A couple of reporters land the story of a lifetime in Director Maria Schrader’s biographical drama, She Said.
Schrader’s film recounts the true story of how New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor broke one of the most important stories in a generation that unveiled decades of silence on the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and helped launch the #MeToo movement.
On November 5, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Schrader discussed the making of She Said during a Q&A moderated by Director R. J. Cutler (If I Stay). She also spoke about the film during a conversation moderated by Director Nicole Kassell (The Woodsman) following the New York DGA screening on November 13.
During the Los Angeles conversation, Schrader spoke about how she as a Director, was careful to take precautions in the telling of this true story
“There is so much reality. There is so much detail. I always think that the more specific you get, the more care you take about details. Not only in writing, but also in the acting. It is important to me to not paint them (journalists) as heroines. They ride the subway, they sweat, they're late. A movie can add all the things that are left unwritten. I tried to be as detailed and to create a seamless emotional connection to basically every single moment.”
Schrader’s other directorial credits include the feature films Love Life, Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe and I'm Your Man; and the mini-series Unorthodox.
Schrader became a DGA member in 2021.
You can listen to Schrader's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.