Kevin is joined by Martha Coolidge, a celebrated American film director and producer known for pioneering work in the film industry.

Coolidge has directed a wide range of films throughout her career, including the iconic 1983 teen comedy Valley Girl, the critically acclaimed drama Rambling Rose, and the romantic comedy Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her work, including the Women in Film Crystal Award. She has served as the first female president of the Directors Guild of America, making her one of the most influential women in Hollywood. Throughout her career, Coolidge has been a trailblazer for women in the film industry, inspiring a new generation of filmmakers with her innovative storytelling approach and commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

Martha has the reputation of being an actor’s director. Having worked with such stars as Nicolas Cage, Val Kilmer, Halle Berry, Laura Dern, and Robert Duvall, Martha shares her directing process with Kevin Goetz. Her goal is to figure out what an actor needs to be relaxed.

Coolidge on working with actors:

I really care, and I want an actor to be their best. And therefore, whatever that actor needs, which is the great fun of directing, is trying to figure out what do they need to be relaxed. Do they need to have fun, or do they need to be tense? Because there are a few who do.

Kevin asks Martha about her favorite part of filmmaking. Martha talks about her love of directing and her special relationship with actors. She also shares her passion for post-production and how you make the movie several times in post.

Martha Coolidge on directing:

You have layers of background of emotional growth and development. You have friendships and relationships which are very strong and dictate people’s personalities in a way. And I love figuring out how I’m going to let certain clues out and how we’re going to reveal certain things without making them obvious.

Kevin and Martha discuss women in filmmaking and the underrepresentation of female directors. Coolridge was named the first woman president of the Director’s Guild of America. She talks about how some were not ready for a woman president, but most welcomed the diversity.

Martha Coolidge on being named the president of the DGA:

When I first went there, it was actually one of the men who’d been president, and he just said, you know, you’re going to be president someday. I’d never been in a corporate structure where they groom you for this or that. And it was great. I felt good about that.