Stay tuned for the release of my interview with Joyce Chopra.
“Joyce Chopra’s career spanned six decades, and her perspectives are thoughtful and broad, including stories about how she navigated monumental shifts in her craft and in the culture at large. She has wonderful anecdotes about working with Laura Dern and Treat Williams, as well as her deep friendships with Gene Wilder and Arthur Miller, plus bruising encounters with Harvey Weinstein and Sydney Pollack”.
A huge thank you to City Lights Books and Joyce Chopra for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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// Quick Review //
I was fortunate enough to have the chance to read this book prior to its release. Deep and memorable, Lady Director will leave you awestruck as it takes you on a journey through Chopra’s inspiring life.
// Other Information //
Publisher: City Lights Books
Page Count: 232 pages
Release Date: November 22, 2022
Series: None
Tags: Non-fiction, Adult, Young adult, Memoir, Biography
// Book Description (from Goodreads) //
An intimate account of a seminal filmmaker’s development–as a creator and as a woman–both in art and in life.
“Joyce Chopra, what a gift of an extraordinary filmmaker you are, and one of our great pioneers who forged a very difficult path. And for female filmmakers everywhere, we are so blessed to have you as a storyteller to forge the way to make it easier for others.”–Laura Dern, actor
Hailed by the New Yorker as “a crucial forebear of generations,” award-winning director Joyce Chopra came of age in the 1950s, prior to the dawn of feminism, and long before the #MeToo movement. As a young woman, it seemed impossible that she might one day realize her dream of becoming a film director–she couldn’t name a single woman in that role. But with her desire fueled by a stay in Paris during the heady beginnings of the French New Wave, she was determined to find a way.
Chopra got her start making documentary films with the legendary D.A. Pennebaker. From her ground-breaking autobiographical short, Joyce at 34 (which was acquired for NY MoMA’S permanent collection), to her rousingly successful first feature, Smooth Talk (winner of the Best Director and Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1985), to a series of increasingly cruel moves by Hollywood producers unwilling to accept a woman in the director’s role, Chopra’s career trajectory was never easy or straightforward.
In this engaging, candid memoir, Chopra describes how she learned to navigate the deeply embedded sexism of the film industry, helping to pave the way for a generation of women filmmakers who would come after her. She shares stories of her bruising encounters with Harvey Weinstein and Sydney Pollack, her experience directing Diane Keaton, Treat Williams, and a host of other actors, as well as her deep friendships with Gene Wilder, Arthur Miller, and Laura Dern.
Along with the successes and failures of her career, she provides an intimate view of a woman’s struggle to balance the responsibilities and rewards of motherhood and marriage with a steadfast commitment to personal creative achievement. During a career spanning six decades, Joyce Chopra has worked through monumental shifts in her craft and in the culture at large, and the span of her life story offers a view into the implacable momentum of the push for all womens’ liberation.
“Joyce Chopra has written a devastatingly frank, candid, and unsparing memoir of her life as a film director–a ‘woman director’ in a field notoriously dominated by men. The reader is astonished on her behalf, at times infuriated, moved to laughter, and then to tears. Lady Director: Adventures in Hollywood, Television, and Beyond is one of its kind–highly recommended.” —Joyce Carol Oates, author of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”
// Review //
Lady Director is a raw, gripping narrative of Joyce Chopra’s experiences throughout her career as a director. The book delves deeply into the thoughts and emotions that Chopra underwent while she balanced her career and motherhood, all while undergoing the criticisms of others.
Hollywood has hardly ever been welcoming to women in the film industry, so it is no surprise that this was the case for Chopra when she aspired to become a filmmaker. I found myself enthralled with the accounts written on the page before me. It was very easy for me to empathize with Chopra, as her style of writing perfectly reflects herself at the time.
Emotionally powerful, Lady Director is a profoundly genuine and compelling memoir that delves into some of the most prominent issues involving sexism within our society. While showcasing the strength women must have to achieve their dreams, the book also celebrates the many accomplishments of Joyce Chopra in a way that makes you feel as if a friend is telling you a captivating story.
Chopra’s memoir is a rich and significant account that will leave readers stunned.
Watch Joyce Chopra’s movies, documentaries, and shows.
Add Lady Director to your Goodreads shelf.
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