Kathy Lette
Writer
Writer Kathy Lette has written a number of best-selling books and has also worked as a newspaper columnist and sitcom writer. Her most memorable work includes Puberty Blues and Mad Cows, which in 1996 was made into a film starring Joanna Lumley and Anna Friel.
Q1 Which one film would you wish to share with future generations?
The Women
USA 1939
Venomous, all-female Hollywood comedy has some of the best dialogue of the silver screen.
Because, in a male dominated industry, this film, made in black and white, only stars women. The dialogue is pithy, witty and goes straight for the jocular vein. Every female character shoots from the lip. They have black belts in the art of tongue fu. It’s a brilliant film, so fast-paced, it leaves skid marks across your brain. There’s a great male myth that women aren’t funny. After seeing this film, you’ll know for sure that if a man ever states that women can’t tell jokes, it’s because we marry them.
Q2 What excites you about the future of the moving image?
Once upon a time, our screens were full of feisty, fabulous, funny women. We had Mae West, Lauren Bacall, Barbara Stanwyck, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis... Women expert at the art of quip lash. So, what happened? The 1950's, that's what. The war was over, women were no longer required in the workplace...and suddenly our heroines were dipped in household disinfectant. We were in for an entire decade of film scripts sanitised by the likes of Jane Wyman, Donna Reed, Nancy Reagan; sinking into his arms...before sinking her arms in his sink. But, with so many women moving into directing and producing, our screens will soon be full once more of strong female protagonists - and not just the sort of innocuous character whose sole concern is what side her bed is buttered. Imagine it. Joan Wayne leading a wagon train of helpless men to safety. Imagine it. All the President's Women, Roberta Redford and Dusty Hoffman, risking their lives to uncover the Watergate scandal. The Godmother, staring Marilyn Brando. A Fistful of Dollars, staring Clit Eastwood... What a pleasure it will be to watch a film where the female stars don’t wait around to be rescued by something tall dark and handsome and have an academy award winning orgasm - with no foreplay - within 90 minutes.