Sci-Fi & Squeam

1 Apr 2016

Addicted to Jamie Babbit: Queer Women who make TV and Film

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Addicted to Jamie Babbit: Queer Women who make TV and Film

Sonja Hammer speaks to director and producer and screenwriter Jamie Babbit who has a new film out called Addicted to Fresno which premiered at this years MQFF Friday 1st of April 2016 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival.

Jamie Babbit is one of the most prolific and hardworking and QUEER women in American television today!

From films like But I’m A Cheerleader ,The Quiet to her new film Addicted to Fresno, Jamie Babbit has also worked in numerous TV shows for example directing and producing :
Gilmore Girls,

Malcolm In The Middle,Beverley Hills 90210,Gossip Girl,The Bernie Mack Show,Dirty Sexy Money,
The L Word,
Alias
United States of Tara,
Nip/Tuck,
Ugly Betty,
Castle,
Looking,
and more recently, Girls.…not to mention an episode of Supergirl ( episode called “Childish Things“)!

And of course THAT movie : But I’m A Cheerleader, Jamie says of her experience working on the breakthrough movie: “I was 27 when I made that movie…trying to be the parent to all these insane actors and wondering what had gone wrong in my life”. But THAT movie was essential and still is mind you, for those Coming Out, with it’s dry humour and politically incorrectness, Addicted to Fresno the new film carries that tradition on, but perhaps is even darker in it’s humour? Go and see it if you get the chance too!

MORE on Jamie Babbit:

JAMIE BABBIT graduated from Barnard College and started her career working as an intern for Martin Scorsese and David Fincher. Babbit has directed five feature films and numerous short films that have played at the Sundance Film Festival. Her first feature, But I’m a Cheerleaderpremiered at Sundance in 2000 and was successfully released worldwide by Lions Gate Films. Her second film, The Quiet, starring Edie Falco and Elisha Cuthbert, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was released worldwide by Sony Pictures Classics. Her film, Itty Bitty Titty Committee premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and won the Dramatic Competition Prize at South by Southwest (SXSW). Babbit directs HBO’s Girls, Looking, The United States of Tara, and Brooklyn 99. She is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. taken from an article in Game Changer.

ARTICLE on Jamie Babbit in Huffington Posts Queer Women in TV.

And Jamie’s are VERY big FAN of Jane Campion’s SWEETIE!

Jamie chats to Sonja about the inspiration her grandmother had on her, and how she based the Shannon character in Addicted To Fresno on her sexually addicted grandmother. She talks about feminism and why she is one and how the struggle is in Hollywood for women and about diversity.

Jamie also recalls her very 1st interview with TV creator icon Ryan Murphy and how she got started.

And what’s the goss re the new Gilmore Girls…listen to find out!

The song on the end of this podcast is by the wonderful Dressy Bessy with If You Try To Kiss Her from the cultural touch stone queer classic film But I’m A Cheerleader(1999).

This podcast is dedicated to the late and wonderful radio mentor Addam Stobbs.