#SXSW: “STILL WORKING 9 TO 5”

By Mr. Will Wong

It is hard to imagine a time where there was any doubt that 9 to 5 would’ve connected with audiences. The 1980 Colin Higgins Comedy starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton would go on to gross $103 million at the Box Office (second only to Star Wars that year), a TV Series, over 1,500 stage productions worldwide, a theme song which won Grammys and of course, sparking the conversation about equity in the workplace for women.

Co-Directors Camille Hardman and Gary Lane explore the lasting legacy behind the Film as we learn how its three leads were actually cast before the Script had even been written, to Tomlin leaving the project multiple times and the risks of releasing the Film around Christmas against other heavyweights. The gamble paid off as the Film struck a chord with audiences, breaking ground and empowering women around the world to have agency in their workplaces.

The Documentary on one level gives us insight into the development of the Film, using archived and current interviews with Co-Writer Patricia Resnick, Higgins, Fonda, Tomlin, Parton and of course Dabney Coleman, who played the Film’s misogynistic boss Frank Hart. A perfect storm of elements came together to win audiences over, with a tone that made an impactful statement while audiences at the same time had fun watching it.

On another level, we see the Film’s role in the fight for Women’s Equality. We see various steps forward and backward in the cause, tracing back to the Equal Rights Amendment with efforts made to ratify it in the early ’70s well before the Film existed, to 2020 as the Pandemic hit and Virginia signing-on as the final state needed to ratify the amendment. We learn about the 9to5 movement which inspired the Film, after a group of secretaries came together to draw focus on Pay Equity and family flexibility in the ’70s.

In a post-#MeToo world, re-visiting the themes and message behind 9 to 5 couldn’t have happened in a timely manner. Ironically, did you know Harvey Weinstein hadinvested in and produced the Broadway production of 9 to 5? Tons of interesting tidbits and interviews with those who are a part of the fight for equality and the Franchise’s legacy, including the likes of Allison Janney, Rita Moreno, Megan Hilty and more.

STILL WORKING 9 TO 5 is a comprehensive look at the lasting impact that this unsuspecting film would go on to have on the world. Having seen it when I was very young, I viewed it as entertainment. I now see it through a new lens. You’ll also want to sit through the credits for a new rendition of the titular hit featuring Kelly Clarkson!

STILL WORKING 9 TO 5 screens at SXSW ’22 as follows:

Sunday, March 13^th, Screening @ 3:45pm CT, SXSW Film Theater

Monday, March 14^th, On-line Screening @ 9:00am CT

Monday, March 14^th, Satellite Screening @ 6:00pm CT, AFS Cinema

Friday, March 18^th Screening @ 4:45pm CT, Stateside Theatre

#FIRSTLOOK: DOLLY PARTON – “A HOLLY DOLLY CHRISTMAS” OUT THIS OCTOBER

Country Queen Dolly Parton is back this October with her first Holiday Album in 30 years! Parton penned/co-penned six new tracks for the collection which features collaborations with Michael Bublé, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon and Willie Nelson, and her brother, Randy Parton. 

A Holly Dolly Christmas Track Listing:

1. Holly Jolly Christmas – Dolly Parton

2. Christmas Is (feat. Miley Cyrus) – Dolly Parton

3. Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas – Dolly Parton, Michael Bublé

4. Christmas On The Square – Dolly Parton

5. Circle Of Love – Dolly Parton

6. All I Want For Christmas Is You – Dolly Parton, Jimmy Fallon

7. Comin’ Home For Christmas – Dolly Parton

8. Christmas Where We Are (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) – Dolly Parton

9. Pretty Paper – Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson

10. Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Dolly Parton

11. You Are My Christmas (feat. Randy Parton) – Dolly Parton

12. Mary, Did You Know? – Dolly Parton

Artwork:

Warner Music Canada release A HOLLY DOLLY CHRISTMAS Friday, October 2, 2020.

(Photo credit: Warner Music Canada)

#FIRSTLOOK: TRAILER FOR “DOLLY PARTON’S HEARTSTRINGS”

Inspired by the music of legendary Dolly Parton herself, Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings is an Anthology Series showcasing her stories, memories and inspirations behind her most beloved songs. There will be new and classic tunes showcased each episode on the star-studded Series, to stream on Netflix!

