For today's Female Filmmakers series let's talk about the director of the fantastic, skintastic 90s flick Tank Girl. Where has that director been since making that amazing film? She's all over your TV! Let's take a look at director Rachel Talalay.
Rachel was born in Chicago to British parents, but she grew up in Baltimore after her family moved there when she was six. She attended Yale University to study math, but when she met John Waters back home in Baltimore, and fell in love with movie-making. She was an assistant on the set of Polyester which gave her the experience needed to also assist A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Spoiler alert: she later winds up directing a Freddy film! She directed Linnea Quigley in 1991's Freddy's Dead which was her directorial debut. That really came full circle! Linnea showed her breasts at the end of the movie in a gooey scene you can see here:
Rachel Talalay is best known for directing Tank Girl in 1995. Lori Petty is the titular Tank Girl who is a wild and wacky blonde punk trying to survive in a 2033 dystopian landscape (2033 felt much farther away in 1995). She doesn't go nude in the movie, but she wears so many skimpy outfits that make watching Tank Girl extra titillating.
She wound up working on a variety of TV shows after Tank Girl. She directed episodes of Dice, Ally McBeal, Terminal City,Kyle XY, and so many more. She really has been all over our TV sets for decades now.
In 2014, she had the honor of being the first American to direct Doctor Who - that British heritage really came in handy! She directed 7 episodes from 2014 to 2017 which showed off her TV-directing skills to the BBC audience. This was a dream come true for her who said she has wanted to work on the show since it was revived in 2005.
She has also directed several episodes of the CW show Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, so she's the one responsible for turning on Gen Z with loads of sexual tension. There is not much nudity on those shows, but there sure are a lot of very sexy young actresses in their lingerie. You know...like how teens are!
Rachel clearly has a good eye for aesthetics and she is still hard at work directing episodes of The Flash. She splits her time between directing, raising two kids with her husband, and teaching at the University of British Columbia. She really is a well-rounded person in the entertainment industry - a rarity!
I have nothing but respect for this director and I hope she keeps pushing boundaries on TV. It wouldn't hurt to see more nudity either!
