thought
I was the best person for the job and if I thought
someone else was, I was 100% for it.
But whenever you start a show, you have weaknesses
in any writing venture.
And so what you're just gonna do is be honest with what all
of those weaknesses are and reinforce them
with all the other people you're working with.
And so that was the case, to say, okay well, you know, first
of all, I'm not a woman so hire not just one woman
but a group of women and women
who are comfortable sharing intimate things with you.
Not intimate, sexually, but intimate like how you go
through the world and how you react to things really.
And also, you know, you want someone who's gonna be able
to explain stuff to an idiot, you know
and be very patient about it.
You want someone who's gonna be able to tell
you very honestly and know that you're not asking
for pure interest or just reasons to pry into their life
but you have to know.
So you have to have a group of women but women
who are honest, and stubborn, and good writers,
and also know you well enough to know that when
they ask a question you really want the answer.
(upbeat music)
It's one of the most interesting things
about diversity is that to have...
It's very different for me to be...
When I started my career there was
often one woman in the room.
My room's all, basically all women and me.
And the thing that you get is the disagreement because
if you have one black person in the room, that black person
is your, you know, speaks for all black people
in the universe.
- Black-o-pedia. - Yeah, yeah, black--
- It's called being black-o-pedia and black-tionary
and I've been both of those
on many shows. - Yes.
And we have girl-o-pedia.
No, that's exactly right.
But, you know, we have discussions like...
We had a very long discussion about what
it actually feels like to get your period and how you...
Can you tell or not when you start to bleed without...
And all that kind...
Very like...
And the entire, all they did was disagree with each other
it was zero help for me, for them they learned a lot
about each other. - 'Cause everybody has a
very different experience.
- Yeah, and it's so funny that
you think, okay there's a universal answer to that.
I just want an answer, I just need a line here.
And they were like, well, you know...
(panelists laugh)
So, I would say 80% of the things I thought
I would get like, oh this is the clean, I don't know it
but someone else knows it.
What's it like to walk through the world in a skin
of a different color.
It doesn't help if you
just have one person because-- - Oh, absolutely.
- [Dan Futterman] Yeah, just one person's opinion.
- So real diversity actually is the way to actually use
those experiences because I think when you have
this singular voice in the room, there's no one
to challenge it. - Right.
- It's much better when
there is a debate. - Absolutely.
(upbeat music)
- What is the, your most amusing or,
perhaps, horrifying pitch story?
- I had a pitch...
I'm sure there are a lot of more horrifying
and amusing ones that I have.
But one that comes to mind is when I had a pitch
that we were gonna do a female genital mutilation story
on Handmaid's.
Which was fine for them but for me it was--
- [Dan] We were gonna do the same thing.
(panelists laugh) - Exactly, yeah.
- Are you just sweating? - I know, it's like...
- What goes into that?
- Well you don't even know how to word anything.
You know, it's like you feel like you're...
First of all, I was 100% sure they were gonna say no.
And then, but also just kind of making them see it
without kind of, you know, dancing around it as much
as, you know, my upbringing would allow
in order to say it.
And then you realize you're doing it to Rory Gilmore.
You know, it's even double-down on horrible.
But it was fine for them, they loved it.
For me, I still haven't recovered.
I'm turning bright red just thinking about it, yeah.
- I love it, I love it.
(upbeat music)