Elizabeth Gabler is president of 3000 Pictures, the Sony-owned, literary-driven film unit with credits including this summer’s Where The Crawdads Sing and Telluride premiere Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The firm was spun off from Fox 2000, where Los Angeles-based Gabler was president since 1999. There, she secured a cut-price deal for eventual Oscar-winner Walk The Line, with further credits including Life Of Pi, The Devil Wears Pradaand The Fault In Our Stars.
What is your office like?
It’s in a historical building on the Sony lot — it was the old MGM schoolhouse, where Elizabeth Taylor went to school. I have a photo of her sitting at a desk, which is basically where my desk is. It’s a little bungalow; there’s a working fireplace, a kitchen, a swinging door that goes to where the children had their lunch. The first thing I do when I get there is walk down the corridor filled with 20 movie posters of the most seminal films I’ve worked on, and just feel gratitude.
What was your first job?
After graduating with an English literature degree, I interviewed with a few agents and one of them was literary agent in the motion picture department at ICM — my first job was as his assistant. He would be running around town during the day and I would be sat by myself answering the phones, so I started to take the scripts off the wall one by one. I realised what I really wanted to do was be more involved in a creative sense.
Who helped you most when you were first starting out?
Contrary to popular belief, there were a number of women in the business when I started — they were powerful, ambitious, creative and had a wonderful work ethic. [Former Paramount CEO and 20th Century Fox president of production] Sherry Lansing would be top of the list of most elegant people in the world — she was a role model. My most ardent mentor is Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group.
What are you most proud of professionally?
Life Of Pi was the hardest film I did — that was truly gratifying. There was so much at stake — it was so expensive and I had to really believe in a vision. I felt like I was leading everyone off a cliff like lemmings behind me. When it worked that big, it was this huge triumph and relief. The thing I’m most proud of was taking over at Fox 2000, and turning it around to what it ended up being for 20 years.
What do you like best about your job?
I love being on set. It’s so exhilarating to watch the work that you’ve spent so much time finding the material and developing, finding the people that are going to work on it. The people we meet during those experiences will stay with me in my life; I know I will always be close to [Crawdads lead] Daisy Edgar-Jones.
What job would you do if you didn’t work in the film industry?
My mother was a teacher, I thought I might do that. I speak to classes a lot when I have time, and I’m on the board of trustees at University of California, Santa Barbara. I’m involved in a lot of philanthropy, particularly with children and animal charities.
What book are you reading?
We just closed the deal on an option for a book called Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Most of the things I’m reading, you wouldn’t know because they aren’t published yet. We often read books before they have a publishing deal. I always want to go back and read the finished product.
Where do you go to unwind?
I live on a farm, have horses and used to ride competitively. My barn is one of the most beautiful places — my horses and all my memorabilia. I can spend hours in there cleaning, doing horse tech.
What are you working on now?
I’m excited to be working with David Heyman on Klara And The Sun, from Kazuo Ishiguro. We have another wonderful book called Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson that Coda director Sian Heder is working on with us. We’re doing a limited series for Netflix based on a book called Girl A, by debut British author Abigail Dean. And we’re working on a script with Blueprint Pictures for The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, another British author. We probably have 40 projects on the go.
No comments yet