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'It's Heavy on the Vaginas': Inside Three Female-Dominated Productions


When Frances McDormand took the stage at the 2018 Oscars and uttered the words “inclusion rider,” the internet rushed to break down the latest in Hollywood vernacular. But while the inclusion rider—a contract amendment that guarantees cast and crew diversity—is something many productions are scrambling to adopt, there are a few women for whom the practice comes naturally. Starting with…

After a 12-year hiatus from tv, Jennifer Garner needed some persuading to return to the medium’s punishing pace. But it took only one meeting with Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner to convince her Camping, the duo’s comedy based on the British series about a weekend outdoors gone awry, would be different. “They have a great reputation for running a tight ship but one that also makes room for people’s lives and families,” says Garner, who took on the role of wilderness-averse camper Kathryn. “On top of that they said, ‘It’s really important to us that this show is run by women.’ But what I love is you don’t walk on set and feel like [the female crew] is some statement. It’s just a lot of competent people working together who happen to be women.”

Just 11 percent of all showrunners are women, so for Dunham and Konner, collaborating with this many women is a point of pride. “The same cluster of white men get hired over and over, not because they’re better at their jobs but because people get lazy,” Dunham says. “This crew makes it clear that you can have a very diverse group of people without compromising the quality of the work.” Adds Konner: “Our production designer, script supervisor, cinematographer, stunt coordinator, and wardrobe and props department heads are all women. It’s heavy on the vaginas.”

While the show centers on what Dunham calls “complicated, thorny, and intense women,” the cast found solace in one another’s tenderness off set. “I shot a scene with Jennifer Garner, and it wasn’t Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment, but it was pretty ride-or-die,” says Bridget Everett, who plays zany camp-ground director Harry. “Having a friend to hug you at the end was a real blessing and something you don’t always experience. And that’s what’s great about having a sisterhood on a set.”

Written by Samantha Leach, Photo by Anne Marie Fox

Camping premieres on HBO next month.

Olivia Wilde is the first to admit she wasn’t born with the confidence to direct a film. “It took me well into my career, maybe 10 or 12 years, to make the leap,” she says of Booksmart, her directorial debut about two high school seniors who vow to let loose on prom night. Even though Hollywood big shots like Jon Favreau, Ron Howard, and CAA super-agent Bryan Lourd had encouraged her (“You’re a director; I’ve always known that about you,” Lourd said back in 2013), it took working with Reed Morano on the 2015 drama Meadowland to make her believe it was possible. “Women don’t see themselves in that role, so they don’t take it seriously for themselves,” Wilde says. “I think we all need that person who allows us to see it in order to believe it.”

And in that magical way of paying it forward, Wilde has been that person for cast members Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever. “We did a lot of scenes that were one long shot, something Kaitlyn and I didn’t anticipate nailing,” Feldstein says. “Olivia would be like, ‘We’re going to get this and it’s going to be amazing.’ When we did, it was like, ‘Oh my God. You were the only one who knew we could.’ ” According to Dever, that support was a game changer. “A director sets the tone,” she says, “and if the tone isn’t right, a shoot can be stressful. Olivia created the easiest set I’ve ever worked on. She really is an inspiration, because now I want to direct movies.”

With so many women on set (Billie Lourd and Jessica Williams also costar), Wilde and writer Katie Silberman were able to weave personal stories and perspectives into the script in real time. “Every day it felt like there was this pot of brewing energy and everyone was putting their ideas into it,” Wilde says. “When we wrapped, I told each person in the crew, ‘Your DNA is all over this film.’”

Written by Justine Harman

Booksmart hits theaters next spring.

