Producing films is the best, says Jessica Alba
Movie star Jessica Alba has revealed that she loves the challenge of producing.
Jessica Alba loves producing films.
The 44-year-old actress craved "a seat at the table" during her early days in Hollywood, and Jessica has relished the challenge of producing various projects in recent years.
She told The Hollywood Reporter: "It’s the best.
"Maybe the one thing that was challenging for me as an actress when I was in my 20s was the fact that I wasn’t a producer, and I didn’t feel like I had a seat at the table.
"When I was hired on my first big job, it was Dark Angel and Jim Cameron basically gave me the keys to the castle. He treated me like a producer. He treated me like a collaborator. He treated me like what I said mattered and cared about my opinions. Him and Chic [Charles] Eglee, they really brought me in — even though I was 17 years old — and treated me with respect.
"And then you can go on other sets and in other environments, and you feel a little bit like you’re just a puppet. They don’t always treat you with that degree of respect or support or care about you in the same way. I’ve been trying to get back to that seat at that table, and I didn’t realise what it was, but it is being able to be a producer."
Jessica actually feels much more fulfilled whenever she has a hands-on role with a project.
The movie star enjoys the challenge of bringing a "vision to life".
She said: "Being behind the scenes of the writing and [working with] the director, being able to collaborate with them and really feel like all of you can bring this vision to life together.
"To solve problems in the moment, and have the authority to do that … And then when we do the final edit, being able to be there as well and have your opinion on, 'Hey, I remember this one day, there was that take. Let’s see what that looks like.' I feel satiated in a way that I guess I didn’t before, when I was just an actress."
Jessica launched her Lady Metalmark Entertainment production company with Tracey Nyberg two years ago. And although it's proven to be a successful endeavour, Jessica admits that it hasn't always been easy.
She said: "Both of us are very impatient. We’re not waiting around. We like to get things done. You have to be relentless until you get what you need to get done. Because it’s not easy and it’s hard to build things from scratch. It’s hard to get people on board.
"But once you do and you start creating momentum, you just got to be ready for that."
