On the Dark Side
Fast Company|May - June 2020
Writer-director Emerald Fennell is proving that certain stories are best served cold.
By Yasmin Gagne
On the Dark Side

THE WOMEN IN EMERALD FENNELL’S projects have one thing in common: vengeance. The London-based writer, director, and author, who first gained recognition as an actor on PBS’s Call the Midwife (and recently played Camilla Parker Bowles on Netflix’s The Crown), has served as the showrunner and head writer for the second season of Killing Eve, and will soon be making her feature directing debut with Promising Young Woman. The genre-busting thriller, starring Carey Mulligan as a medical school dropout on a quest to make people pay for a past crime, is deeply subversive, which makes Fennell’s next project all the more intriguing: She and Andrew Lloyd Webber are in the process of reimagining Cinderella for the London stage.

What was your inspiration for Promising Young Woman, which deals with the aftermath of a sexual assault on a campus? Were you responding to the conversation about #MeToo, or something more?

A few years ago, there were a lot of revenge movies coming out with women protagonists I didn’t recognize. I thought that if a woman were to take revenge, it probably wouldn’t be what we’re used to seeing—which is hot pants and a machete—because I think women aren’t violent very often. Our culture has spent forever looking at frightening men, [so] frightening women are written as male characters with boobs. I thought the genre needed subverting. . . . I thought about films like The Virgin Suicides, To Die For, and American Psycho, up to a point. I was interested in making a subverted, nasty, funny fairy tale. I was thinking of things that are super feminine but also wild.

This story is from the May - June 2020 edition of Fast Company.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the May - June 2020 edition of Fast Company.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM FAST COMPANYView All
Where the Clean Energy Jobs Are
Fast Company

Where the Clean Energy Jobs Are

A data-driven guide to the skills you need and the opportunities you'll find

time-read
5 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
CAN WWE PIN THE WORLD?
Fast Company

CAN WWE PIN THE WORLD?

AS IT MAKES ITS $5 BILLION NETFLIX DEBUT AND PREPARES FOR A GLOBAL AUDIENCE, WWE IS STILL WRESTLING WITH THE TOXIC LEGACY OF ITS COMPLICATED FOUNDER.

time-read
10 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
RADICAL VISION
Fast Company

RADICAL VISION

POLICE DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE EMBRACING AI-ENHANCED SURVEILLANCE IN THE NAME OF STOPPING CRIME. HERE'S HOW ONE SECURITY FIRM IS LEADING THE EFFORT AND PROFITING OFF OUR FEARS

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
Brands That Matter
Fast Company

Brands That Matter

Our annual look at standout brands encompasses 130 honorees in nine categories, including the inaugural CMOs of the Year. Here's how 12 of those brands and three top CMOs stake out the intersection of business and culture.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
The Future According to Google
Fast Company

The Future According to Google

Google DeepMind, the tech giant's internal AI research lab, isn't just racing to beat OpenAI to market. Under Nobel laureate CEO Demis Hassabis, it's the \"engine room\" of the entire company.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Fast Company

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

SEPHORA HAS GROWN SO POWERFUL THAT IT CONTROLS WHICH BRANDS LIVE OR DIE IN THE $30 BILLION HIGH-END COSMETICS INDUSTRY. IN THIS BEAUTY CONTEST, SEPHORA ALWAYS WEARS THE CROWN.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
CULTURE WARS
Fast Company

CULTURE WARS

Brands on the Run Why Harley-Davidson, Caterpillar, and other masculine\" brands are caving to anti-DEI crusader Robby Starbuck

time-read
6 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
WORK LIFE
Fast Company

WORK LIFE

Law Roach, image architect and educator, answers our career questionnaire.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
The AI Gadget Debacle
Fast Company

The AI Gadget Debacle

Here's why you shouldn't expect any mind-blowing AI-powered gifts anytime soon.

time-read
6 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
Why the future workplace will feel more like a hotel
Fast Company

Why the future workplace will feel more like a hotel

REVEALS WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT TO CORPORATE STRATEGY AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025