As an impassioned feminist I absolutely support Rose's assertion that
Hollywood is a sexist institution - which I would further extend to say
that the world is a sexist place and that it is inherently tougher to be a
woman in this society - just as it is harder to be black, gay, trans,
Latino, etc.
However I am very uncomfortable with Rose (who I considered a friend)
weaving THE DOOM GENERATION into her narrative of oppression and
particularly with being misquoted and misrepresented as a director
who doesn't care about the well-being of my actors. Rose's portrayal of
me snickering at the monitor while watching her co-star "squeeze a
water bottle into (her) crotch" is a gross distortion and profoundly
offensive to me as an artist and human being. I believe Rose is
referring to the last scene shot on the last day of the film when I was
crammed in the backseat of the picture car with the DP and soundman.
Rose and her two co-stars were in the front seat doing a scene which
involved them laughing and joking around and one of them spilled
water on her lap - an action I did not see or condone. What I did see
was Rose and this other actor screaming at each other - they had been
fighting and bickering for the entire four week shoot. That was the day
I quit THE DOOM GENERATION. I literally said stop the car, got out and
said that's a wrap, this movie is finished.
The reason I am so deeply hurt by this attack on my character is I
consider it my job as a director to make sure all my actors - male and
female - feel as comfortable and protected as possible at all times. In
fact, it is customary for me to have a conversation with my actors
about this very subject prior to shooting. And in the case of DOOM
GENERATION I explicitly remember taking Rose, Jimmy and Johnathon
aside to discuss this early on, the night we shot in the Carson oil fields.
I always make myself available for my actors to come to me in private
and discuss any problems they might be having on set.
Less troubling but more absurd than anything else is Rose's suggestion
that she was responsible for the strength and feminist power of her
character in DOOM GENERATION and that, in the script, Amy Blue was
more "under the thumb" of the two male characters. If you'd bothered
to actually read the screenplay - which I believe is available at the
Herrick Library at the Academy - you'd have discovered for yourself
that this statement is utter fiction and that that character, line for line,
word for word, is written on the page.
Again, I fully support Rose's headline message that Hollywood's sexist
system needs to change. I just wish she and Buzzfeed hadn't dragged
my name and a movie I made through the mud as her unnecessary
backstory.