Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, the man behind The Social Network and The West Wing, recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his directorial debut, Molly's Game.
In the course of the interview, the talk turned to the rampant reports of sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood (and the rest of the world), particularly as Molly's Game is a woman led film starring one of the most vocal feminists in the entertainment industry – Jessica Chastain.
The auteur shared that he's had important conversations about this with his daughter Roxy, a junior in high school, who would also like to go into the filmmaking business. And she's having a hard time understanding why men can't just keep their hands to themselves.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Sorkin told THR that he wanted to teach his daughter to fight back if she found herself in a situation where she might be assaulted by a man, and what she said was so telling. She wanted to know why he was teaching her to defend herself, and not teaching those men not to assault women.
"I told her, 'You are 100 percent right, but until all the men who have to change, change, I want you to scream your lungs out,'" says Sorkin. "Then I showed her a Three Stooges short to teach her how to go for the eyes."
Sorkin's attitude towards sexual assault and harassment also impressed Chastain, who told the publication, "It's a very scary thing to be a woman in the industry where men are making the rules and stick your neck out and say, 'I don't care. I'm going to defend these victims and amplify their voices,'" she says. "Aaron Sorkin was the only person in the industry who sent me an email. It said, 'There's not a day that goes by that I'm not proud to know you.'"
Molly's Game tells the story of a self-made woman whose high-stakes poker empire lands her at the center of an FBI investigation.
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call theRAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Read These Stories Next