Hollywood Reaches Out to Lesbians

Fresh out of college and a mere seven months after moving to Los Angeles, Jennifer McGlone finds herself in post-production on her first project at Sony Pictures Studios. Veteran filmmakers huddle nearby, nibbling leftover Halloween candy, ready to share their expertise.

McGlone, 25, is the capable if unassuming director of “Breaking Up Really Sucks.” Soft-spoken and a wisp under 5 feet tall, she’s fresh out of Ohio University film school with three student films to her credit, not exactly credentials that would set Hollywood abuzz. But before moving to Los Angeles, McGlone joined the L.A.-based Professional Organization for Women in Entertainment Reaching Up (Power Up), which she found on the Internet.

The organization, in just one year, has helped raise awareness about what has traditionally been one of the least powerful groups in Hollywood--lesbian filmmakers. On Sunday, almost a year to the day after Power Up launched in Los Angeles, the networking organization will premiere “Breaking Up Really Sucks” and “Chicken Night” at its fund-raising Power Premiere at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

The two short films were made with Power Up grant money and a heap of industry support. Industry interest in the organization is reflected in the guest list: Academy Award-winners Bruce Cohen and Alan Ball (“American Beauty”), SAG President Melissa Gilbert, actors Christina Applegate, Rosanna Arquette, Mike Farrell, Timothy Bottoms, Laura Linney and Judith Light, among others.

Since forming last year, Power Up has hosted seminars and panels, screenings and pool parties for a membership that has already grown to more than 500. In June, it launched a New York chapter. Membership isn’t limited to lesbians or even to women. About 10% of the Power Up members are gay men or heterosexual men and women, says Stacy Codikow, co-founder. “We’re open to anyone who believes in our mission.”

That mission is to “integrate and promote visibility” for lesbians in entertainment. Support has come from such companies as Kodak Film, Deluxe, Panavision, Steven Bochco Productions, Power Post Audio, HBO and Showtime, among others, which have given materials, services or financial support.

The chance to network with other industry women is what enticed director Jamie Babbit (“Gilmore Girls,” “But I’m a Cheerleader”) to join. “All the guys [directors] know each other, and the women don’t,” says Babbit.

When Midge Sanford of Sanford-Pillsbury Productions (“The Love Letter,” “Desperately Seeking Susan”) heard about Power Up (it’s been mentioned in the trades at least half a dozen times), she and business partner Sarah Pillsbury joined, even though they’re not lesbians.

“We thought, well, we know a lot of gay people in the industry, and they may feel more outside than anyone,” says Sanford. “Having struggled ourselves and knowing how hard it is to make contacts and network, [we understand that] so much of what happens in getting ahead and getting your projects read has to do with who you know.”

Within six months, Power Up raised $20,000 in grant money to put toward two short films. The goal was to make the shorts with Power Up members, providing them with on-set experience. Two directors and two writers were selected from about 75 members who submitted work.

Babbit, 30, who helped judge the grant recipients, acted as a mentor to the filmmakers while making her own short, “Stuck,” which will also screen Sunday.

“Breaking Up Really Sucks,” written by Pamela S. Busch and directed by McGlone, is a comical look at the meeting, mating and dissolution of a lesbian couple. Actresses Alexandra Paul (“Baywatch,” “Dragnet”) and newcomer Karri Bowman portray the couple.

“Chicken Night,” written by Deidre Strohm and directed by Lisa Ginsburg, is a little girl’s detailed account of the special nights that she and her mother prepared fried chicken dinners. Ione Skye (“Gas, Food, Lodging”) plays the mother.

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Having a networking organization for lesbians, says veteran filmmaker Lee Rose, “means that people who are up and coming have a group that’s been around longer and can advise and support the young filmmakers, and not-so-young filmmakers who haven’t had the opportunities.” Rose (“It’s a Girl Thing,” “The Truth About Jane”) worked her way up through the ranks of the “old boys’ club” more than 25 years ago, starting with an apprenticeship on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show.” “That was the only way you did it,” she says. “That’s primarily still true today.”

For McGlone, having a “new girl’s club” to turn to was invaluable. “Because I went to film school in the Midwest, I had no contacts,” she says. “Through this organization I’ve met a great number of people I never would’ve met.... I got to learn from all these industry professionals, like [cinematographer] Michael Negrin and my picture editor, Jane Kass” from Steven Bochco Productions.

Codikow produced mainstream feature films for nearly 15 years (“Fatal Instinct,” “Under the Hula Moon”) before she had “a cathartic self-realization a couple years ago that there’s a whole gay community out there.”

However, she had trouble finding other lesbians in the entertainment business. Codikow then teamed up with two business acquaintances, event producer Amy Shomer and publicist K. Pearson Brown, and on the strength of three hefty Rolodexes, Power Up was born. (Brown has since left the organization.)

According to several openly gay industry veterans, including Rose, Babbit, Jan Oxenberg (“Once and Again,” “Chicago Hope”) and Jane Anderson (“It Could Happen to You,” “The Baby Dance”), being a lesbian is not a handicap in Hollywood (unless you’re an actor in lead roles). Being a woman is.

“Women have a very tough time,” says Rose. “They don’t find a lot of mentoring in the community and don’t do a lot of networking, because there aren’t that many ways to do it.”

Judging by the men and women who have given support to Power Up so far, plenty of people in the industry are eager to see it succeed. Clive Taylor, who donated the services of his company, Power Post Audio, for re-recordings, says it’s his way of giving back. “These are the directors of tomorrow,” Taylor explains, at his office on the Sony lot. “I know how difficult it was for me to get my start.”

Alan Poul, an executive producer of Ball’s HBO series “Six Feet Under,” and Jehan F. Agrama, vice chair of Bold New World and longtime co-chair of the GLAAD Media Awards, will be honored at the event.

After the Power Premiere, the two grant films will be sent around to agents, studios and film festivals, as calling cards for the filmmakers as well as for Power Up.

Those shorts represent “a huge part of a promise kept,” says Lee Rose, who believes that by delivering so quickly, the group has elevated its credibility and its profile. “I’ll know more when I see the finished films,” she adds, “to see if these people took the next step.”

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For Power Premiere information, call (310) 271-4708.