Jessica Chastain is an outspoken proponent for pay equity in Hollywood, an indefatigable voice fighting sexism in story lines and bottom lines. When Octavia Spencer told her women of color need to be included in the conversation, Chastain listened. While developing a holiday comedy for the two actresses to star in, Chastain brokered a “favored nations” deal, bundling their salary and led to both women getting paid five times their original asking salary.
“I have a story, and you guys are gonna be the first to hear it,” said Spencer to a panel on Women Breaking Barriers at the Sundance Film Festival. Fifteen months ago, Chastain approached her about doing a movie together. (The two have been good friends since they both starred in “The Help”).
“She wants to do comedies, and I wanna break out of period pieces,” she said as the crowd chuckled. “I love ’em! They’ve been kind to me! But I kinda wanna play someone who resembles me in some fashion.” When the subject of pay equity between men and women came up, Spencer agreed wholeheartedly:
“We were dropping F-bombs and getting it all out there. And then I said, ‘But here’s the thing, women of color on that spectrum, we make far less than white women. So, if we’re gonna have that conversation about pay equity, we gotta bring the women of color to the table.’ And I told her my story, and we talked numbers, and she was quiet, and she said she had no idea that that’s what it was like for women of color.”
Spencer paused as she choked up. “These are happy tears!” she assured the crowd.
“I love that woman, because she’s walking the walk and she’s actually talking the talk. She said, ‘Octavia, we’re gonna get you paid on this film. You and I are gonna be tied together. We’re gonna be favored nations, and we’re gonna make the same thing.’ Fast forward to last week, we’re making five times what we asked for.”
The crowd cheered before Spencer added: “Now, I wanna go to what the men are making!”
The deal resulted in a heated bidding war, with Universal beating out Fox and Paramount. The untitled holiday comedy will be produced by Chastain with her company Freckle Films. “We’re just sitting there sipping coffee, going, ‘Oh my god! Women are in demand,‘” said Spencer.
Will we see the discourse goalposts move to pre-historical accuracy?
Snarkiness aside, I really wish the disciplines would communicate more in matters like these, because I think that the implications for our greater cultural consciousness regarding human mythology and modern sociological structures are kinda cool?
so i went and read the study because i was curious what these stories actually are and the data they use comes specifically from indo-european speaking societies so it’s not a worldwide thing. but the method they used is pretty amazing.
anyway, the only story they could confidently trace back to the bronze age (the bronze age!!) is ‘the smith and the devil’. three other stories (’the boy steals the ogre’s treasure’, ‘the animal bride’ and ‘the grateful animals’) have a +50% likelihood of being part of the proto-indo-european story corpus.
and here are the other stories that can be traced at least one level up from current european languages:
Studies like these combine two of my great interests – phylogeny and folklore!
(Actually, waaaay back in the day I had the idea to do this exact work, but I hadn’t latched on to an adviser, so I couldn’t. So I see papers like this pass my eyeballs in the way that people who want dogs/babies look at other people’s dogs/babies, or people who want to write novels look at the friend’s novels. You’re happy for them! And glad that they’re getting attention for it! But you wonder what YOURS would have looked like… and now, is it too late? You convince yourself that it’s too late. You tell the baby/dog/novel that you love it and you’re proud of them. You sulk quietly when they go.)
Er
ANYWAY
Just spitballing here
the oldest human story was likely one that carried information about survival or the environment, and likely was one involving fire, the creation of the world, and possibly dragons.
CEO au Some ships hinted at, but nothing established AO3
Thanks to @majordetectiveagent, @letswreakhavoc, and @lurkz for taking the concept I presented of ‘Alex as CEO of a major science company’ and running with it. A good percentage of the stuff here is from them throwing ideas around.
Alex took a deep breath. She leaned closer to the mirror, hands gripping the edge of the sink. She stared at her reflection. Her breaths puffed against the glass.
She could do this.
She could do this.
She leaned back, twisting both knobs to let the water flow. She tested the temperature twice before it was right. She pulled her glasses off, tucking the arm into her coat pocket, then leaned forward, cupping her hands under the water.
She splashed her face a few times, then leaned close to the mirror again.
Clarke: So yeah, in the dream it’s like We’re in New York, I think. I’m not really sure, but you know how it is when it’s a dream and you just know something. So we’re in New York.
Jasper: whos we??????
Clarke: Most of us, I think? It’s always kind of hard to remember when it’s a dream. Like I just thought “everyone’s here!” but I mostly interacted with Bellamy.
Raven: did u mean: real life
Clarke: SO we’re in New York, which isn’t actually plot relevant But there was a lot of neon so that was cool And there’s this huge crisis Alien invasion maybe??
Monty: That means New York was plot relevant. If I’ve learned one thing from pop culture it’s that aliens are always invading New York.
Jasper: tru
Inside Clarke’s iPhone inspired by @ponyregrets‘s fic If You Wanna Reach Me. Chash celebrated a fandomversary recently so here I am in my typical style of ~15 years late without Starbucks~ (but with a present that hopefully makes up for it) to say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY CHASH!!!
Question of Smoke 