“Transparent”

“Transparent”

Photo credit: Janet Donovan

We weren’t expecting to run into Jay Carney, former White House Press Secretary to President Obama, at the Amazon Red Carpet for Transparent at The US Naval Memorial auditorium in downtown Washington, DC last week.  His wife Claire Shipman (co-author of The Confidence Code) was simultaneously being honored at the Japanese Residence by Nobuko Sasae for her third forum on women, a dialogue that seeks to empower young professional women. However, since Jay is the senior vice president for global corporate affairs for Amazon, he was at the screening. “We’re two working parents,” Carney told Hollywood on the Potomac. “It’s hard. I wish I were getting to see her event.”

jay-carney

Jay Carney

We asked Carney what it was like to transition from the White House to corporate. “When I left the White House, I was lucky enough to be able to take some time to try to figure out what I really wanted to do. If you had told me as I was leaving that I was going to go work for a company, just one company, I probably would have said, ‘I doubt it.’  I thought I wanted to be more independent doing a variety of things, but after a while I realized that one of the things I liked the most about my White House experiences is they’re different from my journalism experiences. I was on a team and part of something that had nothing to do with me. It was much bigger than me and much bigger than any one person. You can’t replicate the White House experience, there’s nothing like it, but the thing I really like about Amazon is the diversity of what we do.”

Jay Carney

“Amazon already knows it does retail and eCommerce really well,” he added, “but we also enable all of these content creators – authors, small businesses – and we have this thriving movie studio with offices in Santa Monica. What’s neat about it is because of our business model – making original content for Amazon – it’s a way of providing other great benefits to clients. We just want great creative quality – sometimes deliberately non-mainstream content that mainstream studios wouldn’t accept. Directors and actors really want to work on something for Amazon studios because of that creativity and just their willingness to take a chance.”

Transparent Poster

As described by Wikipedia, “Transparent is an American comedy web television series created by Jill Soloway for Amazon Studios that debuted on February 6, 2014. The story revolves around a Los Angeles family and their lives following the discovery that the person they knew as their father Mort (Jeffrey Tambor) is transgender. Transparent’s first season premiered in full on September 26, 2014, the second season on December 11, 2015. The series has been renewed for a third season which will premiere on September 23, 2016.”  The story line is based on Soloway’s personal experience with her own father.

On the Red Carpet:

cast-of-transparent

Transgender actress Trace Lysette told Hollywood on the Potomac: “I play Shea who is a friend of Maura and Davina. This season I think you get a little more of a window……kind of like peering into Shea’s life and struggles, and some of the hardships she’s dealt with in the past in slight contrast to what Maura’s life and privilege is like. I think it speaks to the narrative of a lot of trans-women who I know personally, and some of the struggles that are very common among women like me. Then there’s also a budding friendship with Josh, so it’s something new. You know, I’m all for taking risks in entertainment just because I feel like if we don’t we’ll get stuck with the same recycled stories over and over. What I would love to see in Hollywood is more stories about women, more stories about feeling, more stories about minorities, and marginalized people. I think Transparent and Amazon in particular is ready to take those risks, and it’s paying off. Look at the critical acclaim.”  This year winners at the Emmys 2016 was Jeffrey Tambor for Actor, Comedy Series and Jill Soloway, Directing, Comedy Series.

traci-lysette

Trace Lysette

Amy Landecker plays Sarah Pfefferman. Q: Did you find the subject matter risky or did you want to delve right in? A: “I guess I felt like because it was a personal experience for Jill Soloway our creator who had just recently gone through her parent coming out, I felt safe telling the story. I actually feel like it’s risky for people who aren’t associated with the subject matter trying to tell the subject matter. It can be much scarier. Do they really understand? There’s no way we wouldn’t do it justice because it’s her experience, and you can’t argue with that. I don’t know if I want to call it torment. I think it’s more about when one person changes, everybody else has to change.”

