Before last year’s #OscarsSoWhite backlash over the lack of diversity in the entertainment industry, veteran movie producer Donna Gigliotti, a New Yorker, was in the midst of making Hidden Figures. The historical drama tells the story of three little-known African-American women who played key roles during NASA’s early efforts to put an American in space. Gigliotti heads Levantine Films, which is known for producing character-driven pictures with budgets in the $15 million to $30 million range. She optioned Hidden Figures in 2014 and served as lead producer on the $25 million movie, which has grossed more than $128 million worldwide and been nominated for three Academy Awards, including best picture—Gigliotti’s fourth nod in that category.
Why do you continue working in New York when the film industry is based in Los Angeles?
My first real job was as an assistant for Marty Scorsese. I went through my career trajectory having the ability to find good jobs in New York. United Artists’ principal offices were here.
article continues below advertisement Donna Gigliotti WHO SHE IS President, Levantine Films
AGE 62
BORN Utica, N.Y.
RESIDES Upper West Side
EDUCATION B.A., Sarah Lawrence College
PEER RECOGNITION One of eight female producers to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, Gigliotti has been nominated four times, for Hidden Figures, Silver Linings Playbook, The Reader and Shakespeare in Love, which took the top prize in 1999.
ADDITIONAL CREDITS Gigliotti has been president of production at The Weinstein Co., executive vice president of production at Miramax and president of production at USA Films. She was involved in producing Robert Altman’s Gosford Park and Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic.
TAKE THAT, HOLLYWOOD Gigliotti’s appreciation for her home state’s filmmaking chops was confirmed while shooting 2011’s I Don’t Know How She Does It on the city’s streets in the dead of winter. After a major overnight snowstorm, teamsters cleared an entire Manhattan block by call time. “It was amazing,” she said. “The teamsters and the fact that every street is the perfect backdrop make New York City a terrific place to shoot.”
Paramount and Miramax employed a huge number of people here. This is certainly not the case any longer. Everybody has decamped to L.A.
What are the advantages of staying here?
Theater is in New York, and there are plenty of writers here. Simon & Schuster is around the corner from my office. It gives me a leg up on new books. As a film producer, it’s important to understand what people in all walks of life go through every day, and you cannot live in a bubble in New York City.
The film and TV tax credit has helped make the city one of the most popular spots to shoot in North America. So why aren’t more Hollywood studios moving their headquarters here?
New York’s tax incentive is very, very good, but at any point in time that incentive can disappear. It’s slightly ephemeral.
Hidden Figures takes place in Virginia but was shot in Atlanta. Why?
One-hundred percent based on Georgia’s tax incentive.
The industry has a diversity problem. If New York and other states link part of their film tax credit to hiring people of color, would that help?
It is fairly difficult to legislate diversity in the movie business. The only way real change will happen is when women and people of color are the decision makers. Right now they are not.
Then how were you able get Hidden Figures made?
Hidden Figures would not have happened had I not been blessed with financial backer Crest Investment Co., which gives me tremendous leeway to do what is creatively and financially beneficial.
Four major studios, including eventual winner 20th Century Fox, bid to make the movie with you. How did that happen in today’s climate?
We had a great script, Pharrell [Williams] as a producer and composer, and Octavia Spencer attached.
Forecasters projected that the film would gross just $18 million. Why are they still so surprised when a female-driven film does well?
What can I say? As far as I know, 50.8% of the United States population is women. Women go to the movies and buy movie tickets. It’s a proven fact that women want to see their own stories reflected on the big screen, not to watch the cute girl in the tight-fitting jeans who says three words and is all about a man.
Before last year’s #OscarsSoWhite backlash over the lack of diversity in the entertainment industry, veteran movie producer Donna Gigliotti, a New Yorker, was in the midst of making Hidden Figures. The historical drama tells the story of three little-known African-American women who played key roles during NASA’s early efforts to put an American in space. Gigliotti heads Levantine Films, which is known for producing character-driven pictures with budgets in the $15 million to $30 million range. She optioned Hidden Figures in 2014 and served as lead producer on the $25 million movie, which has grossed more than $128 million worldwide and been nominated for three Academy Awards, including best picture—Gigliotti’s fourth nod in that category.
Why do you continue working in New York when the film industry is based in Los Angeles?
My first real job was as an assistant for Marty Scorsese. I went through my career trajectory having the ability to find good jobs in New York. United Artists’ principal offices were here.
Paramount and Miramax employed a huge number of people here. This is certainly not the case any longer. Everybody has decamped to L.A.
What are the advantages of staying here?
Theater is in New York, and there are plenty of writers here. Simon & Schuster is around the corner from my office. It gives me a leg up on new books. As a film producer, it’s important to understand what people in all walks of life go through every day, and you cannot live in a bubble in New York City.
The film and TV tax credit has helped make the city one of the most popular spots to shoot in North America. So why aren’t more Hollywood studios moving their headquarters here?
New York’s tax incentive is very, very good, but at any point in time that incentive can disappear. It’s slightly ephemeral.
Hidden Figures takes place in Virginia but was shot in Atlanta. Why?
One-hundred percent based on Georgia’s tax incentive.
The industry has a diversity problem. If New York and other states link part of their film tax credit to hiring people of color, would that help?
It is fairly difficult to legislate diversity in the movie business. The only way real change will happen is when women and people of color are the decision makers. Right now they are not.
Then how were you able get Hidden Figures made?
Hidden Figures would not have happened had I not been blessed with financial backer Crest Investment Co., which gives me tremendous leeway to do what is creatively and financially beneficial.
Four major studios, including eventual winner 20th Century Fox, bid to make the movie with you. How did that happen in today’s climate?
We had a great script, Pharrell [Williams] as a producer and composer, and Octavia Spencer attached.
Forecasters projected that the film would gross just $18 million. Why are they still so surprised when a female-driven film does well?
What can I say? As far as I know, 50.8% of the United States population is women. Women go to the movies and buy movie tickets. It’s a proven fact that women want to see their own stories reflected on the big screen, not to watch the cute girl in the tight-fitting jeans who says three words and is all about a man.
A version of this article appears in the February 13, 2017, print issue of Crain’s New York Business.
Sign up for our FREE weekly email newsletter featuring news coverage of NYC’s film, television and Broadway industries.
More Newsletters ›
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
