Praise for Joyce Chopra's Lady Director:
"Her autobiography traces the evolving role of women directors in Hollywood by drawing extensively on her own five decades in film and television. . . the insights she offers into the profession are rare . . . Chopra writes in a prose style that is both unflinching and unsentimental."-Annie Berke, The Washington Post
"Joyce Chopra was the Ava DuVernay, the Kathryn Bigelow and the Sofia Coppola of her day. . . . In her new memoir, Chopra looks back on all that's happened in her extraordinary career, sharing stories about Hollywood producers who were unwilling to work with a woman director . . ."—Raechal Shewfelt, Yahoo's IT LIST
"Chopra's efforts paved the way for the likes of Jane Campion, Sarah Polley, Ava DuVernay and others. It was never easy. But love rarely is." — Chris Vognar, San Francisco Chronicle
"After more than 50 years in the business, Chopra is reclaiming that eye-rolling moniker for her first memoir, Lady Director, Adventures in Hollywood, Television and Beyond, an insightful, emotional, and often quite dishy rollercoaster ride through her life and career."—Kate Erbland, IndieWire
"Simply stated, no personal, professional, community, college, or university film school's Cinematic History collection can be considered complete or comprehensive without including Lady Director: Adventures in Hollywood, Television and Beyond by Joyce Chopra."—Midwest Book Review
"Joyce Chopra paved the way for future female filmmakers, and this book illuminates how ahead of her time she has always been. Her honesty is refreshing as she lets readers into her life, detailing her relationships, friendships, personal triumphs and devastating tragedies. Here is a woman who has nothing to lose, who is ready to tell her story, from her perspective, in her own words, with no holding back. I only wish I'd had this book to read when I was a shy teenage girl, to give me extra confidence as I dreamed of my own career in film."—Alicia Malone, TCM host and author of Girls on Film: Lessons From a Life of Watching Women in Movies
"Lady Director is not just a fascinating memoir, but an entertaining, inspiring and occasionally outrage-inducing report from the frontlines of filmmaking. An absolute must-read for anyone interested in the history of American cinema."—Elizabeth Weitzman, film critic and author of Renegade Women in Film & TV
"In her roller coaster of a memoir, Chopra shares what it was like to be one of the first female directors in Los Angeles. Recalling remarkable experiences of sexism, the effort of balancing a career with the pressures of motherhood, friendships with Hollywood legends, and the ways filmmaking has changed over the past 60 years, this memoir sheds light on the continuing fight for women's rights."—ALTA Magazine
"It's exhilarating to travel alongside her as so many well-known figures cross her path; in every phase of her adult life, Joyce Chopra has been there, in the thick of things, at the center of key movements and moments."—Bridgett M Davis, LIBER: A Feminist Review
"Award-winning film director Chopra's memoir pulls no punches. . . She candidly describes navigating sexism and abuse in the film industry; her start as a documentarian; her groundbreaking autobiographical short
Joyce at 34; winning Best Director at the Sundance Film Festival for her first feature film,
Smooth Talk; and her constant battles with Hollywood producers who refused to work with a woman