amy

Amy Landecker (third from right)

“Sometimes they don’t want to change,” she added, “and whether it’s that I’m going to be transgender or whether it’s I’m going to work in this field and you didn’t want me to or I’m going to move out of the city or I’m going to be gay or I’m going to be bi or I’m going to date someone from another religion, we all have issues in our families where someone makes a change that we might not want. And the truth is if that person’s being true to themselves, they should stick with it and the rest of us have to adjust. And I think that because ultimately that’s what all human beings in life should be able to do is be themselves. I think that this really is about how Maura’s decision changes all of our lives. Jill’s a perfect example of it happening in her life. Her first thought is ‘Oh my god, my parents aren’t safe on the streets. Oh my god, I’m embarrassed. Oh my god’ – that is the normal reaction. So she did something about it, and her change was to tell this story……. and now she’s revolutionizing the experience of trans people in the United States through this show. It’s kind of incredible if you think about how much good has been caused by her parents’ decision. So that’s kind of how change happens. People have to be true to themselves.”

kathryn-hahn

Kathryn Hahn with The Washington Blade reporter Brian Carney

We asked Kathryn Hahn, who plays the Rabbi, if it was true that Caitlyn Jenner is in series three.  “Yes, she is. We’re really excited about it. She’ll be in one of the new episodes tonight. Yeah, we’re all very lucky to have her. We didn’t get to work together but we were ships in the night. She could not have been more lovely and more game, such a pro, so happy to be there. I think that the trans community in Los Angeles is pretty small and tight. A lot of the amazing trans women that work on our show happen to be friends and also worked on ‘I am Cait.’ I think that they through all their friendships, it became very clear that it was a beautiful inevitability. It would be very possible that Maura and Caitlyn, in that community, probably would have ended up in some dinner together at some point anyway. It’s like the group that’s in the show. You know, that’s acting and performing in show business like that.” Q: When you first went on the show, did you have any reservations about it? A: “No. Absolutely not. I think it was probably  already happening as a civil rights movement. It had been a long time coming. It’s also because it came from our creator, Jill Soloway’s transgender father. Because it came from something so deeply felt, at such a perfect time, I absolutely wanted in. I wanted in, in any way I possibly could. I think it was only risky for people that don’t understand. I think the reason why we were so … one of the many reasons….. excited was the visibility. The more noise on the show the more visibility. If we could just get more eyeballs watching it we hopefully keep creating an impact machine … just keep creating love. As the Rabbi, I think this season she’s having a little bit of a crisis of faith. The theme of it, at the beginning, is that she’s trying to write a Passover sermon. I think that kind of sets up the theme of the season, which is liberation.”

kathryn-hahn-and-jeffrey-tremor

Kathryn Hahn and Jeffrey Tambor   Photo credit: Daniel Schwartz

“You live on Hollywood on the Potomac?” asked Jeffrey Tambor.  A: No, that’s the name of the publication.”  When asked about how his day was going he remarked:  “I had a super dad moment where I went I took my 11 year old, my 9 year old and my two 6-year-old twins to the White House. We had a private tour. Jay gave it to us. It was great.” Q: Tell me about when you first started the series.  A: “I threw myself at Jill and I threw myself at Amazon. I read it and I knew that it was a beautifully crafted, from-the-heart, wonderful, wonderful project. I didn’t have an ounce of trepidation about it. And I met Caitlin Jenner. She played a small, small role. I think maybe it was about six seconds in a dream sequence, but she’s great. I wasn’t there when she did it, but I have met her and I love her. She’s a very courageous human being and a great soul and a great spirit. You know, in her light, it raised a lot of awareness, so the more light, the better it is.”

jonathan-capehart

           Pascaline Clerc, Lee Brenner, Mark Drapeau & Jonathan Capehart

Guests snacked on the usual theater accoutrements:

Popcorn

Inside the both funny and insightful Q & A with Washington Post moderator Jonathan Capehart:

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