Skimm Her Life is a series of our weekly newsletter, Skim your lifewhere smart women share their favorite products.
Major key alert. Lena Dunham is here to share her favorite on-set essentials in honor of her latest film, “Sharp Stick.” Which, by the way, she wrote, directed, and acted – all in the midst of a pandemic. *Pause for applause.* It’s out in theaters now, so check it out and give our girl some love…
What’s always on my desk when I write…
If I’m not on set or in a meeting and have a day of writing, I do 99.9% of it from my bed, which is a king-size Keetsa mattress (my mom insists I sleep on an ecological mattress if I’m going to be there that long)… I create a kind of nest with my Macbook Pro, my iPhone in its Bailey Hikawa case (I have five or six now, it’s an obsession), a stack of books and scripts, a few copies of Architectural Digest and The World of Interiors for breaks and inspirations – plus my two dogs and usually the cat. I always have a Pilot Kombucha, an Ito En bottled green tea, an almond milk latte, a Trip CBD seltzer – interesting drinks are my favorite distraction.
Three things I need in my trailer…
A cozy blanket (usually fleece, softness takes precedence over style) — [Skimm HQ recs this one] — a fridge full of iced green tea and a Wi-Fi signal. I like small spaces, so the trailer is always a sanctuary for me, no matter its size or location.
Personal care habit/product I turn to after a long day on set…
A warm shallow bath – it’s so comforting for me to just run a little water and sit down until it cools down. Maybe it’s a leftover from my Irish nanny’s aversion to wasting water, but I don’t need much and I’m going to lay down and I’m in heaven.
My go-to product that keeps me organized…
I keep obsessive lists – I joke that I want to give a TED Talk approach on my Notes app, which keeps me going. If they were deleted, it would be like I was deleted. The My Notes app contains a macro to-do list divided into personal and work tasks, as well as my daily schedule with more urgent items to check off. I also have notes listing the status of writing and production projects, things to discuss with my producing partner Michael during our morning checks, things to do around the house, appointments you to the doctor to fix.
The Notes app is a place where my creative and logistical lives intersect, and while I don’t take care of everything every day, it makes what I do possible. I also try to remember that lists, while exceptionally useful and enjoyable to check off, are not life – and when life intervenes, that’s fine. Like many women, I feel enormous pressure to show up in all areas of my life and cutting the slack needed to have a fulfilling inner life is always the most important and difficult item on the list.
What I read while writing “Sharp Stick” and what I’m reading now…
“Sharp Stick” was essentially about exploring how women’s identities become subsumed by the men they are involved with, and so I was interested in reading books from women whose lives were publicly linked to high-profile men. .
“Flash” is a truly provocative novel by Carole Mallory [that] dives into the shameless life of a woman in Los Angeles whose addictions – alcohol, men, attention – both inspire and destroy her. Now I’m reading Jean Rhys’ ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ for the first time, and I can’t believe it took me this long – I love how it functions as a prequel to ‘Jane Eyre’ everything being entirely his own creation. I just finished Constance Wu’s book “Making a Scene”, which I read overnight because it was so captivating and immediate. It has something to say about both the inner life of an artist and the dangers of public attention that I’ve never seen expressed before, and it’s adorably funny.
Soundtrack I listened to on set…
T. Swift’s “Evermore” had just been released, so – like any good person – I listened to it every day on the way to filming, just living in the narration. My favorite song on the album is “Ivy”.
Something people wouldn’t expect about life on set…
I love life on set because it has a lot of the same qualities as summer camp. People who are strangers on day one feel like family on day 30, and you’re completely entangled in this collaborative world that leads to a plethora of inside jokes and sweet support. I love that we’re all here because once upon a time, we fell in love with movies. Especially while making a COVID-19 movie, I realized how lucky we are to be able to show up every day and do a dream job. It gave me back the butterflies I felt when I started 15 years ago. It’s corny, but it’s true.
