Catherine Keener as the strong-willed studio exec Lou Tarnow
Last night I watched the film “What Just Happened,” a Hollywood satire about a film producer who’s having a rough time getting his new pictures made.
The producer is played by Robert DeNiro and he has to deal with a bunch of somewhat insane characters – the director/drug addict (played hilariously by Michael Wincott) of the troubled film “Fiercely,” studio chief Lou Tarnow (played surprisingly by a female, Catherine Keener), a stubborn Bruce Willis who refuses to shave off his beard for another film DeNiro is working on, and more.
The movie really dragged on and was kind of boring, but I was always interested in any scene Keener was in as the strong-willed but graceful female studio head. I’m sure Art Linson (writer of the movie and a film producer himself) based her on former CEO of Paramount Pictures, Sherry Lansing. They look and (I’m assuming) behave the same.
Sherry Lansing, former CEO of Paramount Pictures
I spoke with one producer who has actually worked with Sherry in the past and he said that Sherry always had a graceful quality to her, unlike some other female executives who perhaps felt they had to behave in a tough manner to “fit in with the boys.” Make no mistake, Sherry worked extremely hard to get to where she got (1st ever female president of production at 20th Century Fox and later CEO of Paramount Pictures) but she never lost touch of her ability to make others, both men and women, feel comfortable and at ease around her. That ability no doubt helped her get to the top, and Keener (despite who she may have based her performance on) did a really great job. I love how quietly confident and in-control she is.
Below is a clip of Keener in action. Wincott, DeNiro, and Keener are in her office discussing edits that have to be made to Wincott’s film, changes he clearly doesn’t want to make. Despite how big of a hissy fit Wincott throws, Keener stands her ground and is perfectly composed throughout his obnoxious tantrum:
