Latest News
Nicole Russin-McFarland Helps Hollywood Female Filmmakers with Her Haus of Film Etsy Shop
Filmmaker and film score composer Nicole Russin-McFarland is having the best time of her life, wrapping animation on The Homework’s Revenge: Esther in Wonderland for a summer 2020 online release. Her film score album for the movie has passed 70,000 song streams. Arguably enough to make anyone happy, someone else might take a day off. Nicole chooses to champion women’s equality in Hollywood, granting us a motivational interview about her Haus of Film Etsy shop women in film fundraiser and power changes she wishes to make for women in the performing arts.
Congratulations on Haus of Film. How is your Etsy shop helping women in film?
We’re a small Etsy store right now. I co-founded it with my actor pals, Ryan McGregor, and Samantha V. Hutton. Shout out to them! Tomorrow, I hope to look on that screen and see millions of sales listed on our storefront sales page; we are working towards that. We donate from every T-shirt sale and teddy bear sale listed under our women in the film fundraiser section. And, we have really donated some of what we make to ladies seeking crowdfunding on websites like IndieGoGo.
Your hardest sale to make is your first. Nobody wants to be the person buying from the Etsy shop with “0 sales.” Etsy lists your sales publicly. But while many back away from that, I love that Etsy lists it because you can see how hard my friends and I work on the shop, from designs to within the women in film needs, picking who we donate to.
I look at the men I love in the film industry. They are all involved in creating opportunities for people through business, each differently. I don’t have to be winning an Oscar on stage today to change the world. Things start tiny. Our Haus of Film Etsy shop is a success story in the making. This is only the beginning.
When it becomes $1 million-plus in the bank regularly, we’ll be able to finance so many movies. Movies don’t only create jobs for on-camera talent. They involve everyone. I look at many films where the budget seems wasted and am like, “With that $30 million budget, I’d rather see 30 good $1 million movies giving people their big breaks, hiring lots of crew and cast who don’t always get the chance to work. With people who are rarely given opportunities, they’re going to be more passionate about work, and the combo of all of us would result in a better creative result than the people who waste money, always getting hired because it’s meaningless to them.”
How will you help women in the future when the shop grows?
We will be less concerned with the costs and efficiency of running the Etsy store and more with questions like, “How many more women can we donate to?” I don’t care how bad a woman’s movie is. Women deserve the opportunity to be as terrible as bad male filmmakers who are currently working, don’t you think? And really, it would be amazing to fund thousands of small projects to help women get their first IMDb writing and directing credits. IMDb is everything in the beginning. I don’t care if one is trans, if you are a woman, we will donate to your little indie movie if we’re loaded rich from the Etsy shop!
Being fully honest, this past year, I was asking around trying to start something where women at a studio level befriend and mentor indie female filmmakers. I was met with people saying things like, “We already have that,” pointing me to general workshops, luncheons where nothing gets accomplished, and summer programs that talk about minorities but don’t really have a female focus. Nothing exists for women in film within LA or elsewhere like the gatherings men have. Imagine how men on Wall Street all hang out, they’re buddies in a professional sense, they toss out bad and good advice and some of it actually resonates with someone, they chat everything.
Actually, I joke about men in business and finance a lot because I wrote a children’s novel about the Big Bad Wolf becoming a big-time New York businessman, but in their defense, Wall Street men and some business owners in New York are the most open about themselves, the most honest, you can talk about a mix of professionalism and your personal life, down to how personal life things have changed your views on your work. In fact, I extend this to whenever I have met primarily filmmakers from indie to studio levels, primarily men it seems, with how they’re so well rounded and normal. We’ll get a quick bite over a soda and just chat like normal people. We each gain from it and respect each other. Women in the film deserve something like this. It’s funny how much people complain about “the boy’s club” of men’s hangouts, and obviously they aren’t because women like me can join in on those hangouts, but women aren’t doing anything about it creating a girl’s club social system that is professional first but you’re allowed to be a human being. The biggest business deals and relationships are cultivated from socializing as a mix of friendship and mentoring. I absolutely intend to do that when I am a big-time A-list studio film director and composer. Why isn’t that available now? I get completely shut down. Nevertheless, it encourages me because it makes me want to do it more. It might take decades, but I will form some sort of gathering system and means of studio people helping women.
What products are on the store beside the women in film fundraiser?
