For Callie Khouri, it's a move to the lighter side
THE DIRECTOR'S CRAFT
The writer of 'Thelma & Louise' trades feminism for fun making 'Mad Money.'
"THELMA & LOUISE," Callie Khouri's screenplay for the 1991 film about two friends on the road who embark on a journey of unlikely self-discovery, wound up winning the Hollywood newcomer the Oscar, the Golden Globe and Writers Guild awards for original screenplay. But the film turned out to be something much larger as well. The moving tale of female empowerment didn't just tap into the zeitgeist; it hit a gusher, instantly becoming a cultural touchstone and a landmark in feminist cinema.
These days find Khouri, 50, directing "Mad Money" and seeking much simpler goals. "It is absolutely unabashed entertainment," she says of her new female-centric heist flick, "and it aspires to nothing more lofty than that."
The movie, starring the perhaps unlikely trio of Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes, is a romp of a crime caper about three women who decide to rob the Federal Reserve Bank. "I jokingly say to my friends, it's the least demanding movie you'll see all year," Khouri says over a late breakfast at a West Hollywood cafe.
If that sounds like an odd comment for Khouri to make, perhaps it's that she's found more inner peace with age. Or maybe it's that it's easier to enjoy the success you find in life after sparer years spent overcoming any number of professional obstacles.
In the wake of "Thelma's" success, work was plentiful for Khouri, who spent time rewriting other people's scripts and penning the 1995 Julia Roberts-starrer "Something to Talk About." But, she says plainly, "it took me 10 years to get somebody to let me direct a movie."
When asked what the holdup was, she demurs, "I wouldn't want to say," but adds that -- at least in more recent years -- she wouldn't attribute any barriers to her gender. "It's not easy for anybody. Guys who've directed 20 pictures have a hard time getting a picture. The marketplace is going through incredible shifts right now, it's really tough out there."
Khouri initially moved to Los Angeles from Nashville in 1982 to pursue acting. She quickly figured out it was not going to be her calling, "but I loved the making of scenes," she says. "I didn't know about writing, I didn't know about directing, I chose acting because that was the result. But once I was here and I realized, 'Hey, they're not making that up,' I drifted to my stronger suits."
