Sharp Objects Producers Say “Stories With Complicated Female Leads Dont Get Support” – ATX

ATX Television Festival

The first episode of the HBOs adaptation of Gillian Flynns Sharp Objects made its world premiere tonight to a packed house at the Paramount Theatre at the ATX Television Festival. With Flynns signature twisted storytelling skills, it left the audience with a feeling of fascinating uneasiness which, in its own way, a good thing — particularly for female-driven narratives.

After the screening, Flynn was joined on the stage by star/executive producer Amy Adams, showrunner Marti Noxon, director/executive producer Jean-Marc Vallée, executive producer Jason Blum as well as David Levine (EVP, HBO Programming) and Pancho Mansfield (EP/President of Global Scripted Programming, Television eOne). Flynn, who is known best for the similarly haunting Academy Award-nominated thriller Gone Girl, pointed out that there are plenty of stories about how men handle violence and rage — but none about women.

“No one wants to hear this kind of story,” said Flynn. “No one wants to hear about women we cant root for.”

Noxon adds that stories with complicated female leads dont get support. “I spent the last four or five years taking women-centered projects that arent supported and getting them made.”

In Sharp Objects, the woman in question is Camille Preaker (Adams), a reporter who returns to her small hometown to cover the murder of a preteen girl and the disappearance of another. Trying to put together a psychological puzzle from her past, she finds herself identifying with the young victims a bit too closely. Based on the first episode, its clear she isnt the typical heroine. Shes flawed and as the story unfolds, the audience attempts to piece together a tragic past that is affecting her present.

The panel talked in depth about how they toyed with Sharp Objects being a feature, but in the end, a series seemed best and Big Little Lies director Vallée was the perfect man to helm the project.

“If there is anyone who understands a totally f*cked up woman its Jean-Marc,” joked Adams. “But I dont know if he actually does.”

The series also marks Adams first time as an executive producer which is something she has always wanted to do. Known mostly for her feature work (she actually was working on a Janis Joplin project with Vallée which seems to have been shelved), she thinks Sharp Objects works better as a series.

“The novel is so rich,” said the Academy Award-nominated actress. She said that Camilles internal monologue is “well-suited” for a series and it is “impossible to capture in a 90-minute feature.”

“Television is in a renaissance,” she adds. “Its a great place for stories — especially this story.”

Sharp Objects debuts on HBO on July 8.

Original Article