This article appears in print in the March number 2019. Click here to subscribe.
Seattle-born writer Lindy West went from writing for the stranger to contribute to Jezebel, The New York Times, This American Life, The Guardian and beyond is due to the power of her searing, eviscerating voice as she tackles society’s most controversial topics: abortion, fat shaming and online bullying, among others. And now that voice has taken her to Hollywood as one of the screenwriters of Acutea six-episode Hulu series premiering this month (starting 3/15) and inspired by the Wests 2016 collection of essays of the same title. Saturday night lives Aidy Bryant stars in the body-focused comedy, A Clef, set in a Portland alternative weekly. Drawing inspiration from West’s own life, Bryant said, her character, Annie, has family and friends, a job, love, and all of those things. I don’t think that’s always been the case for big characters on TV.
The work of another irrepressible voice, that of Maria Semple, was also adapted into a screenplay. The Seattle transplants 2012 Seattle-based bestselling novel, Where are you going Bernadette, hits theaters on August 9. Its A-list, directed by Richard Linklater, featuring Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer and Laurence Fishburne, was filmed largely in the motion picture industry (and Seattle stuntman) Vancouver, UK Colombia. But at least one scene was filmed here at the downtown Seattle Public Library. And for the old new hometown of Los Angelena Semples, a UNESCO City of Literature, that sounds as good as a cameo.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated from the print edition.