Kitchenwares, tees, and all-around cool things! We definitely are going to end up using it for day job income as a small business. Things take time, and we work hard. Samantha designed the diamond and star patterns for our kitchen goods. I designed the polka dots and pastel stripes. Ryan was involved in some more designs. Our placemats are our most popular items! Our store’s items make amazing gifts for people of any age.
What is difficult for women in the film besides fundraising?
Women complain about misleading comparisons. They are coming in with things that are legitimately low budget from $500-100,000 ranges and being compared to people making “low budget” $5-25 million films. Or if applying to work on blockbuster films, compared to someone who made a $150-300 million movie. “Your work isn’t on the same level” is a phrase all of us have heard one too many times. It cannot be on the same level if you don’t get hired for studio gigs to have in your resume. If you compare notes with people, everyone gets the same phrases.
How will you help women as your filmmaking career grows?
First thing, to be as much of any casting process myself, ideally if I can run it, to ensure safety for women. And, for men. Men are the hidden victims. Rarely do men come forward because their workplace abuse stories are doubted probably twice as often as women’s stories, and you already know how few believe female victims. I don’t want to ever know someone is cast in my work because he or she had to do something that isn’t part of the job description.
Having security if it is a physical film set is really important. People think, oh, it’s to keep those stalkers out. Maybe so. The second duty of security for me would be protecting on-camera talent and behind the scenes men and women from situations where things might be happening in public view. I would try to emphasize always having another person in the room with you, so if someone is like a makeup artist going into a person’s area to apply makeup, there needs to be someone there. A policewoman I met in New York told me how many crimes happen in public view. Nobody stops it. In this case, I want to hire security or at least some sort of third party people who have no bias towards someone to be there so if something happens, someone can scream or have someone eyeing everything going on. They will be paid partially to keep an eye on that sort of stuff. We have stories in the media now about things like young people having been assaulted by someone on set in full view without people noticing or stepping in, and I want to do my best to prevent that sort of thing from happening. Particularly, to young people, because I relate to experiencing all kinds of horrible things as a teen and a person in my 20’s. Private security would also be of immense value to me if we are ever working on harder things, from kisses on camera to love scenes.
Some high profile women have complained in the press about being branded “difficult” and “horrible” by predators they didn’t give into. I would definitely insist if that is something I hear on personally checking in with those women to see their side of the story and give them chances. Usually, based on my personal experiences, I know someone badmouths you because you don’t put up with their sexist garbage or harassment. Things like me not being paid by a publication anymore because I didn’t want to date an editor, as one example of many. If it turns out someone is making up stories because of something sexist, I will do my best to hire them giving them chances, because I have personally been in that situation long before #metoo so many times.
Do people speak down to women in the film industry?
Yes, and the worst bit, sometimes it’s women to women or from LGBTQ men, people you would least expect to hear the throwing shade from. The term mansplaining is kind of undeserving for men because most regular men don’t do it so for the sake of this, let’s call it jerksplaining. You shut up because you hope for the best that someone can work with you in the future, and everyone is always saying, “Don’t burn your bridges!” Maybe it’s a talent agent who gave someone his big break on screen. A publicist who has good placements for his clients. A top hairdresser you must go to, according to a pushy agent who thinks you aren’t pretty enough. Hire this makeup person. Oh, you need a stylist? Great! Someone who gets away with telling you rude stuff and belittling you, your work goals, and your work projects. If you trade stories with women in the entertainment industry, the films of our daily lives all “star” different bullies saying the same things. “Weird.” “Strange.” “Unattractive.” “Overweight.” “Too … old.” “Not marketable.” “Unprofessional.” “Difficult.”
Jerksplaining happens to me. Oh, this cute little girl needs to learn sheet music by John Williams! Did it for junior high music homework. How many times am I going to be told that? Maybe she can take a UNIVERSITY CLASS in writing, or get a university degree! I earned a minor in journalism a long time ago. Graduated early. Ring a bell if you actually paid attention to what I was saying?
Never pay someone a dime who doesn’t value your life’s journey impacting your career goals today. She, meaning me, honestly wants to hire youth orchestras for studio film music someday thinking young people are more driven than people in their 50’s?! What a loser! A celebrity hairdresser ridiculously accused me of having dated my teacher when I said nice things about him as a positive career role model for the students; my teacher is a hugely successful businessman. People tell you the most terrible things they wouldn’t tolerate themselves. In a typical culture of silence moment, I couldn’t put him in his place other than a simple “that’s not true” because I was afraid of being removed from the modeling photoshoot and charged for the expenses like my car transportation and travel.
