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A few days back I did a review about Jane Fonda, The Private Life of a Public Woman, a book written by Patricia Bosworth, and as any good book does, it triggered some questions in my mind I would ask the author if I had the chance.
Well, that´s the magic of having this site, I have the chance to actually do it, and here, my interview with Jane Fonda´s biographer Patricia Bosworth, author of Jane Fonda, The Private Life of a Public Woman. A book that pretty much can be read faster than the average 600 pages book.
Interview with Jane Fonda´s biographer Patricia Bosworth, author of Jane Fonda, The Private Life of a Public Woman
Seriesandtv.com: WHAT DOES WRITING ABOUT JANE FONDA MEAN TO YOU?
Patricia Bosworth: I was able in this book to write not only about Jane’s amazing life but also to document a cultural history of the time. Her changing images – movie star, political activist, exercise queen – would become projections of precise social moments. Women’s roles changed drastically through the middle and end of the twentieth century, and Jane’s life reflected this.
Seriesandtv.com: WHY DO YOU THINK FONDA HAS BECOME SUCCESSFUL IN EVERY ENDEAVOR SHE’S CHOSEN TO EMBARK ON?
Patricia Bosworth: Because she has constantly challenged herself, taken risks, pushed herself to the brink, and always worked until she’s perfected whatever task she sets for herself. Her focus of concentration, whether it’s on a movie or a how-to book, is phenomenal.
Seriesandtv.com: WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN WRITING A BIOGRAPHY IN GENERAL? AND WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN THE CASE OF THIS BOOK?
Patricia Bosworth: The challenge for any biographer is to keep interested in your subject. It is a long, grueling endeavor; you have to be very patient because you can’t find everything out at once or understand your subject at once. It takes time.
Seriesandtv.com: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS JANE’S FAVORITE CHARACTER AMONG THE ONES SHE’S PLAYED? WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE?
Patricia Bosworth: Jane has told me that Klute is her favorite performance. It is also my favorite character of hers, and it is her greatest role. She won her first Academy Award for it. In Klute she plays Bree, the tough-talking call girl; in that movie she found sources in herself that she had never known existed, especially in the improvised scenes with the analyst. That was when life and art intersected. Jane’s self-awareness of her sexuality merged with the character. As the decades have passed, her performance as Bree continues to resonate. The meaning of Jane’s Bree goes deep. This is a character who’s shrewd and independent, but her unsettled emotions reflect the price of autonomy for women.
Seriesandtv.com: WHICH DO YOU THINK IS THE PUBLIC’S FAVORITE, AND WHY?
Patricia Bosworth: I would guess Barefoot in the Park. It’s Neil Simon’s zany, bubbling comedy, and Jane plays Corie, a new bride who tries to shake up her stuffed-shirt husband (played by Robert Redford). She and Redford had real chemistry together and they became great friends.
What did you think about this interview with Jane Fonda´s biographer Patricia Bosworth, author of Jane Fonda, The Private Life of a Public Woman? Let me know in the comments section.
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