Hillary Clinton film: a female-led project is nothing new for Shonda Rhimes

Rhimes, whose TV shows include 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Scandal,' teamed up with producer Betsy Beers to produce the film about Mrs. Clinton's life that was screened at the Democratic National Convention.

|
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Shonda Rhimes attends the 33rd Annual Paleyfest: 'Scandal' event in Los Angeles in 2016.

TV creator Shonda Rhimes was behind yet another program featuring a female lead when she produced the movie “Hillary,” screened Thursday evening at the Democratic National Convention.

Ms. Rhimes and Betsy Beers, who works with Rhimes on TV programs such as ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal,” are the producers for the short film that was screened before Hillary Clinton spoke on July 28 at the convention.

The film, which was narrated by Morgan Freeman, highlighted some of the major events in Mrs. Clinton’s life, including her childhood, her time as First Lady, and her work as secretary of State.

People featured in the film included Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and some of those who were affected by 9/11. 

Ms. Beers and Rhimes said the biggest challenge for them was having too much material. 

“There were so many stories that one of the massive challenges for us initially was, honestly, sifting,” Ms. Beers told People Magazine

“It was a mini-series when we first started,” Rhimes said. “It could have been three hours.”

Helping to create a film about the first female presidential candidate to be selected by a major political party is just the newest female-led project for Rhimes. The shows which she has either created or for which she has served as an executive producer are full of female protagonists. Her ABC show “Grey’s Anatomy” stars Ellen Pompeo, while Rhimes’ ABC program “Scandal” centers on a character played by Kerry Washington. The ABC TV show “How to Get Away With Murder,” which is created by Peter Nowalk and executive-produced by Rhimes, is led by a character portrayed by Viola Davis. 

In addition, the TV show “The Catch,” which Rhimes executive-produces, depicts a woman who looks into fraud as a career. The character is portrayed by Mireille Enos.

This is also not Rhimes' first project set in the political world, as “Scandal” depicts the life of the head of a crisis management company who works in Washington, D.C.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Hillary Clinton film: a female-led project is nothing new for Shonda Rhimes
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2016/0729/Hillary-Clinton-film-a-female-led-project-is-nothing-new-for-Shonda-Rhimes
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe