Colin Trevorrow Tanya Wexler Split - H 2015
Getty ImagesThis story first appeared in the Nov. 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
There has been a cease fire in the battle between Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow and indie filmmaker Tanya Wexler. In August, the Star Wars: Episode IX helmer suggested in a tweet that “many of the top female directors in our industry are not interested in doing a piece of studio business for its own sake. These filmmakers have clear voices and stories to tell that don’t necessarily involve superheroes or spaceships or dinosaurs.”
That sparked an outraged response from the Hysteria director, who tweeted back: “I cannot begin to tell you how naive & wrong it is. I have all the desire in the world. I would kill to make a blockbuster.”
The sides now have reached an accord, with a recent summit at a coffee house in New York’s Theater District. New York-based Wexler recently met with Trevorrow for the first time when he was in town scouting locations for his latest film, The Book of Henry. The two talked about what they can do to change the status quo, where women represent only 4.1 percent of directors of top-grossing films. “We just had a really great hang,” Wexler told THR at the inaugural luncheon for the Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program on Oct. 26. “He said something where he stuck his foot in his mouth a little bit, but I feel like it came from a place of wanting to be a person who actually engaged in the conversation and even is trying to change the situation, trying to promote women to direct. I think he really is one of the guys who wants to do something about it.”
As for the future collaboration they hatched over coffee, it won’t involve dinosaurs or aliens. “He’s very invested in starting to mentor women and encouraging other directors, both male and female, to mentor women,” says Wexler. “I respect him for jumping in with me, for caring about the issue and trying to crack it.”
