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Queerer Weirder Screenwriter Sarah Gubbins makes her feature film debut with ‘Shirley’
- by Joshua Irvine
arah Gubbins (Communication ‘97, ‘08) first fell for Shirley J a c k s o n’s twisted sensibilities in a performance studies class her senior year at NU. This year, she premiered her biopic of the horror and mystery author at Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. A successful Chicago playwrightturned-Hollywood screenwriter, Gubbins first brought Chris Kraus’ cult novel “I Love Dick” to television before her feature film debut with “Shirley.” She calls the film “a psychosexual drama about an author who is trying to find a way into her next book.” Gubbins sat down with The Daily to talk about her career after leaving Chicago, writing “Shirley” and working in women-led spaces. This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
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