by Fred Topel
“We got a little bit derailed because of Sex and the City.”
– Jessica Elbaum
Women in Hollywood have made monumental strides in the last year, with the success of Kristen Wiig’s Bridesmaids and Lena Dunham’s Girls. What you don’t hear as much about is that there have been equally major advances for women behind the scenes.
For example, at Gary Sanchez Productions, the production company of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, a woman holds a major executive position. Jessica Elbaum produced the Sundance hit Bachelorette, which was written and directed by Leslye Headland. The film became the number one pre-theatrical download on iTunes in August. It plays theaters this month and you can still get it online or VOD.
Bachelorette stars Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fischer as high school friends who grudgingly play bridesmaids to their friend Becky (Rebel Wilson). The girls begin the film as angry, resentful, promiscuous, and/or addicts (some combination of the aforementioned afflicts each character). The night before the wedding they cause a series of disasters that will take all night to fix, if they’re even able to before the wedding.
We got to chat with Elbaum by phone about her career as a female exec for some of the hottest comedy producers in Hollywood. She had a lot to share about the current climate for female-led comedy, her film Bachelorette, and the latest Gary Sanchez production, the long awaited Anchorman 2.
Read our exclusive interview with Jessica Elbaum on SuicideGirls.com.
