*female* victims unit
In the midst of a large rewrite on her current script for FBI: Most Wanted, Wendy had lots to update me on! We discussed the Casting Concept Meeting she’d held that morning with the casting director, her writing partner, and the director of her episode. When I asked what makes for a great casting director, Wendy replied that when they have a “sensibility” similar to your own, it makes for a seamless process. She also mentioned that because FBI: Most Wanted shoots in New York, her casting director is great at uncovering local talent (i.e., via Juilliard). This led us into a conversation surrounding actors trained in the theater versus film. I’d always thought that theatre actors typically emoted “too big for the camera,” but Wendy favors them because of their higher level of respect for the script.
Wendy also discussed the challenges of letting the casting director’s questions default to the Director. Quick to answer for the Director (because she wrote the script!), “as a woman, you quickly get labeled a bitch” for stepping on toes.
I also asked Wendy about a Variety article (“Art Mirrors Life in Polish ‘DIY CSI’ Drama ‘Ultraviolet’”) in which she’d been quoted saying, “We had a number of female journalists observe what I am especially proud of: none of our plots feature sex crimes against women.” I asked why she felt so passionately about this. “It perpetuates the idea that women are victims,” she responded, matter-of-factly.
This trope - raped white girls - is often leaned on as a way to create sympathy in the audience quickly. Not only does Wendy not want to represent violence against women, but she’s sick of the cliche in general! She sent me a surprisingly hilarious New Yorker article, “Police Procedurals 101,” which exposes the misogynistic tropes of the crime drama. Number 5 was my favorite:
“On the rare show that centers on a female detective, that character will express her gritty competence by wearing her hair in a ponytail. The ponytail is the equivalent of a male detective’s shoulder holster or the pint of whiskey in his desk drawer. The female detective’s husband has most often been murdered, so that his unsolved death can haunt her. Following her occasional dinner dates, any new love interest will also be killed. The technical term for this is “suicide by dating a female detective” (Rudnick). Articles mentioned:
“Art Mirrors Life in Polish ‘DIY CSI’ Drama ‘Ultraviolet’” by
“Police Procedurals 101” by Paul Rudnick
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