'Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act' Film In The Works

A profoundly important feature film will grace our world in the near future. It's a David and Goliath story of a poor tire factory worker who single-handedly changes American law when she discovers that the company has been cheating her of a fair salary for twenty years—just because she's a woman. LILLY is a thriller and a family and political drama based on the remarkable life of Lilly Ledbetter, the woman for whom President Obama named the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Ruth Bader Ginsburg had backed her cause. Meryl Streep has backed the project.

Lilly was an impoverished tire factory worker who endured a toxic work environment and heinous harassment for two decades to provide her family a better life. When she discovers that she had been earning half of what her male counterparts with the same job had, for 20 years, she takes her fight to the courts. The heart-breaking family drama follows her as she evolves into a powerful warrior of resilience battling a system rigged against her. LILLY embodies a universal fight for justice; a zeitgeist as women challenge patriarchal, antiquated systems of inequity.

I was lucky enough to sit down with Writer/Director, Rachel Feldman and Producer J. Todd Harris for a Q & A.

Why is this project so timely and why do we need this story now?

RACHEL: This is an extraordinary moment in America as a reckoning for issues of race and gender. As we receive our first woman VP, here comes a movie based on a woman, cheated of a fair salary because of her sex, about whom President Obama named his first piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Restoration Fair Pay Act. But The film is not just about fair pay or gender equity. It's about the resilience of anyone who's ever been 'othered,' excluded, accosted, afraid of speaking up for themselves. This is a story about someone who fearlessly continued to speak up, year after year, at a tremendous personal cost to her family, to her psychological and physical health. It's a heart-pounding; edge -of-your-seat; gripping story. Movies make social change. Social issue films are often successful at the box office, at award season, and affect culture at large.

How did you meet Lilly?

RACHEL: I first saw Lilly speak as I watched the 2008 Democratic convention. There was something about that woman, that accent, her intensity that spoke to me on a primal level. As a woman director in Hollywood for 30 years, I've experienced my own share of gender discrimination, becoming an outspoken activist for women behind the camera in Hollywood, and I knew in my bones that I was the filmmaker to tell her story. I contacted her lawyer, Jon Goldfarb. Even though he was a well-known civil rights attorney, Jon had also gone to film school and enjoyed talking shop with a filmmaker. They were in discussions with studios and Lilly was writing a wonderful book, co-written with Lanier Scott Isom, "Grace and Grit." I went back a few years later and Jon remembered me. I finally was able to option the book and Lilly's life rights and immediately wrote the first version of the screenplay. When I first started shepherding the script, I was told that no one wanted to see a film about a middle-aged feminist.

How does Ruth Bader Ginsburg's popularity impact this film?

TODD: Most people don't realize that when the Supreme Court ruled against Lilly, Ruth Bader Ginsburg - in a rare spoken dissent from the bench - exhorted Lilly to bring her case to Congress. Justice Ginsburg's passing was devastating, yet it galvanized our project because Lilly was in the news. For several weeks you couldn't turn on the TV without seeing Lilly Ledbetter talking about RBG's legacy, the dissent to her case. In a strange way, it electrified our process. It highlighted what RBG meant to the country and The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is another incredible piece of Justice Ginsburg's legacy.

How did Meryl Streep end up backing this film?

RACHEL: I wrote her an old-fashioned letter, in her mailbox, simply saying that I had written a screenplay about Lilly Ledbetter and asked if she would consider reading it. In a beautiful email, she wrote back saying she was well aware of how important Lilly's story was. She wanted to read the script but made it clear that she would not want to play the role. She read LILLY and loved it. She told me that she was 100% behind me and asked how she could help. What a remarkable woman!

Tell me about some of the script's awards.

RACHEL: LILLY, the project, and I were invited to participate in the 2020 Breaking Through The Lens Investor Initiative @TIFF; won the Athena List, and was chosen for the NYWIFT Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant.

I know you are raising financing now. How does that work?

