[The Hollywood Reporter] Elisabeth R. Finch opens up about how women, including her former showrunner Julie Plec, have the power — and willingness — to create change.
I’m three minutes into a rehearsal on the first day of my episode of The Vampire Diaries when I notice an actor is missing. I immediately know something is wrong. Rehearsals simply don’t go on without actors, and this one in particular is never late, never unprepared.
I stand quietly for a moment considering my next move. I’m the writer and on-set producer of this episode, so I know it’s up to me to discreetly pull the director aside to carefully try and correct this mistake. I want to tell him straight out: “You forgot to include an actor in this scene. And he has to be here.” But I’m a low-level writer. I don’t have the experience or guts to be so direct.
Instead, I look at my script, bite my lip and walk a tightrope with every word I choose: “Can we include all the actors in the scene as scripted please? Maybe you have different plans I’m not familiar with, but I worry the plot won’t make sense without him. …” The director’s face turns crimson with rage, his eyes dart around the room, quickly assessing how he can use the private space I’ve put us in to his advantage.
I immediately assume I’ve made some career-ending mistake, and I try to buy it back by apologizing. But he stares me down, spit forming in the corners of his mouth as he screams: “If I wanted to talk to a nagging c*nt, I’d go home to my wife.”
My arms instantly go numb; my feet feel nailed to the floor as that sentence hangs between us. Then he smiles, gently brushing his hand down my cheek and pinching it. Hard. He walks away, cool and collected as he asks his assistant to invite the missing actor to set. “Anything for our Finchie,” he laughs. And I laugh back.
I laugh for every damn day of that shoot. Laugh through his lewd jokes about actresses’ bodies and lingering hugs and clammy hands on the back of my neck, giving me massages I never want but allow anyway. I laugh and allow it because I don’t want the reputation of being “that girl,” because surely other people have it much worse so I should be able to handle this, because maybe just maybe my plaintive smiles give him permission, because somewhere along the way I internalized the misguided notion that this is “the price you pay” — because of a million reasons that all boil down to: I worked my ass off to get this job. I don’t want to lose it. So I keep my mouth shut.
After the very last shot of my episode, I walk off the sound stages, out of earshot, and scream bloody murder into the dark Atlanta sky. Just as I’m done shaking and shouting and allowing myself to feel all the rage I denied myself for two weeks straight, I bump into my boss, Julie Plec.
Over the course of my first season, Julie has become more than the showrunner, she’s my mentor, my friend. But in that moment, she’s the last person I want to see. I try to smile and hurry off to my rental car, but she can tell I’m shaken. She asks how the episode went.
“He was … not nice. He said some … not nice things to me. As a woman. But, hey, we got it done. I think we got what we needed.” I try to soften it, make it seem like I handled it all. I assume she’ll be proud of me.
Instead, she starts yelling. She tells me I was wrong. Wrong to assume that my job is to just suck it up and pretend it’s fine. Wrong not to tell her on day one. In that moment, I understand she’s not yelling at me. She is not shaming me. She is clear. And unwavering. And wants to be sure I hear every damn word when she says: “It is not your job to take abuse or accept unacceptable behavior because you’re young and a woman. That is not your job.” There is no judgment or blame in her voice, only strength and certainty. And it’s because of that strength and certainty I hear her, I believe her. I nod, thank her perfunctorily. And then I walk away. When my hands put my keys in the ignition, I notice they aren’t shaking anymore.
…
A month after my episode of The Vampire Diaries wraps, Julie emails to invite me back for the next season. At the end she writes: “I promise never to put you in the same room with [that director] ever again.” She never did.
She didn’t know a fraction of the abuse he handed me. She didn’t know he called me a c*nt on more than one occasion — or about his hand on my thigh while telling me how much better a writer I’d be if I had more “life experience.” She didn’t need to know it all. Because what I did say was enough. One time was enough. One story was enough.
One woman is enough.
[Editor’s note: Finch did not lodge a formal complaint at the time of the incident. The director, whom she declined to name, did not work on The Vampire Diaries again.]
Similar: Nice Guy Is Actually Vicious
Director:
[Optional] If the director had said/done those things to you, do you think you would have reacted differently?
sweetpeach says
Absolutely love this anecdote. Well done, Julie Plec. I don’t know you, but I thank you:)?
badgerette85 says
Paul Wesley?
John Behring?
missykate says
John Behring
Optional: I think she did well under the circumstances… I would have crumbled, I think.
smittyyy says
hmm…lance anderson?
