Newly minted director Heather Graham has a message for her sexist detractors

ABC/Randy Holmes(NEW YORK) — Heather Graham wrote, directed and stars in her latest film, Half Magic. No easy feat, especially since she had to deal with sexist detractors along the way who told her no one was interested in stories about women.

She has a message for those detractors now, though.

“I’d say, ‘Look at my movie come out!’ And, uh, it’s pretty awesome,” Graham tells ABC Radio.

The comedy follows Honey, an aspiring screenwriter dealing with a misogynist producer boss. She teams up with her two best friends, played by Angela Kinsey and Stephanie Beatriz, to reclaim their power and break free of the men who are keeping them down.

While the film took a long time to get made – Graham started writing it around seven years ago – it feels more relevant than ever given the recent battles against sexism in the industry.

“We did have some divine timing,” Graham says, adding, “Coming out right now during the #MeToo movement and Time’s Up, it’s the best possible time for the film to come out.”

Graham previously shared her own #MeToo story about Harvey Weinstein. She says the character of the sexist boss – played by Chris D’Elia – was inspired by a few people she’s worked with and even one director she dated.

By opening up the conversation on sexism, Graham believes we’ll see a huge shift in the industry.

“If you’re talking about the movie business, that is a huge important thing because when little girls grow up they watch movies and that’s what tells them how to think of themselves in the world,” she says. “So if we have more female filmmakers telling more empowering stories, that affects everyone watching any kind of media.” 

Half Magic is in theaters now.

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