Leave room for Lena, Melina, and Jodie

Pitchfork released its list of Best Songs of the 2010searlier this week. ELLE yesterday released its 2019 Women in Hollywood issue. This is just the beginning, it’s unavoidable now. I guess we have to start talking about the end of the year, the end of a decade. Are you ready for this? I know it’s mid-October. It’s been a LONG year. But for some reason, to me, it still feels like July.

There are eight ELLE coverscelebrating women in Hollywood: Dolly Parton (!), Mindy Kaling (Duana’s writing this to post later today), Scarlett Johansson, Zendaya, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, and Lena Waithe, Melina Matsoukas, and Jodie Turner-Smith together as TeamQueen & Slim.

For weeks now we’ve been watching the award season race take shape out of the Venice, Telluride, Toronto, and New York Film festivals. Some anticipated contenders crashed and burned. Others are steadily picking up momentum. But we haven’t seen it all yet. We have to leave room. We should leave room forBombshell, the film about the Roger Ailes FOX News scandal starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie. Earlier this week, Sarah wrote that weneed to leave roomfor1917. And we should definitely leave room forQueen & Slim. I haven’t seen it yet but the buzz has been building for months and the word is fromthose who have seen itis that it lives up to the hype.

This film represents a first for all three women: the first time Lena has written and produced a feature film, the first time Melina has directed a feature film, and the first time Jodie is starring in a feature film. It’s a big deal then to see them promoting it together, representing together. Is there pressure? Melina tells ELLE that:

“In our success comes other black people’s success, so there is a lot of pressure for us to do well—for the culture. It’s hard to create art with that weight, and I feel it every day. It’s one of my greatest fears, failing. I just want to make my people proud.”