Kingofboggle says
John Behring
spankys60 says
John Behring
mssabina says
Director: John Behring
truebritt8 says
Lance Anderson – didn’t direct another episode afterwards
johnny19 says
Enough!!! Name names or shut up……the power is in your corner now. If this indeed did happen as she said name the guy. It won’t ruin her career unless she is lying. I’m at the point now where if you don’t name names I can’t believe you.
catri_mac21 says
They may not be able to name them, that doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to speak out. If it helps them to heal by talking about it, and helps others who have been through the same thing, and let’s perpetrators know it won’t be accepted any longer, why should they shut up?
mzlizzi says
Director:
Optional: Of course I would have reacted differently. I’d have pinched his cheek hard. And I have, all throughout my life. Tired of hearing these whiney wimpy women stories.
catri_mac21 says
I’m tired of the people sexually harassing women in subordinate positions. Try being angry at the perpetrators rather than ‘Whiney wimpy women’ as you put it. Your comment is disgusting. Not everyone can handle confrontation, not everyone is in a position to fight back. Abuse is never the victims fault!!!!
wokandan says
Director: John Behring?
mquinn says
John Behring has two credits in the Vampire Diaries with Elisabeth R. Finch and then nothing, I guess it’s him.
pflower says
No idea who this guy is but… wow renewed respect to Julie Plec, although I’m a stelena fan ?
random1234 says
Ugh stelena all the way. I feel like Nina and Ian dating ruined this and obviously her leaving
262run says
John Behring?
I honestly have no idea what I would do. I’d want to punch him.
lovefifteen says
Jeffrey Hunt was the director of the first episode that Elizabeth Finch wrote.
lovefifteen says
If you go on the fan Wiki of this show, it shows that Jeffrey Hunt was the director for the one episode that Elizabeth wrote in 2012.
Lilyco says
No clue as to director. I didn’t watch this program so I don’t know when this might have occurred. Would I put up with this cr_p? No. I’m sorry to hear Ms. Finch didn’t file a formal complaint but I wasn’t standing in her shoes at the time.
What’s shameful about this incident is that no one else in the room called out the director for the “speaking” to Ms. Finch in the way he did. Why didn’t someone say – “Hey – screaming profanity at Finch – not called for and not cool!”
eas12397 says
From what I’m reading it sounds like they where in a private space, meaning no one around
random1234 says
John Behring ? She started working on it in 2012 and he stopped so I don’t know.
Optional. I probably would’ve done the same. Julie Plec is absolutely beautiful and wonderful for this and deserves every great thing in life
jjjohnson1 says
Director: Brad Turner Optional: People treat you the way you let them treat you, so definitely would have had to say something. Even if only subtlety.
Parade says
Exactly right. Some people sell out.
jonesing says
If only it was that easy. Some people freeze when in situations like that. It’s almost as if you’re paralyzed.
Preemptive Strike says
Sure. Sure you would have said something if only “subtlety”. Have you ever faced this situation or do you just imagine that you’d not “let” someone with power over your stepping stone job treat you badly? Would you risk your job, reputation and future goals in a situation where you have very little power and NOBODY else spoke up to say “screaming at her that’s she’s a c*nt” is CLEARLY not ok at work? The world needs more Julie Plec and less armchair warriors like you, jjj.
isleparadise says
John behring
irishlass28 says
John Behring fits best. Hollywood – and the world – needs more Julies.
angelbratt says
I’m with Johnny19! if you can’t name names, stfu about it. If you refuse to name names, you are contributing to the problem.
Kristen.Francesco says
Really? This is a contributing factor to this entire issue. Not every woman is ready to throw out names, doesn’t mean she isn’t allowed to share her story.
cassadaga says
No. Just no. The victim of harassment never ever “contributes to the problem” by not reacting the way YOU want. Survivors don’t owe you anything, least of all a name. The only ones contributing to this are the perps.
Jenerational says
… you say while reading blind gossip, where they pointedly don’t name names.
While coming forward and naming names is powerful for taking those in a position of power out of it, some people don’t want to deal with an old situation anymore. If they name names now, it becomes “Why didn’t they talk about this when it happened?” Naming names is super helpful for knowing who to avoid supporting as a consumer, but don’t blame victims if they don’t want to confront the person who did this…
reen57 says
Wrong. When YOU are willing to put your financial and professional future on the line along with being ok with the fear of being blacklisted and thrown out on the street because you cannot make enough money to survive, THEN you can sit in judgment.
firefly nights says
What an awful thing to say Angel. That kind of attitude is why people remain quiet for so long. I believe YOU are part of the problem.