I repeat. You have to shut up as people tell you degrading things about yourself, your life, and your work projects. It’s OK for someone to trash my young adult cartoon’s film score music based on classical standards and tell me I have no future, or how my goals are stupid and I should spend the next decade or two being an unpaid filmmaker or supplying student film music. Bunches of men have told me that over the years: work unpaid for a decade or more on projects no one is going to watch. I mean, I’m only turning 33 this June. So basically, I have to be 53 years old being a starving artist according to some of these sexists.
Meanwhile, a guy with several music credits working on indie films made for the web, his music all him banging the same two chords on a piano with no melodies? He gets snapped up by an agent and shopped to every studio project in town as the next it guy. My female friends, acquaintances, and I don’t have enough IMDb credits as a filmmaker, actor or composer, but someone with two $200 shorts made for the web with like 500 hits on them is the new creative genius of our times and gets his script shopped to studios. When I compare my stories with other women, they all have the same things going on as filmmakers and actresses, and I find some men transitioning into film music out of rock and metal bands are too told the same things struggling to transition into larger film music jobs because they don’t fit the mold of what men are supposed to be like. They’re “wild,” “inappropriate,” and “unprofessional,” because they come from the metal world. Talented, beautiful actresses with IMDb credits like a supermarket list are told they aren’t enough, particularly if they are women of color, but a bikini girl from a hamburger commercial with no acting experience or frankly, any talent nor interest on bettering herself with studying acting, gets hired. Hypocrisy is everywhere.
How common is this?
Every woman in the performing arts says she has been called “weird,” “difficult,” “unprofessional,” and “not commercial.” “Not marketable.” Compare notes. The same phrases said 24/7. To her face! In writing! We all get pressured to be polite as people from casting people to people you are paying somehow, think hair and makeup, PR, an agent, all tell you absolutely terrible things. There are only two exceptions to this. Either you’re an Amy Adams type who has already made it huge, or you are Hollywood royalty, the celebrity child breaking into film or modeling. In those scenarios, everyone will be soooo nice. Let’s do lunch. You are gorgeous! Fabulous! Fashionable! Talented! Let’s not offend her. That random actress with the two TV acting credits? Let’s remind her how that expensive special evening dress she wants is made for thinner women’s figures. I can go on all day repeating the things people say have happened to them.
And it goes both ways. Straight men and LGBTQ men who don’t really fall into LGBTQ stereotypes and the world thinks they are straight, now are concerned how they’re going to see after #metoo because now they worry that their job opportunities are going to be given away, all the while the actual predators aren’t going to have anything happening to them. It will continue being buried with good men getting punished. Women are worried they can’t compliment men anymore because it gets viewed as hitting on someone if you say “great suit.” Everyone male and female is worrying about how they are perceived, and as some have said, the actual bad people in all of this don’t tend to have anything happening to them. #metoo exists, but we still have women, and some men, on the receiving end of harassment or being mocked for their physical appearances and career goals. It’s almost like #metoo is over. It was a time in the period, it started well, and it became something like the basis to be offended because someone complimented you on your fashion sense and that’s “harassing,” but to this day, every working day in LA, someone is told she is overweight, has the wrong image, doesn’t have her work on the same level, or gets told she needs to “know me better” at someone’s apartment, or meet in a bedroom to get that job. #metoo is treated like, “OK, good. It looks like we all care. Let’s get back to the way things were.” And that saddens me so much.
How can women in entertainment stop being mistreated by people earning a profit from their livelihoods?
