Off the Cliff: How the Making of ‘Thelma & Louise’ Drove Hollywood to the Edge

Aikman (Saturday Night Widows) delivers an informative and lively behind-the-scenes look at the making of Thelma & Louise, the 1992 female-centered road movie that became a Best Screenplay Oscar winner and a feminist phenomenon. Journalist Aikman grounds her commentary in the wider context of how women are treated in Hollywood and how implausible a success story the film was: in fact, all the major Hollywood studios except outlier Pathé Entertainment turned down the project. Drawing on over 150 interviews, Aikman brings us the perspectives and backstories of all the major participants: neophyte screenwriter Callie Khouri, British director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), stars Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, composer Hans Zimmer, newcomer Brad Pitt, and old-school Hollywood studio head Alan Ladd Jr. Even though the movie was in a male director’s hands, the women’s voices are at its heart, and the ending scene, as Aikman explores, tested all limitations for what was acceptable for women on-screen. The movie should have been a promising new beginning for women in Hollywood, yet there still remains, as Aikman highlights, a dearth of female directors, screenwriters, and substantive female characters.[em] Agent: Joy Harris, Joy Harris Literary Agency. (July) [/em]