Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1276583
FALL 2020 17 ASHLEY: We bonded instantly over being some of the only female supervising directors to have handled irreverent and offensive adult content, but we've done it in very different eras. What was it like for you as a woman at the helm of Beavis and Butt-Head? YVETTE: In the days that I started in my career, it was a rarity to be working in animation at all, so I've never really seen myself as a woman in the industry. Also, I never really saw the show or characters as offensive. Irreverent, yeah. But to me it was just smart and funny. I had been told before I started that it was really offensive, but when I was brought in to have a look, I thought it was adorable and innocent! That might have to do with being brought up in Brooklyn. I had lots of bad boys around! ASHLEY: Similar to your experience, I didn't think of myself as a "female artist" until I started directing. Then, I started getting a sense that other people were viewing me that way. I'm pretty assertive and very comfortable with adult content. I have a great relationship with my showrunners and have never received any doubt in my ability because of gender, because they know I have the brass to do this weird stuff. Even though I'm very comfortable in it, I am also very aware that it's an extremely small club to have supervised a show as a woman and an even smaller club to supervise something meant for adults. YVETTE: A small lucky club. I do remember going for an interview early on, before I was a director, when I was an animator, and I was told by the head animator that he loved my work. He said, "you would've been great for us to have here, except we already have…" and he pointed at a girl. I look around and I see all these young boys, and I'm like, why would I be great to do what she does? I think I was so in my own head that I thought, she must be the same type of animator I am. It was only later that I was like, duh! ASHLEY: For me, I wouldn't say becoming a supervising director was luck necessarily. I had to make my interests known. Also, convincing a studio that, yes, a woman is ready for this position. I see a lot of female departmental supervisors, but you don't see a woman at the very top very often. I guess that begs the question: Do studios not think a woman can handle the full package? Oops…That sounds like a dirty joke. YVETTE: (Laughs) That's an amazing perception. For me, it was the higher up I got... It was really me going into features and dealing with the male execs. That's where all the trouble started. ASHLEY: I'd like to say that there's more visibility for women in adult content now. A lot of that's thanks to the internet. At the same time, you and I couldn't name many other female supervising directors [in adult animation]. It means they're not getting promoted in press by their studios or by their shows. Growing up, there just wasn't access to as much behind-the-scenes information. If I was lucky, maybe there'd be a making-of feature at the end of a VHS and I'd learn a few names. But I don't remember seeing very many women in powerful positions interviewed. I look back at how furious my mom was when I went to see Beavis and Butt-Head Do America in theaters and, I wonder, if she had known that a woman co-directed it, could she have viewed this as more of a role-model situation instead of a bad influence. YVETTE: She never could have known because I was not credited as co-director on the film. My credit was as Animation Director. When I was first approached by the execs about directing the movie with Mike [Judge], I was told—with apologetic camaraderie—that they wouldn't be able to give me the actual credit because Mike needed the solo credit for his career. I was so delighted with the prospect of directing the movie that I gleefully agreed, "Sure!! I don't care! I just want to do it! Thank you!!" My educated guess is that being a woman had quite a bit to do with both their comfort in asking me to take the role without the credit and definitely with my gleeful affirmative reply. All these decades and challenges later, I am still truly grateful for the opportunity as it was the greatest and most joyous experience of my life but it was not a wise decision for my career. I'd never want that to happen to another woman, though I'm sure it has, many times. Women need to be aware and insist on better for themselves. ASHLEY: That's why I think it's important to publicize women in adult content, because it lets younger people know that it is a viable place for you. So how has your personal experience shaped the way that you approach leadership? YVETTE: Some of the qualities that I know I fell short on are the ones that I'll talk about. Because if I ever was given a chance, I'd hope that I would do better. I wish that I had acknowledged the hard work and dedication of my crew more than I did. I've learned after my leadership position, seeing other really strong leaders or hearing from people who love their showrunners or directors, because of that generosity of gratitude. I was so fixated on the show that I was sometimes flippantly critical and perhaps even hurtful. I had a crew that jumped through hoops for me and yet I often forgot to say, "Thank you." I have regrets about that. I also think a good leader needs to realize they don't have all the answers. Happily, I think I did better at that. I celebrated and gave credit to Photos by Tim Sullens D I A L O G U E