Hunger Games Producer: 'To Be Closeted In Hollywood Is Tantamount to Being a Wimp'

Before its big opening weekend, Nina Jacobson, the producer of the latest Hunger Games film, Mockingjay, talked with Taffy Brodesser-Akner of the New York Times Magazine about the power of Katniss, why they split the final book into two films (other than the obvious way to cash in), and the rise of female protagonists in movies (at last). But it was the fact that the out Hollywood producer spoke so bluntly on the record that got our attention. When asked whether it was a "detriment to be out in Hollywood," Jacobson replied:

No. If anything, it's a detriment to be closeted. Being closeted in Hollywood is like wearing a toupee. It suggests that you're not proud of who you are, and that you're afraid of people finding out who you are. There are places where you can't be out for fear of your life, for fear of your livelihood. Hollywood is not one of them. So to be closeted here is tantamount to being a wimp.

The journalist continues with the line of questioning:

So you think you can always tell?

You can always tell! When I first was coming out to a senior colleague of mine, I said, "Do you think the boss knows?" And he said, "Nina, at this point, I think it's safe to assume everyone knows."

Then she got really personal, asking about the rumor that she was "fired from your job as a studio head at Disney while you were in the delivery room for the birth of one of your children." True to form, Jacobson didn't hedge, replying: "Well, I'd stepped into the hallway. A story leaked into the press when my partner was going into labor. By the time I reached my boss, he was like, Can you come in? I was like, No, I really can't. So it happened on the phone."

Jacobson recently acquired the rights to Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch. So get ready for another blockbuster.