Women in Film featured Cass Warner in their bi-monthly newsletter, Reel News (December/January edition). Here is the text of that article:
Warner Sisters is here to carry on the tradition that my grandfather Harry Warner began with Warner Brothers. Producing entertainment products that "educate, entertain and enlighten" is the purpose of my company with the goal being to improve the human condition.
The question is often asked, "Does Hollywood have an ethical responsibility?" In Frank Capra's words: "We have it within our power to speak to hundreds of millions of people two hours at a time in the dark. No single person before has ever had that power: no emperor, saint, no individual however powerful. We have a tremendous responsibility." I agree. So, I have accumulated a slate of fourteen projects that exemplifies this credo.
The Warner brothers understood this too. They were aware of the numbers of people they reached and the power of the medium. They knew the messages in their movies were like a tribal drum -- people will hum what they hear. For instance, if violence is depicted in a way that makes man's inhumanity to man acceptable, then this will be considered the norm and will become the "theme of the day." The brothers saw they set the trends, introduced the fads, influenced viewpoints and helped to create the culture.
As women, we play a tremendous role in creating tomorrow's reality. Women can and do bring a certain wisdom and intuition to this art form. Nature designed us to be creators -- to give and nurture life; I think we have a certain obligation to reflect that in our lives and in our work. Personally, I embrace my femininity as an asset and my role as a woman with great pride.
Yet, to survive in this business, women also require a certain degree of business savvy and acumen. We're obviously doing okay on that front too: it wasn't long ago that women were called "dolls, tomatoes, chicks, babes and broads;" we've since graduated to "tough cookies, foxes, bitches" and so on. In fact, I recently heard Barbra Streisand call Hollywood's most accomplished women "the girls in the 'hood." I think the important thing here is that women be recognized -- and recognize themselves -- as being many things: strong and vulnerable, intelligent and the prettier of the sexes, opinionated and flexible, deep-thinking as well as feeling.
As an independent producer I have a responsibility as well which can be summed up in three words: retaining creative control. Being a writer, I honor the writer as the source of the creation. As a producer, my job is to see that the original integrity of the story stays intact all the way through to the end.
By the way, I'm always looking for people of like mind who want to see their creative energy and money dedicated to this purpose, and I'm always searching for scripts. The ingredients I'm attracted to are pieces with heart and soul, wit and insight. I love character driven stories, and I'm a fiend for good dialogue. Hope to hear from you soon.