I am a producer and a mum of two. I could share so many stories of personal and professional hilarity/woe/embarrassment/pride that have resulted from my desire to “have it all”. In fact, once I get started on this subject I tend to go on and on and I don’t want to bore you all. And frankly I’m too tired. But because I think it’s so important that we make it ok to talk about these challenges, I will share a couple of things…
I was lucky enough to have Barbara Broccoli as my mentor. I first met her when I was 9 months pregnant with my first child. Literally waddled in to her office on my due date. I was terrified of everything that lay ahead of me and although I had a really strong desire to forge ahead in my career, I was pretty sure that the best advice would be to bow out for a bit. To my surprise, Barbara told me that the industry was so lucky that I was about to have a baby, because being a mum would make me a better producer. I was confused. She went on to explain that shepherding a film is a lot like dealing with babies, so I child rearing would be excellent career training. Also that having a child meant I would instantly be able to sort the important stuff from the bullshit. I’d have to make every minute count so by only focussing on the important stuff, I was more likely to get projects off the ground . I was so lucky to be given this positive perspective moments before my life changed forever.
My son came to his first development meeting when he was 10 days old and three years later my daughter was born in the middle of a grade. I’m not saying I recommend doing those things. I’m just really glad that I had the choice to do them.