PHOTO: KATIE BALLAINE/COURTESY OF OLIVIA WILDE, KAITLYN DEVER, AND BEANIE FELDSTEIN

PHOTO: KATIE BALLAINE/COURTESY OF OLIVIA WILDE, KAITLYN DEVER, AND BEANIE FELDSTEIN

PHOTO: KATIE BALLAINE/COURTESY OF OLIVIA WILDE, KAITLYN DEVER, AND BEANIE FELDSTEIN

Ever since hip-pop and pop artist Lizzo launched her solo career in 2013, she’s unintentionally surrounded herself with a female crew. “I just hire the best people,” she says, “and those people happen to be women.” But Lizzo, whose team consists of DJ Sophia Eris, creative director and makeup artist Quinn Wilson, dancers Grace Holden and Courtney Hollinquest (dubbed The Big Grrrls), hairstylist Shelby Swain, and manager Alana Balden, knows that, in a world where only 17 percent of pop musicians are women, this contingent makes a statement.

They’ve worked hard to get here. “We were those girls going into these grody nightclubs and bars, having to literally fight for our lives to be respected,” Lizzo says of the years before the release of her critically loved 2016 EP, Coconut Oil. Next came a gig opening for Haim on their nationwide tour and the opportunity to twerk onstage at England’s prestigious Glastonbury Festival. “[Now we’re] a middle finger in the face of what the industry says women are capable of.” Adds Eris: “I definitely understand that [a team like this] is not common, but it’s really important to show other young women that we can stick together and be strong and as powerful as any man, or even stronger.” Wilson, who describes the crew as a family, is adamant that these women “are going to grow old as fuck together.”

One thing Lizzo wishes people would stop asking for? Tour gossip. “Like, no one asks Maroon 5 if there are drawbacks touring with all men,” she says. “You assume when you see a tour of all women that there’s cattiness and drama, and I don’t want to talk about that stuff anymore.”

Written by Caitlin Brody

Catch Lizzo on tour with Florence and the Machine this fall.

PHOTO: Alysse Gafkjen



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'Issues' Singer Julia Michaels on Living With Anxiety: 'It's Like You’re in a Prison With Yourself'


In January, songwriter Julia Michaels made her debut as a solo artist with the hit song “Issues.” Since then, the song has gone triple platinum, Michaels has received two Grammy nominations (Best New Artist and Song of the Year), and she’ll be joining Shawn Mendes, Niall Horan, and Maroon 5 on their upcoming tour. But it hasn’t been an easy journey—here, Michaels opens up about living with anxiety.

I started having anxiety for the first time when I was 18. I’d just signed my first publishing deal, and I felt so much pressure to perform that it sent my mind and body down something that felt like a never-ending spiral. I thought I was dying. Most days, I couldn’t breathe or leave the fetal position. I would rock back and forth, tapping my feet on the floor because I thought if I stopped I would pass out. I became afraid of everything. Going out. Eating. Driving. Writing. My life became a string of, “What ifs?” What if I eat this and I’m allergic to it? What if I’m driving and get in an accident? What happens if I stop moving? I became consumed. I didn’t know who I was anymore. I had completely isolated myself—even from the things I loved. This continued heavily for the next few years.

Anxiety feels like an earthquake shaking your entire body and can last for minutes, hours, or sometimes days. It makes you feel like you were just in sunny California and teleported to winter in Chicago. It’s a lot like that friend who says they’re happy for you but secretly roots for you to fail. It’s always waiting to ruin you and make you feel small. It’s like you’re in a prison with yourself, like there are a thousand bricks weighing your body down. What’s really terrifying, though, is when those bricks start to feel comforting.

It’s scary what your mind and your body can get used to.

Because of this I’m very open about having stage fright. On one occasion, for example, I was performing at Logo’s Trailblazers Honors with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. Normally when I perform, my throat gets dry, my hands shake and sweat, my body starts freezing, and I have to assure myself that this feeling isn’t going to last forever. But on this day, I was the most calm I’d ever been. I actually panicked because I wasn’t panicking. It’s scary what your mind and your body can get used to.

