Callie Khouri
Callie Khouri
Carolyn Ann "Callie" Khouriis a Lebanese American film and television screenwriter, producer, feminist, and director. In 1992 she won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for the film Thelma & Louise, which was controversial upon its release because of its progressive representation of gender politics, but which subsequently became a classic...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScreenwriter
Date of Birth27 November 1957
CitySan Antonio, TX
CountryUnited States of America
I don't think any studio - it was a long shot at the time - but I don't think any studio in a million years would make 'Thelma and Louise' right now. But there's so many other kinds of movies they won't make right now.
I love to start characters in a place where you think you know them. We can make all kinds of assumptions about them and think they have no redeeming qualities, but like everyone, they're complex.
I think this happens to a lot of people, men and women, where you reach a point in your life and all of a sudden realize that things have changed. You suddenly realize that people are coming up behind you, that maybe somebody might want to replace you for less money.
I remember when I used to have actual time to write and now you don't have time and you just do it. I think it explains a lot about television.
I think of feminism as more of a political ideology.
With female-oriented movies, unless it's something like 'Bridesmaids' or a romantic comedy, you've got to really worry about your opening weekend. And I'm always telling stories about women, not younger women, and it's just a much tougher audience to get to the movie theater.
I don't know anyone male or female who can quote-unquote have it all. It's a made-up idea. Men don't have it all. They may have it better because they get paid more for the same work, but they don't have it all.
There are so many screenwriters with incredible stories to tell, so I hope there will be some kind of shift in the business where very few types of movies are now made by the studios. There needs to be different budgets for different audiences; not everything having to be a huge opening weekend.
Political stories in general are tough. They just don't appeal to as wide an audience.
Movie studios are owned by giant corporations. They care about money; they don't care about movies.
I like writing flawed women, and being one, it's something I feel I can write with some veracity and authority.
I'm almost numb to misogyny at this point. It's just everywhere.
To me, feminism is such a simple description: it's equal rights, economic rights, political rights, and social rights.
People always ask me about 'Girls' with this kind of hesitation. What do I think of it? I love it. It's awesome. I get a lot of Where do you come down on this? I come down on the side of 'Yay, Lena Dunham. Congratulations. I'm jealous.' She's doing something so fantastic. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it certainly is for me.