Independent Spirit Award and Academy Award-winning indie film producer Christine Vachon visited St. Thomas on Thursday, Feb. 17, hosting a workshop, lunch and conversation with Rebecca Green in the O’Shaughnessy Education Center auditorium.
Vachon is the daughter of John Vachon, a famous photographer whose name is bound to St. Thomas’ eMedia department’s photojournalist scholarship. Christine Vachon, who is the co-founder of Killer Films, detailed her start in the film industry and what she does for a crowd of St. Thomas students.
“I think trying to bring a sense of what it’s like to actually be in the throes of (the film industry) is good for students to get a sense of it,” Vachon said. “There’s something about having actually been in the trenches and being able to describe what is in fact… an exhilarating but not easy way to make a living.”
Vachon has produced highly regarded independent films such as “Far from Heaven,” which was nominated for four Academy Awards, “Boys Don’t Cry,” an Academy Award winner and “One Hour Photo.” She spoke about what she has learned since becoming a producer.
“It’s more really understanding the economics of filmmaking and in understanding… how do you assign value to a movie, and how you construct a film, for its best creative health and best financial health,” Vachon said.
She described pre-production as a lot of meetings with different departments about budgets, scheduling and locations before getting to set, which she said is “like a runaway train.”
When speaking about selecting projects for Killer Films, Vachon made a point that she doesn’t like to define the company, who has worked with the likes of Cate Blanchett and Daniel Radcliffe.
“I know it when I see it,” Vachon said. “We have to feel compelled by the story, we have to really love it but all of that aside… then we have to see a path to production. We’re not always right.”
Vachon has grown in her career alongside some equally talented filmmakers such as Independent Spirit Award winner director Todd Haynes, whom Vachon has worked with on nearly all of his films.
“Being able to work with people that you know and like is also just one of the greatest benefits in the world,” Vachon said.
Vachon and Haynes were college classmates at Brown University before becoming filmmaking colleagues years thereafter.
In her conversation with Green, Vachon said she watched a film directed by Haynes titled “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story,” which she described as “extraordinary” and the reason why she knew she wanted to become a producer.
Vachon has also played a big role in the rise of films featuring LGBTQIA+ members. She believes that depicting characters in stereotypical ways “damages people to their core.”
“Everybody wants to see themselves represented and they want to see themselves represented in ways that feel authentic, and true,” Vachon said.
Vachon also did some representing herself as she began producing during a time when there were not many women in the field. She had no one’s career to look up to and follow, so she was forced to create her own path through filmmaking.
“When I was starting out, there were so few producers to look up to or to seek out, and so few women, and… we sort of had to invent it for ourselves a little bit,” Vachon said.
After figuring things out over time, Vachon mentored many other successful producers, one of whom was Green herself.
Vachon said she can tell that producers have talent based upon their ability to articulate their artistic vision to her.
“If you can show me something that demonstrates your ability to tell a story, that’s a big deal to me,” Vachon said.
The New York producer had a packed day at St. Thomas, where she was able to see how her father was represented at the university.
“I’m delighted that some kind of legacy carries on in his work and (at St. Thomas),” Vachon said.
Scout Mason can be reached at maso7275@stthomas.edu.
Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.