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Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin's Shortlist

Published on March 20, 2007

The Shortlist article series is your opportunity to learn about the films that inspire intellectual, artistic and activist leaders. Leaders like bestselling authors Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin, whose book The Nanny Diaries explores class and childcare in New York City and is soon to be released as a major motion picture. We asked Nicola and Emma to share their favorite films and their thoughts on the power of documentary to change the world. So what films make Nicola and Emma's Shortlist? Keep reading to find out.

Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin, photo by Leonard Lewis

Who are Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin?

Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus's The Nanny Diaries was the longest running hardcover bestseller of 2002. An adaptation based on the novel is being released as a major motion picture starring Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney and Alicia Keys in April 2007. Their second New York Times bestseller, Citizen Girl, satirizes the intersection of corporate culture and feminism in our pornography-saturated society. McLaughlin and Kraus have appeared numerous times on CNN, MSNBC, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight and The View. They have been covered in virtually every major newspaper and magazine across the country, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, TIME, Newsweek, Elle, Town & Country and Harper's Bazaar.

Since the publication of their second novel, Ms. McLaughlin and Ms. Kraus have been working hard on their third novel, Dedication, which will be released in June 2007. They have contributed to The London Times and The New York Times as well as writing two short story collections to benefit The War Child Fund: Big Night Out and Girls' Night Out. They are currently writing a screenplay adaptation for Paramount, when they are not traveling around the country speaking to young women about gender issues in American corporate culture.

Nicola Kraus on the Power of Film

I am moved, inspired and intimidated by films every day. I have been addicted to the medium since childhood, when my grandmother would take me every Saturday to the Regency Theater on Broadway for their double bill of classic films from the 30s and 40s, which gave me the chance to see these icons on the big screen. Every month had a different theme -- by actor or director. Audrey Hepburn month fell in the summer and we went almost every afternoon for four weeks. My grandmother died two years ago, just before I started screenwriting, but I know she would be thrilled to find out I have become in some small way a part of the industry that gave us so many glorious afternoons.

Emma McLaughlin on the Power of Film

One of my top two favorite moments in life, bar none, is that pause in the darkness of a theater after the studio mascot fades from the screen and the movie is about to start. I love the moment of anticipation. The not-knowing. The next ninety minutes might change my life, at the very least I'll be entertained. I will leave hopefully educated, and ideally, transformed. Cinema is our universal language, and in a world of so much divisiveness, the importance of that cannot be overstated.

Nicola's Film Picks

Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol: This is the first documentary feature I ever took myself to see in theatrical release. This film about Andy Warhol was the first time I had seen a filmmaker clearly editorialize about his interview subjects without any voice-over. Purely by letting the subject talk themselves into a corner, we could understand as an audience member whether this was someone the filmmaker thought was a reliable narrator, or someone we should know had ulterior motives or an agenda perhaps not even known to themselves.

Sir John Soane: An English Architect, An American Legacy: This documentary by the Checkerboard Foundation, an organization that documents the artistic process of living American artists, examines the legacy of Sir John Soane on contemporary architecture masters, including Henry Cobb, Michael Graves, Philip Johnson, Richard Meier, Robert Stern, Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi. The film investigates both the influence of antiquity on Soane, as well as how he served as inspiration to guide American architects out of the strictures of Modernism. Footage of Soane's masterpieces is intercut with those he influenced, including Philip Johnson's Guest House, Richard Meier's Getty Museum, Michael Graves' Newark Museum renovation, Henry Cobb's Payson Building of the Portland Museum of Art and the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery in London, designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.

Emma's Film Picks

Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire: This is the gripping story of Romeo Dallaire, the General in command of sixty UN soldiers stationed in Rwanda in the year leading up to the genocide. Through a series of interviews he recounts his attempts to engage the UN in averting the massacre and his decision to stay, after being ordered to leave, and do what good he could in the face of bloodshed. The movie follows Dallaire back to Rwanda to meet with those he tried to convince the world to protect. It is a profoundly inspiring portrait of a man who still holds himself ultimately accountable against a backdrop of nations who shirked all responsibility.

Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony: This moving film recounts the role music played in the fight to end South African Apartheid. Through interviews and beautiful performances, musicians and activists convey how intrinsic their songs were to the preservation and fortification of the spirit of their movement. It is an inspiring testament to how the nurturing of their community's humanity played no small part in eroding the grip of its oppressors.