Gale Ann Hurd: "Why is everything woke or MAGA?"

Terminator , Aliens: The Final Recall , Armageddon , The Walking Dead . These are some of the biggest mass hits in American audiovisual productions over the last four decades. Action, adventure, and science fiction are part of a sort of "canon," film and television genres that are supposedly "masculine," made by and for men. This might even be true, were it not for the titles mentioned all sharing the same stereotype-shattering voice, a true "woman at the helm": producer Gale Anne Hurd.

"Many people, especially journalists, get this idea of ​​'men's films' wrong. I have no idea where that comes from," he tells Observador. Firmly, he sets the record straight. He says it's a trait he's had to develop over years of working in the notoriously competitive (and sexist) Hollywood industry. "Studies indicate that more than 50% of horror film audiences are women, and yet there's this perception that women don't like horror. If a heterosexual couple goes to see a film, the decision is usually the woman's. The female audience is very, very important; the data reflects this."

Horror, and the role of women in it, is precisely what brings Gale Anne Hurd to Portugal, where she will be honored by MOTELX — Lisbon International Horror Film Festival with the first edition of the Noémia Delgado Award . During the festival, held at Cinema São Jorge from September 9th to 15th, she will also give a masterclass on her career, a journey of challenging the conventions and norms of what was considered films of interest to the "general public"—and of those qualified to produce them.

A name largely forgotten in New Portuguese Cinema, the filmmaker who inspired the award nonetheless had a significant career in national cinema. As an editor, she directed two landmark films of the period, "Mudar de Vida" (1966), by Paulo Rocha, and "O Passado e o Presente " (1971), by Manoel de Oliveira. As a director, she worked in documentary and fiction, adopting techniques from visual anthropology but also from fantasy cinema, adapting works by Eça de Queirós, Júlio Dinis, and Mário de Sá-Carneiro, among others. The undead, mermaids, witches, and demons were fundamental to her cinematic imagination.

Gale Anne Hurd did her homework before accepting the honor and sees a kinship with Delgado. "I know Noémia was a pioneering woman, involved in many different types of films, not just the horror genre. She made documentaries, which is something I identify with, because I also produce a lot of documentaries. I like to tell stories that I think need to be told." Above all, for the 69-year-old American, awards like these serve to highlight a story that was always written, just waiting for someone to tell it. "I think these awards are important, to highlight the role women have always played in cinema."

The Corman “film school” and the “brilliant” Cameron

With a degree in art from Stanford University, Hurd took her first steps in the industry in the late 1970s, mentored by pioneers like Debra Hill, a genre producer and co-creator of the Halloween horror franchise with John Carpenter. Then, at the beginning of the following decade, she found her talents at the service of a man who served as a veritable "film school" for many of his contemporaries. "I was hired by Roger Corman as an executive assistant, someone who, like me, loved science fiction, genre films, comic books, and believed that women should produce. He was the one who pushed me into the world, who told me I could produce long before I thought I could."

“King of the B-series,” Corman’s production company was responsible for, in the 1960s and 1970s, giving their first opportunities to many names that would go on to become titans of the industry: Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, Ron Howard, among others, directed their first films – generally low-budget productions and sensationalist genres – for the producer, who, due to his influence on this generation, became known as a kind of “godfather” of New Hollywood.

Gale Anne Hurd also credits Corman with teaching her some of the most valuable lessons for successful filmmaking. "The most important thing is to have knowledge of all aspects of a film, from shooting to marketing and distribution. I was fortunate to work with Roger Corman because I was able to work in all of these areas: writing and story development, casting, location scouting, being head of marketing, doing post-production... You can't call yourself a 'film producer' without firsthand knowledge of all these aspects, without having done your homework."

After passing the "exam," he established his own production company, Pacific Western. The first project he took on had, at the time, a B-movie feel, literally born from a fantastical dream of its director, a young James Cameron: a metal body wielding a knife, chasing him as he fled from an explosion.

"When trying to secure financing for The Terminator , I realized it was nearly impossible," recalls the producer. A modest production on an American scale, the film ended up with a budget of $4 million, split between Hurd's production company, distributor Orion Pictures, HBO, and European funding. While today the film that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger to global stardom is considered a classic, the truth is that at the time, its lowbrow , science-fiction roots were frowned upon by the project's financiers.

The truth is that the film also launched Hurd's career as one of the biggest blockbuster producers in the decades that followed. Less recognized is her role as co-writer on Cameron's film—to whom she was married from 1984 to 1989 (she still refers to her ex-partner as "Jim")—even if she herself downplays her collaboration. "When we work with someone as brilliant as Jim Cameron, our contribution is limited to giving notes and helping the idea blossom. Otherwise, with someone as talented as Jim, it's about stepping aside and letting him do his thing. But few are like that."