TODD: If you look at the best movies made over the past year 15-20 years, many are financed independently, then distributed by the studios - and these days by streamers. They are either subjects that the studios don't find broad enough in appeal or deem too risky. Often, they wind up as Best Picture of the Year, like: Moonlight. Spotlight, And Green Book. Producing LILLY independently allows us to make the movie under our terms. We are having great success attracting independent investors. Our fiscal sponsor, The Film Collaborative, facilitates tax-deductible contributions to the film in any amount, no matter the size. For investors, acknowledgements start at $25K. For producing credits, investments begin at $250K. This is a sprawling, epic of a film; over 4 different time periods, dozens of locations, with over 60 speaking roles. We are going to shoot in a southern state where tax incentives will discount the budget by 30-35%.

What is your timeline?

TODD: if we make the film next Summer or Fall, the film won't be ready for distribution until 2022. By then we think theatrical distribution will be up and running again. And we will be open to streamers. I've made films where streamers came in before and after the film was actually made. And investors did very, very well. We are going to pick the opportunity that gives our investors the most money back. I'm excited for the chances we've got for a really broad distribution. The timeline for us to raise the rest of the money is during the winter between now and February/March. If you are reading this and want to get involved contact me: jtharris@brandedpixent.com

What about actresses to play Lilly?

RACHEL: We've got our dream list and they are all amazing household names.

TODD: Once we get our critical mass of financing, we will look for our actress. We will find a great actress who sees the opportunity to make a career-enhancing film that matters and has the depth to play this woman who came from poverty in rural Alabama, to then treading the halls of Congress. There's a lot of spine to this part. It's heartbreaking and powerful.

Does Covid come into play?

TODD: No. We are aiming for a 2022 release. Theaters should be open by then. It's 20% more expensive to shoot a movie during Covid, so I'm looking forward to shooting our film when everybody is vaccinated next summer.

Tell me about your Social Impact campaign.

RACHEL: Great movies are often our most persuasive tool for social change. You go see a movie about a character that you fall in love with and you have empathy for her struggle, and you walk out of the theatre both loving the movie, feeling something, thinking to yourself, what do I do next? Our social impact campaign will be right there so the audience can know what to do next.

TODD: Our social impact campaign is a call to action for companies, employers, employees for equal pay. To make it a part of people's consciousness. To make it a curriculum, when the film is shown in college or high school.

Tell me about the team you are working with and who you are looking to hire.

TODD: We would like to populate our film primarily with women. (He laughs) But I get a pass. We'd like to hire a female cinematographer, production designer, composer, to head every department, and in our crew.

RACHEL: We have three other top-tier Executive Producers with a body of work focused on social justice and women's issues. We are working with Simone Pero, and Jyoti Sarda and David Michael Rich.

How did the two of you meet?

TODD: I read the LILLY screenplay and was immediately captivated by the story. It made my blood race. Thinking that this happened only 20-30 years ago and yet we are still battling it every day! It's the kind of movie that gets people excited and activated. Then, when Rachel and I met, we saw the project the same way. So it just worked. I have a history of doing projects from a grassroots perspective and Rachel was open to that. So here we are! In the middle of the grassy roots.

What are you hoping is the lasting message of LILLY?

RACHEL: I'm not a tire factory worker who grew up poor in Alabama. I'm a NYC girl who has worked in Hollywood my whole life. But we both encountered the same kinds of discriminations in our lives because of our sex. There are not that many films that feature a woman above 50 who makes important change, takes agency in her life. I think it's an important message for girls and for women all over the world to see a character like Lilly on screen. The film is a psychological profile about a transformative journey; from being a woman who had never been appreciated for her value, to becoming the woman she only dreamed she might be. And that's a message for everyone all over the world who has ever been discriminated against. Lilly Ledbetter is definitely a superhero, in my mind she wears a long, red cape.

About the author: Instagram @maureenkedes www.maureenkedes.com

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