Top 22 Callie Khouri Quotes

I’m not musical myself.

I don’t think any studio – it was a long shot at the time – but I don’t think any studio in a million years would make ‘Thelma and Louise’ right now. But there’s so many other kinds of movies they won’t make right now.

I call myself a feminist, not a feminist filmmaker. If somebody asked me if I had a feminist sensibility it would be pretty hard to deny, but is it the theme of my work? Not necessarily. I’m interested in a lot of things.

I’m almost numb to misogyny at this point. It’s just everywhere.

I think of feminism as more of a political ideology.

You’re allowed to make things for women on television and there’s not like… you don’t have to go through the humiliation of having made something directed at women. There it’s just accepted, whereas if it’s a feature, it’s like ‘So, talk to me about chick flicks.’

Every so often when I’m writing, a character might actually be a distinct person in my head – often not an actor or a face, literally a person who just seems to exist in my imagination. Then the challenge is finding somebody who is close enough to that to make me feel like I’ve ended up where I wanted to be.

One of the reasons I wanted to do a show about Nashville in Nashville was because when I lived here, the hardest thing to go out and hear was country music. Country was taking place inside the studio and it was an export.

I want to make something that’s respectful and respected. And I think you can make something for women that is respected on television.

When you look around right now, Nashville is kind of going through another changing of guard; you’re watching the Martina McBrides and the Faith Hills and all of them that have been the big stars for the last however many years, and the next generation is coming in: Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, those girls.

With female-oriented movies, unless it’s something like ‘Bridesmaids’ or a romantic comedy, you’ve got to really worry about your opening weekend. And I’m always telling stories about women, not younger women, and it’s just a much tougher audience to get to the movie theater.

Chick flick is not a term used to praise a movie. Nobody says ‘it’s a great chick flick.’ It’s a way of being derisive. I’m not clear why it’s ok to do it.

Whenever I’ve seen shows or films set here, they just don’t feel like the real Nashville to me.

Movie studios are owned by giant corporations. They care about money; they don’t care about movies.

There’s a lot of head-shaking and forehead-slapping when you start to realize just how deep-seated misogyny can be, how systemic and entrenched certain modes of thinking are that are still very much alive.

If the same energy went into marketing movies to women as they do on the other demographics we might see more of a spike.

I don’t know anyone male or female who can quote-unquote have it all. It’s a made-up idea. Men don’t have it all. They may have it better because they get paid more for the same work, but they don’t have it all.

I think this happens to a lot of people, men and women, where you reach a point in your life and all of a sudden realize that things have changed. You suddenly realize that people are coming up behind you, that maybe somebody might want to replace you for less money.

When I lived in Nashville, Tanya Tucker and people like that were coming up, and I’m sure that Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette were going, ‘What’s that noise? That’s not country.’ It’s always been this battle where whoever comes up behind the reigning stars isn’t country enough. There really is a lot more crossover now.

For me, the movies I like are all independent. And getting an independent feature made, it’s like you get down to the selling organs part, and it just loses some of its luster.

Political stories in general are tough. They just don’t appeal to as wide an audience.

I like writing flawed women, and being one, it’s something I feel I can write with some veracity and authority.