The first time I performed “Issues” on television was live for the Billboard Music Awards. At the end of the performance, everyone commended me for being so open. But in reality, I had a massive panic attack on stage. The hug you see me go in for to my keyboard player was actually me turning to her saying, “I can’t breath!” I walked off stage and crumbled into a ball in a backstage hallway. I was so afraid that people could see me. I was so afraid what they would think. So afraid that I had hit all the wrong notes. That I wasn’t ready. Or, even scarier, that I was. So many thoughts in milliseconds streamed through my head. My manager sat with me on the floor and held me until I was able to stand again.

It got to a point where I was having panic attacks every day. I had to sit in a ball and rock myself until I was back to “OK.” I remember thinking, If this is how the rest of my life is going to look, I can’t do this. I can’t live with this constant broken feeling. This constant grey cloud sending out hurricanes every chance it gets onto my skin. I called my manager and told her it was time I see a therapist. My first couple sessions, all I did was cry and panic. I didn’t realize how much emotional duress I was holding inside of my body. How much childhood trauma and avoidance account for anxiety. How the less you talk about how you’re feeling, the more it builds—until you’ve created an over-populated city in your head of everything you’ve suppressed your whole life. I learned that the more toxicity I surrounded myself with, the more toxic my mind became. The more therapy I did, the more the panic became less and less. I learned that for each thing to have anxiety about, I had an association to link it to. For example, when I get anxious before I go on stage I think to myself “Why?” And then I think to myself, “Oh, it’s probably because that one time when I was 12, someone really close to me told me I couldn’t sing, and I’ve held on to that. But that was a long time ago. I’m OK.”

I started weeding out a lot of negativity and things that constantly made me feel emotionally tiny. I am learning every day that those moments will forever be a part of me, but they are not who I am. I am not other people’s projections of their own insecurities. I am my own. I have learned many coping methods and there are different ones for everybody. Rationalizing with myself has been the one to calm me down the most. When that doesn’t work, I do something called grounding, where I take my shoes off, no matter where I am, and plant my feet on the ground. It makes me feel centered, stable, and less confined.

To people who don’t have it, anxiety can seem so foreign and burdening. I once had a boyfriend who would get mad at me every time I had a panic attack. At first, he would try to comfort me, but when I wouldn’t “snap out of it” right away, he would get frustrated. He made me feel even worse than my mind was already making me feel. My dad went through a similar phase with me as well. He would say, “Julia, you’re fine,” to which I would respond, “Please don’t leave.” He didn’t get it until one time we were back in Iowa for the holidays and decided to take a family drive to Illinois. All of a sudden, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I took off my sweater and started screaming. My cousin pulled the car over and opened the minivan doors. It was 40 degrees, and I had stripped myself down to leggings and a bra. My dad had never seen it so severe before. It was the first time he didn’t look at me like I was crazy. That’s what anxiety does: It comes out of nowhere and causes chaos just for fun.

That’s what anxiety does: It comes out of nowhere and causes chaos just for fun.

There’s one time my anxiety turned into a positive, though. I was asked by Ed Sheeran and producer Benny Blanco to come to a house in Malibu and work with them and a few of Ed’s favorite collaborators. It was beautiful, and the people he surrounded himself with were just as beautiful. One day, I was writing in the courtyard with singer/songwriter Foy Vance when these cameras that were following Ed came to see where we were at with the progress of our song. I became so overwhelmed that I discreetly walked away and ran into Benny’s room. I curled up in a ball on his bathroom floor and hyperventilated. Benny left the room and came back in with ice. He had me hold it in my palms tightly to distract my brain from my thoughts and to focus on the cold cubes in my hands. He told me this is one of the methods he uses when he has panic attacks. He stayed next to me and talked me through it. It was the first time someone had stood in front of me and understood me. He knew exactly how I was feeling. It was the first time I didn’t feel so alone. I will never forget that, and I will always have a love and appreciation for him because of that day. For the next two days, we just worked together. We went through a few ideas until I sang the start of a melody that turned out to be “Dive” on Ed’s album. I had laid down the chorus melody and left. The next day, when I came back, Ed loved the idea and wanted to finish it. Knowing I was surrounded by genuine people that day made such a huge difference. It still does.

