One of the top female directors in Hollywood is Nancy Meyers. Is she not only a director but she is also a producer and screen writer. Meyers has written more than ten motion pictures, was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing 1980's “Private Benjamin” which proved that when romantic comedies are done right they are certainly practicable blockbusters. In addition, Meyers directed 2000's “What Women Want”, which earned $183 million nationally to become the highest grossing, female directed film to date. Meyers has been a steady box-office presence since her 1998 directorial debut, a remake “The Parent Trap” starring a young Lindsay Lohan. In this film Meyers did a well job in integrating both romance and classic family entertainment in order to make it interesting to a broader audience rather than focusing solely on her usual audience, middle aged women.
As said in an article by Daphne Merkin in New York Time Magazine, “She is known for her obsessive, micro managerial attention to detail. This aspect of her directorial style is appreciated by some and mocked by others but never fails to be mentioned when her name comes up.” This is proven in her work in “The Parent Trap”. Although some critiques identify Meyer’s attention to detail as her weakness, it is clearly one of her greatest strengths. Due to the fact that the movie was a remake there was a lot of pressure for her success. However, by using a broad combination of romance, comedy, and slight villainous aspects into the movie Meyers triumphed over the pressure. The wittiness role that was played by young Lindsay Lohan helped to contribute true entertainment into the movie.
Another film that Meyers was very successful in was “What Women Want” which starred Mel Gibson and his attempt to trying to figure out the female mind. This film was by far the most successful film ever directed by a woman, which made a remarkable $370 million worldwide. This film was especially alluring to women due to the fact that it had such a unique way of showing exactly what women desired. As quoted by Meyers herself in the LA Times, “I'm quite diligent about the work process; I think a day's work is a real day's work. Three hours isn't real to me. My friends make fun of me, because I really think I have to sit there all day and get up for lunch and come right back. This is my job.” This shows that Meyers is indeed devoted to her work and it is not surprising that this is the reason for all her success as a woman in the media industry.
Although Meyers is a female in the media industry, she is not far from the male directors. Meyers has her own production company, Waverly Films. Under this she directed and produced three films which each grossed $12 million for each. She has been nominated for multiple Golden Globe Awards because of what she focuses on, middle aged women. All her movies are targeted towards middle aged women; which is a great strategy since she’s grossing way above a billion dollars internationally. Her focus and determination is the reason which she’s one of the top female directors in the industry.
References
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/magazine/20Meyers-t.html?pagewanted=all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Meyers
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/26/entertainment/la-et-meyers26-2009dec26
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