Variety‘s Power of Women issue celebrates the importance of giving back — no matter what obstacles you face. And this year’s slate of honorees do that with grace, dignity and guts.
Elizabeth Olsen, who inhabits the character of Marvel’s most complicated superheroine, has, for six years, spent her off-hours volunteering at Stuart House, a program that helps children and teens who have been sexually abused. Malala Yousafzai, the education activist who remains the youngest Nobel laureate, is making a parallel journey from nonprofit work to entertainment. With her new production company, Extracurricular, she also wants to shine a spotlight on the Pillars Artist Fellowship, which supports Muslim directors and screenwriters.
Yousafzai’s story proves that the arts can be an important staging ground for cultural change. That’s no surprise to Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay, who made a radical decision in 2016. With their drama “Queen Sugar,” created by DuVernay for the Oprah Winfrey Network, they have hired only women directors. Seven seasons later, they’ve boosted the careers of 39 talented storytellers who had never directed television before. We’re excited to share some of those directors’ stories with you. Two other TV newbies in this issue: Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, whose HiddenLight Productions is behind “Gutsy,” a docuseries that tells the stories of feminist icons. Mother and daughter share their own hard-won insights onscreen, and now in conversation with Variety.
Gail Berman
Chairman and CEO
The Jackal Group
Berman produced Baz Luhrmann’s hit, “Elvis,” which rocked the Cannes Film Festival and proved to have summer legs at the box office ($280 million global gross) and be an awards season contender. Berman’s slate also includes Fox’s “Monarch,” which debuted Sept. 11 and was the network’s most-watched fall scripted premiere in three years; and “Wednesday,” the Tim Burton series for Netflix. What is the key to breaking through to audiences? “Story. Story. Story. If you have story, it will travel,” she says. Looking ahead at future biz disruptions, “I think guessing the next ‘big thing’ is a fool’s errand these days given how our industry’s trends, technology and values are a moving target. When you have been around the block enough — I find it more fun to take it all in and just keep my head down than try to guess what’s around the next turn.”