Hollywood between survival and progress

Part of the cultural legacy of that first Terminator resides in a kind of permanent anxiety about the future—the dystopia of an uprising of machines created by human hands gains new momentum with each technological advancement, and has reached its peak in recent years with advances in the artificial intelligence industry. Gale Anne Hurd recognizes this premonitory dimension, increasingly present in the collective imagination. “We were talking about this in 1982! We always thought we had written a film to serve as a lesson about what could happen, about the dark side of technology. In my humble opinion, we're at that point, and I don't think the alarms are ringing loudly enough.”

The film's impact is such that, says the producer, it reaches even the highest halls of power. "On another project I did a few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to the Pentagon, meet some figures... when I walked into the offices, I couldn't believe the number of Terminator posters hanging on the walls. (...) People whose jobs depend on foreseeing the future understand the importance of science fiction. And I think science fiction authors, writers in particular, are undervalued when it comes to the observations they make about things that should concern us."

The rapid changes facing society also have an impact on the entertainment industry, he says. "How can anyone be optimistic about the future?" asks someone who's been in the industry long enough to have seen it change countless times. Still, the current scenario is different, reflecting a true "existential crisis" in Hollywood.

"There are fewer and fewer film financiers, fewer distributors, fewer theaters... Climate change itself affects the entire world. Just think of something like the fires in Los Angeles, where many of my friends lost their homes. (...) Then, of course, there's artificial intelligence, which plagiarizes our work without any compensation. We're training our replacements," he laments.

Other pressure points, such as the political polarization of American society—"Why is everything woke or MAGA? Can't we just appreciate art and artists?" she laments—are diagnosed by Hurd. However, one area where the producer admits her disagreement is the notion that the general public isn't interested in original film projects, a notion defended by those who see an endless list of sequels, remakes , and multi-decade franchises at the top of the box office charts .

"The reason there are so many sequels and remakes is that they're the easiest properties to 'sell' to financiers as low-risk, because the audience already has prior knowledge," Hurd argues. This risk aversion isn't necessarily generated by viewers' will, but rather by external market logic, and people are showing signs of rejecting it. "We're seeing a fatigue with this 'steady diet' of the same films; people want new things," says the producer. Here, once again, genre cinema—horror in particular—is taking the lead.

"We recently had the example of *Hour of Disappearance *, an original piece of content that is proving successful and surprising people. We're seeing companies like A24 focusing on financing auteur projects because more and more audiences are going to the cinema to see films by specific filmmakers. It's crucial to remember that we need to promote and finance the next generation of filmmakers. And that becomes more difficult when we only pursue 'safe bets,'" he argues.

“I know there is still a stigma against women in Hollywood”

At the same time, there's hope that this trend, combined with the various movements in recent years in favor of gender equality in the industry, could signal a greater openness to female directing and production. Gale Anne Hurd acknowledges that there has been progress compared to the 1970s and 1980s, when she herself began, but says there's still "a long way to go." She assures me she speaks with expert knowledge.

"The way things work in the American industry, the producer usually comes on board with a project before the director. And one of the first things the producer does is meet with financiers to discuss potential directors. Typically, my list of names includes several women... and what's interesting is the resistance I almost always encounter to those names. I don't need to guess; I know there's still a stigma against women in Hollywood because I've seen it."

So where does the prejudice continue to come from? Hurd suggests that it all stems once again from the stigma that women are only interested in directing certain types of films, present not only in studios but sometimes even among these filmmakers' agents, and presents a specific case. "I was recently on a panel discussion with the head of a major talent agency. When asked why there aren't more women directing major productions, the answer was 'because they don't want to.' I replied, 'That's very interesting, because I've worked with three of your clients, and they would all love the opportunity.'"

Not everything is bad, though. Box office hits, like the recent Barbie , by Greta Gerwig—a filmmaker who is also preparing to direct the next adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia for Netflix—are helping to gradually open the door. Positive signs are also emerging from industry peers, such as the fact that the Directors Guild (DGA) is currently chaired by a woman, filmmaker Lesli Linka Glatter. "I love the fact that her colleagues elected her to the position twice, and she has traveled the world promoting the work of directors, and women directors in particular."

The work now involves, above all, promoting and celebrating the efforts of women in film. Efforts that, Hurd tells us once again, have always existed. "The difference is that they aren't given enough attention. That's why awards like this one at MOTELX are so important to me. They help open the door and shine a spotlight on the importance of the producer's work, which is very pleasing for us."