Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Susie Singer Carter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Susie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

I think one of the biggest challenges I have faced in my creative career has been unconscious bias. It is stealthy and often shows up when we least expect it. I like to describe myself as a feminine feminist. Proud to be a woman and eager to support my sister colleagues. Hell, my company is called Go Girl Media. Yes, well, easier said, then done.

I am still taken by surprise when the support is not there, or worse, I am overlooked because of superficialities. In the documentary, “Breaking Good”, that I produced for the WGAW to screen at our annual Women’s History Month event, I interviewed writer, Allison Schroeder, who co-wrote the film “Hidden Figures” and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Getting to that level in her career was far more difficult than it should have been.

Like me, Allison experienced what I call, the Blonde Bias, all throughout her career. In the documentary, I asked her to talk about how she ultimately was hired to write “Hidden Figures”. It was nothing less than a herculean feat. Despite her outstanding experience as a writer, her expertise in space programs based on personal history, and the fact that she was a female, getting the producers of the female driven “Hidden Figures” to take her seriously became a daunting challenge.

Pigeonholed as someone who could only write for kids and tweens or possibly light romantic romps based on the way she presented physically – blonde, energetic, and youthful – Allison had to campaign harder than anyone should ever have to given her resume and history she brought to the table.

I have dealt with this kind of bias my entire career. For example, after screenings of my Oscar qualified film, “My Mom and The Girl” – a film I wrote, produced, and directed – many people would come up to congratulate my male producing partner (Don Priess) and then turn to me and ask what I did on the film. I actually had one female executive apologize for riding me so hard, admitting that she just assumed I hadn’t earned my position and then hired me to run a second show. I’m not going to lie, it is exhausting having to continually prove your merit. But until there is a shift in the collective conscious, it’s what I will do to keep doing what I do best!

Susie , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sure, sure! Well, if you asked five-year-old Susie what she wanted to be when she grew up, she’d have placed her hands defiantly on either side of her pink tutu and said, “Everything. Duh!”, which would accurately describe the trajectory of my “person-of-all-trades” life.

Besides ballet, I spent my childhood tackling gymnastics, ice skating, and the violin. I honed my my entrepreneurial skills (selling my used toys door-to-door at the ripe old age of 7), joined the debate team, tried flag twirling, and joined cheerleading squad, while surviving my parents’ divorce and my father’s untimely death in a plane crash.

While studying journalism at UCLA, I hosted a radio show, married, and sang in a pop-group (TOO CHIX) produced by Chuck Lorre. (Yup. That Chuck Lorre.) After college, I had a baby, back surgery, opened a handmade jewelry store, acted in TV and film, worked in development, launched my production company, divorced, remarried, had another baby, wrote and produced two CBS tween shows (CAKE and DANCE REVOLUTION)… at the same time.

Following that chapter, I became my mother’s caregiver, a spokesperson for Alzheimer’s, wrote a screenplay (BRATZ) for Lionsgate, and co-produced a feature (SOUL SURFER) for Sony. Divorced again. ( Life is complicated.) Took up hip-hop, signed a blind-script deal with Fox, wrote, produced and directed a animated pilot (SURVIVING HAWKING) with Bryan Cranston, two documentaries for the WGA’s Women’s History Month and a Oscar qualified, award-winning film (MY MOM AND THE GIRL) that took me around the world. Currently, I am attached to direct the screenplay, RUN, I adapted from the book PLAIN JANE.. Leighton Meester and Rose McIver are attached to play best friends in this two-hander dramedy.

I also produce and co-host the podcast LOVE CONQUERS ALZ – awarded BEST PODCAST 2020 by New Media Film Festival and is #3 on Feedspots’ 2023 25 Best Alzheimer’s Podcasts list. I am also the co-creator, co-writer, co-star, and director of the outrageous horror/comedy narrative podcast, I LOVE LUCIFER, which was just nominated Best Audio Fiction 2023 by Indie Series Awards.

