By Liz Coffin-KarlinThe Daily Northwestern

When Kathleen Turner entered the Big Ten Room, Communication senior Jen Howell screamed. Other board members of the Northwestern University Women Filmmaker’s Alliance were just as excited to meet the iconic Tony and Oscar award nominee.

“We’re hoping to show women in this community that there’s a strong female character in the industry of film and theater,” said Communication sophomore Jen O’Leary, the alliance’s president.

On Monday night, the group brought the actress to campus for an event titled, “A Conversation with Kathleen Turner.”

For more than an hour, Turner held a question-and-answer session with a few dozen Northwestern students, many of whom identified themselves as film or theater majors.

Before sitting down, Turner declared it was her night off, and that she was there to relax. During an introduction, Turner interrupted Communication freshman Olivia Mascheroni, who she referred to as her “second daughter.”

“Oh, come on honey! Yeah, you’re proud of me, but do we have to do every credit?” Turner asked.

Mascheroni, who was responsible for Turner’s campus visit, continued the introduction by citing the actress’ 2005 Tony Award nomination for her role as Martha in Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Turner was also nominated for an Oscar in 1987 for the film “Peggy Sue Got Married” and won two Golden Globes for “Prizzi’s Honor” (1986) and “Romancing the Stone” (1985).

The conversation was lively, and topics ranged from the best directors to work with, to Turner’s decision never to play victims but only “women who take responsibility for their own lives.”

“I hope you guys are being blunt, because I am,” Turner said. “I don’t know any other way to be.”

Many of the audience’s questions were specifically about acting. Turner repeatedly mentioned the pitfalls of the current studio system, which she said forces directors to make safe choices with their movies due to extraordinary expenses.

“You know, feed the poor guys,” Turner said. “Buy some AIDS medication. Don’t spend $100,000 on a movie.”

NU’s Women Filmmaker’s Alliance started in fall of 2005 as a response to the low number of female students involved with film production on campus. O’Leary said although about 50 percent of film majors were female, in many cases on sets or in production classes there were only a few women on the set.

This was one of the group’s first big events. They are bringing documentary filmmaker Grace Lee to Annenberg Hall on April 12 at 8:30 p.m.

When Turner opened the group’s gift of a the alliance’s t-shirt that said “Reel Women” on the back, she laughed at the appellation.

“(It’s) something I have campaigned for my whole life,” she said.

Reach Liz Coffin-Karlin at [email protected].