Episode summaries below:

ABOUT DOLLY PARTON’S HEARTSTRINGS

These Old Bones
CAST:
Kathleen Turner – “Miss Mary Shaw aka Old Bones”
Ginnifer Goodwin – “Genevieve”
Kyle Bornheimer – “Landon”
Writer: Jim Strain
Director: Joe Lazarov
SYNOPSIS: A big-city lawyer comes home to TN to convince an alleged “witch” (Old Bones) to sell her land to a mining company. She wrestles with her past and the future of the town.

If I Had Wings
CAST:
Gerald McRaney – “Tom Freeman”
Delta Burke – “Ellie Holder”
Ben Lawson – “Clay”
Michele Weaver – “Phyllis”
Brooke Elliott – “Nancy Bridges”
Tim Reid – “Kendal Hooks”
Writer: Jim Strain
Director: Timothy Busfield
SYNOPSIS: After receiving invitations to the 70th birthday party of their decades-long estranged father, three disparate siblings converge on a Mississippi farm where they test the bonds of blood and issues of faith, all to confront the sins of their father.

JJ Sneed
CAST:
Colin O’Donoghue – “JJ Sneed”
Willa Fitzgerald – “Maddie”
David Denman – “Deke Fletcher”
Mac Davis – “Reverend Riggs”
Vanessa Rubio – “Cimmaron”
Writer: Jim Strain
Director: Terry McDonough
SYNOPSIS: In the 1880s, a feisty young woman trapped in a mundane existence dreams of more, until a seductive outlaw pulls her into the adventure of a lifetime

Jolene
CAST:
Julianne Hough – “Jolene”
Dolly Parton – “Babe”
Kimberly Williams-Paisley – “Emily”
Dallas Roberts – “Aaron”
Writer: Patrick Sean Smith
Director: Andrew Fleming
SYNOPSIS: Based on Dolly Parton’s Grammy award-winning classic, “Jolene” tells the story of an unexpected friendship between two very different women who find themselves part of the iconic love triangle, ultimately impacting each other’s lives in profound ways.

Cracker Jack
CAST:
Sarah Shahi – “Lucy Jane”
Rochelle Aytes – “Scarlett”
Jessica Collins – “Monica”
Tammy Lynn Michaels – “Bitsy”
Writer: Lisa Melamed
Director: Liesl Tommy
SYNOPSIS: Two stories — one past, one present — about the power of unconditional love between a girl and her dog, and that same girl, now grown, who questions what her life means and who she can truly count on when faced with her greatest fear.

Sugar Hill
CAST:
Patricia Wettig ‘ “Harper Cantrell”
Timothy Busfield – “Logan Cantrell”
Virginia Gardner – “Young Harper”
Tom Brittney – “Young Logan”
Writer: Thomas Ian Griffith & Mary Page Keller
Director: Lev L. Spiro
SYNOPSIS: A married couple in their twilight embarks on a road trip back to the place where they first fell in love, along the way revisiting the history of their love story.

Down From Dover
CAST:
Holly Taylor – “Delilah ‘Dee’ Covern”
Shane McGhie – “Lincoln Dollarhyde”
Robert Taylor – “Reverend Covern”
Bellamy Young – “Myrna Jorgensen”
Camryn Manheim – “Mrs. Grover”
Mary Lane Haskell – “Mrs. Cunningham”
Writer: John Sacret Young
Director: Erica Dunton
SYNOPSIS: After being shunned by her pious widowed father, a pregnant teenager finds support at a home for unwed mothers, where she hopes for the safe return, of the young man she loves, from the Vietnam War.

Two Doors Down
CAST:
Melissa Leo – “Amelia Meegers”
Ray McKinnon – “Roy Meegers”
Andy Mientus – “Tyler Meegers”
Katie Stevens – “Lee Meegers”
Michael Willett – “Cole Evans”
Writer: Mark B. Perry
Director: Wendey Stanzler
SYNOPSIS: A family’s lifetime of secrets come bursting out during a chaotic and comedic New Year’s Eve wedding weekend. Will they make it to witness the “I do’s” without killing one another?

 

See the Trailer:

 
DOLLY PARTON’S HEARTSTRINGS streams on Netflix Friday, November 22, 2019.
 
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)