Presently, I am producing a very critical documentary, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD PEOPLE, which centers on Nursing Home Neglect and the systemic healthcare crisis responsible for it. We are currently raising funds for post production and I hope if you’re reading this you will consider making a tax-deductible donation here:http://act.theconsumervoice.org/documentary

I am a fierce advocate for caregivers and their loved ones and have appeared in several Alzheimer’s awareness campaigns for Alzheimer’s Los Angeles. Last winter, I proudly emceed the 2022 San Fernando Valley Alzheimer’s Walk holding up a purple flower for my mother who passed away in July after living with Alzheimer’s for 16 years. I also host the WGA’s 3rd & Fairfax Podcast.

And still, there’s so much more to do!! I’m thankful for the fearless five-year-old-me whose bold declaration continues to shape my voice and fuel my passion to write.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have to say that my biggest professional set back/obstacle was, ironically, what followed one of my proudest moments – which was being hired to write my first feature film, Bratz the Movie, for Lionsgate. When the film wrapped and the producers submitted the credits, a precious writer threw her hat in the ring and called for an arbitration – which ultimately resulted in in the loss of both my writing and my associate producer credits. Not to mention, the sequel I had been hired for and had already started writing.

The producers were apparently confident enough in my contributions to the script that they had the studio print the one-sheet posters for the film with my name in first position followed by the ultimately credited screenwriter. In fact, the posters were already out in theaters.

The writer in second position triggered an arbitration, claiming the script was hers. I honestly thought there was no possibility of me losing my credit. I went to the guild and consulted with head of the arbitration on how to proceed. She suggested I consider forfeiting my Associate Producer credit to improve my chances of keeping my credit. I declined the offer. I was 100% certain I could satisfy the required percentage. I asked if I needed a lawyer which was in some of the information I had read. She said it wasn’t necessary. She said my scripts, my outlines, and an extremely detailed statement should suffice. I was on it.

I turned in countless outlines and drafts – including the final shooting draft – along with a forensic statement that even identified the few lines we kept from the fourth writer’s pages. I was completely transparent. But despite my confidence and hard work, I lost the arbitration and was awarded zero writing credit. So, I appealed.

At the appeal, the director came with me to speak on my behalf. He stated that not only was he a member of the DGA and SAG, he also belonged to the WGA. He said that although he respected the union’s process, he adamantly indicated that I was “the heart and soul and the voice” of his film. He went on to say, “If Susie doesn’t receive at least shared credit, it will be a dark day in Hollywood.” The panel replied that there was nothing they could do.

To add insult to injury, after losing the initial arbitration, I thought it was probably best to waive my Associate Producer credit. So, yep! Now I had lost both credits. I bring this up because I think that automatic arbitration and the idea of forfeiting other credits as a way of holding onto one’s writing credit needs serious rethinking. There was a time when their rule made sense. But in the current climate of our industry, it is an antiquated construct. With so many platforms available, there has been a huge shift in the industry whereby a large percentage of writers are classified as multi-hyphenate filmmakers. It’s more the norm than not. Therefore, a proposed writing credit for someone who is also a producer and/or director should not automatically trigger an arbitration nor play into the metrics used to determine one’s writing credit.

When the executive producer heard I had lost my credit, he was admittedly outraged. He called the credits department and told them they were a “kangaroo court”. As a final consolation, the executive producer wrote a short encomium thanking me for my “indispensable contribution” that ran at the start of the film’s end-credits crawl. But the guild forced its removal from all prints, reasoning that it “diminished” writer’s credit. It mentioned nothing about writing.

I bring this all up, not to complain. What was – was. But as the Guild has just sent out some proposed changes to our credit system, I think my story is timely and helps to highlight all that is wrong with the current system. The film continues to play to new young audiences and another writer is collecting my residuals. A year of my career life was erased as if it never happened. I also lost the sequel because the credited writer’s contract gave her first right of refusal for the sequel if she received sole credit. I would like to prevent this from ever happening again – to me or any of my colleagues.

