The Independent Road/ Nina Jacobson Interview 

by Gill Pringle | September 3, 2015 12:26 | Edited September 3, 2015 13:30

With ‘The Hunger Games’ finally coming to a close, producer Nina Jacobson takes stock of the franchise and her own career, and candidly discusses the state of the industry when it comes to women on both sides of the camera.

most “100 Powerful Women” in 2005, and that was before the savvy producer had even broken out on her own and helped launch a franchise known as

. Jacobson began her career with brief stints at Universal Pictures and Dreamworks before she moved to Walt Disney in 1988 where she worked as studio executive on such blockbuster works as the first

film. However, in 2006, Jacobson was one of the causalities in a restructuring at Disney and she was let go from the company. Her termination at Disney, however, pushed Jacobson to start her own production company, Color Force, in 2007. The company secured the rights to Jeff Kinney’s

books, which proved a hit franchise. But the next series of novels she would acquire would do ever better. They were

, and with the series coming to an end in November, Jacobson reflected on production, and talked female protagonists and directors and the push for change. 

I just found that it was a book where once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It just felt really powerful, really relevant. And I thought that it managed to be provocative and to talk about violence, entertainment, and the gap between the 1% and the 99%, but to do it all through the prism of a character who you felt deeply for. It just felt like something you had never seen before, and something that I wanted to see on screen, and a character that was unforgettable.

In what ways have you seen Jennifer, Liam and Josh change over the course of filming?

I think the most heartening thing has been to see how close they have become with each other. Often times fame divides people and makes people individuate or be competitive with each other. They never turned that way. They became a family, they became incredibly close, they grew up together. Other people of that age are going to college, and they instead had this experience. Certainly their freedom of movement has been impacted, but they have had a good role model in someone like Woody. Everywhere you go people recognise him, and he’s really gracious about it, and really appreciative. It’s not like you appreciate it when people bother you at dinner, but appreciate that success of that kind is nothing to be taken for granted. They all come from good families, of people who have their head on straight, and are surrounded by good people and not yes people.

In terms of franchises and offshoots, is there another life for any of this

I don’t know. Right now it’s hard for me to picture that. Right now it feels complete. If Suzanne Collins has an inspiration I’d be psyched, but at this point I don’t know how to do that.

In your career, you’ve gone through so many incarnations. Would you ever want to step back into the studio reigns again or do you like the independence you have now?

At this point, I love the feeling of being one of the people who makes the thing. That you really feel a sense of connection and being on the team, and being the advocate. At this point it’s hard for me to imagine going back. I loved being an executive and never thought I’d want to be a producer, and now I love being a producer and it’s hard to imagine putting the suit back on. But never say never.

In terms of having female characters as protagonists, and proving that can be successful, how important was

is part of a larger story, that thankfully has included some other big titles that have shown it not to be an anomaly. Whether it’s

Frozen, Inside Out, Bridesmaids, Spy, The Heat

… there are so many great, entertaining and successful films that have been made and driven by great actresses. Something like the latest

is something that you wouldn’t have imagined happening five or ten years ago, and now it makes perfect sense. It’s part of a larger story in which some of these strides are being made, and the obvious is becoming apparent – which is that as 50% of the population, and with probably more than 50% of consumer decisions being made by women, we should also be able to star and drive commercially successful films. I think it has been happening for a long time, but people just keep not getting the point. Something like

was driven by Kate Winslet and by female audiences who saw it again and again and again. And people still need to be reminded about the obvious. Hello!

What are your thoughts on the lack of female directors when it comes to these big films?

It’s slow to change because of the fact that even in these movies, even when you have a strong desire, as I do, to hire female writers, female directors, when you have to decide who you’re going to hire, you make a list, and the list is based on the people’s previous work. So, if 80% of the people on your list are men, 80% chance the best person for the job ends up being a man. Even when you really want it to be a woman, you still ultimately owe it to your project to choose the best person for the job. So change is slow as a result. When someone like Elizabeth Banks makes the jump from producing and acting, to directing, and there’s a new person on the list, that’s where the progress happens. It’s just slow in the making, because there’s a backward facing loop in which your previous work informs your future work, and so when you want things to change they don’t ever change as quickly as they should.

I think it will change, it just takes time. It takes people standing up for themselves, and certainly with actresses right now they’re saying ‘Why in the world would that guy make more than me if he’s not worth more than me?’ I think that those conversations just have to keep happening. The thing that I think impedes change the most is that opportunity begets opportunity. You have to get critical mass. I think we’re heading in the right direction but until you get to a place where you have a list of the best writers and best directors for this job made up of half women and half men, that’s where you need to get to, and that’s a slow process.

, I think she’s a really interesting filmmaker. I love Kathryn Bigelow’s work. I really loved

and I’m super excited in seeing her career blossom.

Jennifer Lawrence has her production company. Did she pick your brains about it?

Yeah, we definitely talked about it a bit. I’m really proud and excited to see her take that next step. She actually said one of the nicest things to me that anybody ever said, which was that on set that I don’t say that much, but what I do say she always wants to hear. The idea that it’s better to create an environment in which people can do their best work, and to only speak up when you have something meaningful to say, and not just to impose your presence as a producer. To let other people’s voices emerge instead of your own.

screenwriter Peter Craig, producer Nina Jacobson and director Francis Lawrence. 

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