Don’t Kill the Messenger welcomes producer and former executive at 20th Century Fox, Susan Cartsonis

In this episode of “Don’t Kill the Messenger,” host Kevin Goetz sits down with Susan Cartsonis, a renowned producer and former studio executive known for championing women’s stories in Hollywood. From 20th Century Fox to independent producing, Susan has been behind hits like What Women Want, Where the Heart Is, Nell, Dying Young, and Aquamarine. She shares her journey in the film industry, her passion for storytelling, and her commitment to bringing diverse perspectives to the screen.

Susan Cartsonis on the importance of inclusive stories:

Entertainment elevates us. It inspires us. It makes us feel that everything’s possible and women in the world need that as well. Our movies go where we have no diplomatic relations internationally. They speak to cultures, they change people’s DNA. It’s really, really important and it’s important to have it to uplift the people who it’s about and also to educate, but not educate in a didactic way, in a way that just sort of infiltrates people’s souls and changes the way that they think about things and think about people.

From Theater to Hollywood Executive: Susan’s Early Career

Susan’s journey into the film industry began after her theater studies. She recalls her start as a reader at 20th Century Fox in New York: “I love to read. I love good books. And I was getting to read these books. I read books like The Handmaid’s Tale. I got to read all kinds of books that later became things. I read Sleeping with the Enemy, which I gave a strong recommend to, said it was a Hitchcockian thriller, and later got to champion it because my career evolved.”

One of Susan’s most memorable moments came when she stood up to Barry Diller in a high-stakes meeting:

“I said, I think audiences will come see it. And it was an out of body experience. Did somebody just say something? Oh my God, that was me. I knew that it wasn’t Woman in Peril story. It was the story of a woman transforming herself and fighting back. That transformation was essential.

The Importance of Inclusion and Female Leadership

Kevin and Susan discuss the value of inclusive storytelling and advocate for more female leadership in Hollywood and beyond: “I think there needs to be more and more female leadership in Hollywood because I think where women lead, often more inclusion follows because we are very collaborative and inclusive by nature.”

Balancing Art and Audience in Filmmaking

Kevin and Susan discuss the delicate balance between honoring artistic vision and meeting audience expectations in film production. On the delicate balance between artistic vision and audience expectations, Susan notes: “we’re not putting a play on in a park that everybody’s volunteering to be in. We’re spending millions of dollars on a business that is a finite business. If a movie doesn’t cost that much, you can take chances. You can make a Dogma film and light it with candles and natural light.”

The Value of Audience Testing and Interpretation

Susan praises Kevin’s ability to interpret audience feedback and find the “note beneath the note” in test screenings. Susan on the audience testing process:

It’s about getting the note beneath the note. That’s always a really important thing to learn as a student, that an audience may tell you something. They may say that they hate a scene, but really without that hated scene, the movie doesn’t work at all, and their hatred is because the character is incredibly scary and unlikeable, and the note beneath the note is it’s fierce and the thing that’s not working might be something else. But the note beneath the note is really important. Kevin, you’ve been very, very helpful in testing. You have a really good radar for hearing what the audience is saying beneath what they’re saying. They’re saying one thing, and yet they mean another. That often happens.

Susan Cartsonis’ passion for women’s voices and her experiences as both a studio executive and producer provide listeners with a unique perspective on the film industry. From her work on blockbusters like Nell and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to more recent projects like Carrie Pilby and Beastly, Susan’s career highlights the power of storytelling and the importance of female representation in film.

For the full conversation, check out the podcast episode here. And let us know your thoughts on the episode in the comments!

Don’t Kill the Messenger, hosted by movie and entertainment research expert Kevin Goetz, brings his book Audienceology to life. This bi-monthly podcast takes a peek behind the filmmaking curtain as Kevin talks with famous filmmakers, studio executives, stars, and other creatives about movies, filmmaking, audience test screenings, and much more.