The Hollywood Ten-Step

Lisa Henson, Producer

1. Born the daughter of Muppet maestro Jim Henson, whom she accompanied as an undergrad to meetings in the early '80s with the likes of Sherry Lansing, then president of production at 20th Century Fox. ("When I went to Hollywood after college, I went with the idea that my opinion would automatically count.")

2. Armed with a B.A. in ancient Greek folklore and mythology from Harvard (where she was the first woman president of the Harvard Lampoon), started out at Warner Bros. in 1983 as executive assistant to soon-to-be-bigwigs Mark Canton and Lucy Fisher.

3. Got promoted to director of creative affairs in 1985, then production VP in 1986, then senior production VP in 1990. Credited with an appreciation of diverse genres, although comedies and male action adventures are said to be her favorites (was an early proponent of what would become the Lethal Weapon series).

4. Championed an eccentric animator named Tim Burton and helped him evolve into a mainstream director with Batman in 1989. Talked up lower-budget films, including 199l's New Jack City (one of the first big-studio "gangsta" flicks).

5. Joined her siblings in a grueling legal battle (with Disney) to preserve Jim Henson's company following his death in 1990.

6. Shortly after becoming executive VP for Warner Bros. in 1991, apparently became disenchanted with her lack of a personal life, and when her contract expired, didn't renew it. Instead, went on a months-long trek through Buddhist temples in India and Tibet with her sister.

7. In 1993, brought in to Columbia Pictures as eventual president by chairman Mark Canton just as the studio was reeling with failures. At 33, was the youngest studio head in town, about whom Newsweek reported, "Many believe she's just the miracle Columbia needs."

8. While overseeing 1994's Oscar-nominated Little Women (which was Amy Pascal's project) and presiding over a studio whose owner, Sony, was taking write-offs on bombs like 1993's The Last Action Hero, was described as impressively self-assured and "every bit the workaholic that her father was," but it was also noted that, "No one has ever accused Lisa of being a soft touch, like her father was."

9. Oversaw 1995's Sense and Sensibility (which was Lindsay Doran's project) and was instrumental in developing 1996's The People vs. Larry Flynt, which she worked on with her new boss Lucy Fisher and producer/Oliver Stone protegee Janet Yang.

10. Seeing the writing on the wall, left Columbia in 1996, one month before Canton was ousted, and negotiated a lucrative production deal with the studio for the company she created with Janet Yang, Manifest Film Company, about which the duo has said, "We're not into bitter-women movies." Manifest's first release: Zero Effect.

Toni Howard, Senior VP and Co-Chair of Motion Picture Talent at ICM

1. Began Hollywood career in the early 1970s as a secretary to agent Freddie Fields and stayed with him six years until "I thought I would die if I served one more cup of coffee."

2. Talked top casting director Lynn Stalmaster into hiring her as an assistant for $200 a week in the late 1970s and discovered that "casting was a great way to understand the business" and also a great way "to be paid for being opinionated."

3. With Stalmaster, put Christopher Reeve in 1978's Superman; Bo Derek in 1979's 10; and Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange and Teri Garr in 1982's Tootsie.

4. Learned to handle the nitty-gritty of contract negotiations, including arranging the sequencing of cast credits and the percentage-of-gross deals and ended up bringing director Philip Kaufman the perfect troop of smart and cocky guys--Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid and Fred Ward--to man 1983's The Right Stuff.

5. Having had enough of dealing with agents--"When I was in casting, I thought the only thing agents did was give out incorrect availabilities and misquote actors' prices"-- became an agent at the William Morris Agency in 1984.

6. Put together a client list that included Anjelica Huston, Anne Bancroft, Jason Robards and James Spader, and earned their loyalty. (Says Huston of Howard, "We have spoken, on average, two times a day for the last 14 years.")

7. Objecting to, among other things, William Morris's treatment of women, left William Morris in 1992 for ICM as leader of a female exodus that included Risa Shapiro, Elaine Goldsmith and Boaty Boatwright.

8. Flourished at ICM, signing clients Samuel L. Jackson and James Woods, among others.

9. Eased Angelica Huston into directing with 1996's critically praised Bastard Out of Carolina.

10. Continued her hands-on agenting, helping Christina Ricci make the transition to adult stardom (with The Ice Storm, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and various indies), and signing new clients like Paul Newman and Cher.

Gale Anne Hurd, Producer

1. Graduated Phi Beta Kappa in economics and communications in 1977 from Stanford and immediately became Roger Corman's executive assistant at New World Pictures, where she learned nuts-and-bolts film production on Corman's low-budget fodder (which included Smokey Bites the Dust, her first producing credit) and worked with young filmmakers such as James Cameron.

2. Produced Cameron's 1984 hit The Terminator, which she had coscripted with him. (She bought the rights to Cameron's part in future Terminators for $1 in exchange for a guarantee he'd direct.) Married Cameron in 1985.

3. Produced Cameron's 1986 megasuccess Aliens.

4. Produced Cameron's 1989 megadisappointment The Abyss; marriage with Cameron ended in '89.

5. Reteamed with Cameron to produce 1991's hit sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

6. On a different note from her previous efforts, produced the arty independent 1992 film The Waterdance.

7. In 1991, signed a production deal with director Brian De Palma at Universal, married De Palma, began working on De Palma's Raising Cain, gave birth to daughter Lolita--named for Hurd's mother, not Nabokov's temptress.

8. Following her 1992 divorce from De Palma, pursued a diverse slate of projects, including both her traditional techno-actioners (1994's No Escape) and smaller, character-driven material (1994's Safe Passage).

9. With one of the soundest reputations in the Industry for getting bang out of a buck, was brought in on 1997's Dante's Peak when its budget neared $100 million. (As she explained at a showbiz seminar, "You have to be incredibly precise, incredibly prepared, and find people who are willing to be incredibly taken advantage of.")

10. On the heels of 1996's disappointing The Ghost and the Darkness and 1997's disappointing The Relic, has the big-budget Bruce Willis summer blockbuster wannabe Armageddon coming up.

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