This year, I’ve made so much progress with my mental illness. Even seeing videos back from where I started to where I am now, I feel an amazing sense of growth and accomplishment. When you’re stuck in that vicious cycle it’s easy to think that you may never get out. And when you realize that prison has an escape door, that Chicago winter suddenly starts to feel like summer again.

I believe I stayed a songwriter for so long because of my anxiety. I was scared I wasn’t good enough. Scared I wouldn’t be accepted. I was scared of not hiding anymore. I was scared of reaching a level of potential I had never reached. I was scared of myself. I convinced myself I didn’t want to be a performer. What if it goes horribly wrong? What if it goes right? I tried to weigh out so many pros and cons for something that I can’t control. But once I’ve made up my mind about something. I go all in. So the day I made the decision to become an artist, there was no going back. I wanted this, and it was time to face my fears.

All it takes is one person to listen. To care. To make you feel like you’re not crazy.

When I see people sing “Issues” with me, it’s the most incredible feeling in the world. When we sing it together, we understand each other. We understand that everyone and everything is flawed, and it’s the thing that connects us the most. When we sing “Issues,” we sing it hundreds of different ways for hundreds of different reasons, but we do it as a whole. We lay all our insecurities out on the table. This is what I’ve always wanted. To be understood, to be heard. To be seen. Just like so many others struggling with mental illness. This year has been a crazy long journey and everyday I’m learning something new about myself. I’ve always found my power and confidence when I write; now, I’m finding it every single day as an artist. I may not know a lot, but I know one thing for sure: This is the most alive and free I’ve ever felt. Pouring out these emotions, facing my fears, and confronting these things I’ve never been able to before is making me stronger everyday.

People with anxiety often don’t talk to others because they think they’re are burdening them with their problems. But all it takes is one person to listen. To care. To make you feel like you’re not crazy. I wouldn’t be making these huge strides every day without the incredible people I surround myself with. Without the help of therapy, my friends, my family, my fans, and my colleagues, I wouldn’t be on this journey. And I’m so glad I am.



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Kris Jenner Says 'It's a Little Too Early' to Start Thinking About a Kardashian Kids Spinoff


PHOTO: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

With so many new Kardashian/Jenners on their way into the world, it was only a matter of time before someone asked the question on all our reality-show-loving minds. Variety recently spoke to Kris Jenner about whether or not she’d try to do a Keeping Up With the Kardashians about the next Kardashian generation—her grandkids (both unborn and not)—and she didn’t say yes…but she also didn’t say no.

“I think that’s kind of pushing the envelope,” said Kris. “I think it’s a little too early to start thinking about them. They’re amazing and when they’re around they are in the show, but I think it’s a little too early for them to have any kind of spinoff.” True, the six kids born since the show started are all still in their single-digit years and many more are still on the way. But when talking about spinoffs in general, Kris said, “There’s always a spinoff,” so, maybe?

Kardashians: The Next Generation might sound a little far-fetched right now, but think about it: The oldest grandchild, Kourtney’s son Mason, is eight. Kylie, the youngest of the original crew, was nine when KUWTK began filming. And most of the grandkids have made appearances on the show already.

And while the babies themselves don’t generate much drama, the having of the babies is always a major storyline. With Kylie and Khloé both reportedly expecting their first children and Kim and Kanye due to welcome a third via surrogate soon, the babies will likely dominate any upcoming Kardashian press. In fact, a year from now, Kendall will be the only Kardashian/Jenner who isn’t a parent. (Uh, unless all the reports are wrong—Kim, what is happening?!)

Of course, there will be no need to reboot the series if it never stops airing in its original form, which, honestly, sounds likely. KUWTK‘s fourteenth season will premiere on Sunday, October 1, at 9 p.m. ET on the E! network.



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