Save yourself the headache by not doing business with people who will gladly take your money but can’t read a one or two-page letter detailing your career goals and how your personal life events influenced your career today. Whether it’s you being a single parent, dropping out of high school, or having been an assault victim, your life story and why it defines your outlook on your own career and public image is important. Me, I have had a few folks act like jerks because I share how my not controlling my public image literally led me to be assaulted a decade ago, and how that makes me so outspoken with me telling folks about my love of wanting to be a blend of Hans Zimmer and Peter Jackson, me fighting to be seen as a serious business person and filmmaker/composer with big dreams. I am not a silent idiot who makes a good victim anymore. Without going into great detail, it was a person who knew me for work reasons who gave me drugs to do it when I least expected him to do so. And these horrible, awful LA people are like, “Off subject,” or “That has nothing to do with my work.” My goodness, sir, if you had a pulse and some empathy for fellow human beings, you would know it has everything to do with your work because I am telling you so as a person who wants to work with you as a publicist and pay you about why I have this passion for protecting women at work with safe environments. On why I am so passionate about being a publicly well-known person because I am going to be the only person who is in control of my life story. I am not going to be a victim of anyone again for the rest of my life. And you have the indecency to say that I just waste your time? You aren’t even human.
A person profiting thousands of dollars if not more from your career must take your life’s ups and downs seriously, or you should work that block button. For the kind of crazy money some of these people take that women like up and coming actresses may not possibly have and might be charging on credit cards, they should be delivering breakfast in bed to them, or to me! But no, these people feel entitled to tell you anything. I had a male hairdresser working on my hair once tell me I needed to get plastic surgery on my figure, it was said in a really mean tone with too much detail almost like an Internet troll-like how I was chunky and curveless in his view (I was wearing a giant T-shirt from working out before the hair appointment in 2011), and he felt he could get away with it because he is LGBTQ when I told him about it. I’m sorry, LGBTQ people are awesome, and it takes idiots like that to make everyone else look bad. When I told his boss, they told me to get lost and he would never say anything like that. They think they can get away with everything because they have some celebrity clients and have worked on some big campaigns.
A female hairdresser who used to work with that same team told me her boss, the guy I complained to about his employee, said he used to make horrible remarks about things he would like to do to her or explicit remarks about her body, and nobody believed her. She had to quit and find a safe employer. Lots of hypocrisy. A trans woman I met in the beauty industry was harassed by a big deal employer who claims to be LGBTQ friendly with his celebrity clients and I believe is a closeted LGBTQ himself based on some brief conversations I had with him long ago. Lots of stories, and I talk about these because I want people to know that many untold stories we never hear about of workplace disrespect and abuse are of people from behind the camera, film crews, or the businesses supporting the film community off hours. And of this, the most insulting bit is lots of the hatred directed towards straight and LGBTQ women is done by people who are themselves part of the female and/or LGBTQ communities. Unbelievable.
How can women direct and write films if they don’t have enough financing?
Successful filmmakers from indie to studio levels say you need to do the most you can with the least amount of money. Having ideas and techniques is a good indication of talent. Hiring it out? Anyone can do that. What artistry is involved in making other people do all the work as you don’t understand most of the technique? At this point, all you need to care is your films have heart and people watch them. My belief. Having films full of passion and ideas that thousands of people watch on YouTube is better than a super expensive film without any heart that 15 people watch somehow at a weekend screening. I am really happy seeing my stuff is seen and people supporting my work. I only compare myself to myself.
If all you have is friends willing to act and $150, making use of that! Get your first IMDb credit! Be as creative as you can. In time, the right people who have the power to pull strings bumping you up into studio directing will love your originality.
What do you love about Etsy?
Etsy changed my life! I longed forever for a means of bettering women in film. Etsy gives us a huge platform to make that come true at the lowest costs possible. Dreaming of something and making it happen are two very different things. Etsy makes it happen! Smaller today, big tomorrow. We’re going to end up changing many female filmmakers’ lives as time goes on! And the small business aspect of our other products for sale is going to be a dream day job as more sales come in!
The Etsy storefront and its staff are great. Everything runs really well. I can be sleeping as a customer’s shop. All the tax info is done for us. It’s a dream come true. We built it. And now, they will come. Like Field of Dreams. But with living customers who love our products. No ghosts! Do ghosts have usable credit cards? If so, let’s welcome ghost customers to the Haus of Film Etsy shop!
Etsy is creating opportunities for people who might, as I mentioned, face workplace discrimination or have to find ways to work for themselves. Things take a bit of time to take off, but they will. You know with Etsy, you have a future earning income. I am eternally grateful for Etsy providing a safe space for me in this world after all I have dealt with and continue dealing with.
Having completed my education in English, I’ve cultivated a successful career as a content writer. My tenure includes valued collaborations with distinguished professional organizations, reflecting my commitment to producing high-quality content.
Contact me on this mail: bloggerjohnsmith12@gmail.com