As I am sure you can imagine, nothing can prepare you for the disappointment and scars that await (far too many screenwriters) who enter a Writers Guild credit arbitration hearing and are ultimately denied their credit due. Put bluntly, it’s sucks. Emotionally and financially. I had two choices: Give this set-back the power to ruin my career while I wallow in self-pity and live a life of blame for the rest of my days… or continue to write, get proactively involved in the guild and continue to build the career I have dreamed of. I chose the latter. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, smarter and a much better person.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I was a caregiver for my darling mother who lived with Alzheimer’s for 16 years. A journey that inspired my 2018 Oscar Qualified, award-winning short film, “My Mom and The Girl”, starring Valerie Harper in her final flawless performance portraying my mother.

“My Mom and The Girl” was fueled by my desire to share a story that presented an accurate depiction of a misunderstood disease. A story with the potential to change the biased conversations about Alzheimer’s by replacing stigma, denial, fear, and grief with acceptance, understanding, appreciation, and love. I’m proud to say that this small film fulfilled my goals… and then some. The letters of gratitude I regularly receive confirm my belief in the superpower of stories to impart information through emotional connection that leads to a deeper – memorable – understanding.

Armed with that power, I am laser focused on telling another story inspired by my mother. A love story with a cautionary tale about our nation’s systemic Long Term Care crisis perpetuated by a greedy industry that subscribes to the philosophy that honesty is far less profitable than dishonesty. A “Profit over People” system that regards human beings as commodities. A corrupt system that has been operating successfully for decades under the radar of an ageist culture that emphasizes the exclusion of people as they age. To quote Maya Angelou,, “Do the best you can until you know better, Then when you know better, do better.”

Enter “No Country for Old People”, a documentary based on the last 6 months of my mother’s life in a 5-Star Nursing Facility in Los Angeles. A place I took solace in believing she was receiving the best care possible. She was. Unfortunately, the “best” turned out to be the worst. From January 17 to July 17, 2022, I found myself on the front lines of a broken healthcare system. I saw things I cannot unsee. Things that I must not unsee.

The system took an egregious toll on my mother’s physical and cognitive health and robbed her and our family of the precious time she had left to live. Despite my relentless advocating, my mother died from what was inarguably grievous neglect and abuse. Can you imagine what happens to residents without advocates? This is why I am so passionate about making this documentary.

I using my mother’s story to explain “the what”, “the how”, “the why”, and “the solution” to our broken system by weaving in other accounts of neglect, testimonials from frontline providers and respected experts on Medicare, Hospice, Federal Policy, and Elder Abuse Law. “No Country for Old People” will be a loving punch to the publics’ gut that forces them to look at a health-care system that’s literally collapsing around us. Because although this is my mother’s story, it’s really all of ours.

Whatever the genre, my goals as a filmmaker are the same. Impart something of value and tell stories that are relatable, representative, inspirational, or transformative. Make choices that are compelling and palpable. And never waste anyone’s time.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://gogirlmedia.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susiesingercarter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susie.s.carter.7?ref=profile
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiesingercarter/?trk=nav_responsive_tab_
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoGrlMediaSusie
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Susiesingercarter
• Other: No Country for Old People Teaser: https://vimeo.com/828512166?share=copy No Country for Old People Donation page: http://act.theconsumervoice.org/documentary REEL – https://vimeo.com/247432404 IMDB – https://www.imdb.me/susiesingercarter WIKI – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susie_Singer_Carter My Mom and The Girl- https://itunes.amovie/my-mom-and-the-girl/pple.com/us/id1372754144 Breaking Good: https://vimeo.com/266981218 Love Conquers Alz Podcast: https://loveconquersalz.buzzsprout.com I Love Lucifer Podcast:https://linktr.ee/iloveluciferthepodcast

Image Credits
All personally shot.