Jane Fonda and Kate Hudson presented the Producers Guild of America Trailblazer Awards to posthumous recipients Paula Weinstein and Lynda Obst. Fonda worked with Weinstein on the films 9 to 5 and Monster-in-Law and the TV series Grace and Frankie. Having made her first film in 1958, Fonda said it was lonely until women made headways in the ‘70s through the feminist movement and in Hollywood.
For Monster-in-Law, Fonda’s first film after 15 years, Fonda remembered Weinstein saving the film after a poor test screening.
“Paula totally saved it by geting Carrie Fisher to rewrite the ending and hiring Elaine Stritch to play my mother,” Fonda said. “Paula knew funny.”
Fonda said Weinstein’s legacy beyond her films would be the hundreds of women she mentored, as evidenced by Weinstein’s memorial after she died March 25.
“We asked anybody who was mentored by Paula to come stand with us on stage,” Fonda said. “At first a few people came up. A few more followed. By the end, most of the theater was standing on the stage. That was Paula, one of a kind, beloved, irreplaceable.”
Obst began as an associate producer of Flashdance. By the time she produced 2003’s How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, she invited Hudson to participate in the production from writing to post.
“It is rare for someone to take a 22-year-old ingenue and empower them to be a side by side leader,” Hudson said. “The success of her work is a testament to her drive, fierce desire to tell stories in the right way.”
Hudson’s case in point was after the film opened: Obst insisted Hudson sneak into the back of a full movie theater to see How to Lose a Guy with an audience. Hudson was reluctant, but felt the power when the audience laughed.
“The second the raucus laughter started to happen she just looked at me: ‘Do you hear that?’” Hudson said. “I would’ve never had that experience if she hadn’t grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into that room.”
While filmmakers like Hudson would continue to work with the lessons learned from Obst, Hudson also acknowledged Obst’s passion for her son Oly and grandchildren, Sonny and Marlowe.
“As women do, we discuss our work as much as we do our children,” Hudson said. “We are as vocal about our desire to make the best film and what’s best for the film as we are for what’s best for our hearts. There are just certain people you feel like should live forever.”
(L-R) Kate Hudson and Jane Fonda at the PGA Awards Saturday
Michael Buckner
