Women are not typically associated with action films, except maybe as a compliment to their male lead characters. However, behind the camera, director, Mimi Leder, has helmed several of Hollywood's big action film and TV shows, a breakthrough hardly recognized by the mass viewers of these commercial hits.Mimi Leder directed The Peacemaker: an action thriller about American heroes tracking down Russian nuclear weapons, starring mega-stars, George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. Then, she went on to direct Deep Impact: a disaster-drama about a comet beelining towards earth, starring Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni, and Elijah Wood. These types of films, with big set pieces: car-chase sequences, helicopter sequences, explosions, huge Tsunami waves, that require millions to make, have traditionally been entrusted to male Hollywood directors. So, while we can't accuse Leder of being a classic voice for women in Hollywood, she's made a huge statement for the female director - yes, women can hang with the big boys. When asked about her reaction to making such big-budget films, Leder said, "I never thought about how much it costs. I just thought about how best to tell the story." Check out these trailers and get a glimpse of Leder's films:
Mimi Leder was born in New York City in 1952. She was inspired to direct by her director dad, Paul Leder. Leder was the first woman accepted as a cinematography student at the prestigious film conservatory, AFI, and the first woman to graduate from AFI. After ten years as a script supervisor and an Emmy wining career as a television director on shows like, ER, master director, Steven Spielberg, came calling. He asked Leder to direct his new studio's (Dreamworks Pictures) film, The Peacemaker. Although The Peacemaker was a modest box office success, it was an impressive debut for a first-time feature film director. So, Spielberg hired her to direct an even bigger project, Deep Impact.
In Deep Impact, one can see a profound maturity in Leder's storytelling abilities. The film accomplishes the often compromised task of a great character-driven story that works in a high-action film. This is a quality that few directors in Hollywood can accomplish, man or woman. Deep Impact's protaganist is a woman. She's a hard-driven news reporter who still embodies, on film, both the strength and vulnerability of a woman. I think any 'Gynocritic', a term referred to in Maggie Humm's essay, Author/Autor: Feminist Literary Theory and Feminist Film, would attest that there are strong qualities in this film that can be linked to the point-of-view of a woman. As Humm states, " 'Gynocriticism' is a way of assessing a work of art specifically in relation to the interests and desires of women." Deep Impact represents a woman's complex inner life, as well as her creative needs and her ambitious tendencies. The protagonist, Jenny Lerner, gains first privilege over the other journalists by the President of the United States and she's also in a deep-rooted disagreement with her dad, which she feels compelled to heal before the comet hits earth. Since this film was written by a man, it's widely known that Leder had a strong influence in the storyline and how it revealed the story.
After Deep Impact, Leder went on to direct Pay It Forward, a movie about the concept of giving to others without receiving back, but instead, asking the person you help to give to someone else in the same way. This film was a huge success and won high critical acclaim. It was also a great vehicle to show Leder's versatility as a director. Leder gave this story a mystical feel. It's a powerful example of presenting a view of the world in a different way and stimulating the viewers in a heartfelt way. It's about the power of giving. Here's a look:
bell hooks states in Introduction "Making Movie Magic", "Most of us go to movies to enter a world that is different from the one we know and are most 'comfortable' with." I think, Leder, in Deep Impact and Pay It Forward, accomplishes influencing the viewer in a way that breaks down walls of bias and unfavorable tendencies. Both these stories present situations that may be slightly 'uncomfortable': a woman's inner and outer life being the focus of attention in an action film, and the concept of giving creating miracles.
Leder's accomplishment of directing Hollywood action films that are mostly given to men to direct, in itself, is noteworthy. But, I think it needs to be recognized that she also gives voice to the feminine and her powerful qualities. Below is a look at Leder:
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