Sherry Lansing, along with Stanley R. Jaffee of the Jaffee/Lansing movie production company, made an appearance at Northwestern University to accept the 14th Annual Alumnae Award.

During and after her acceptance of the award, Lansing spoke about the growth and maturity she experienced as a person, the problems she faced as a female in the entertainment industry, and the escalations she made in the past few years.

When a sophomore in college, Lansing decided to marry. Two years later, she graduated and moved with her husband to California. Lansing said that this move was a pivotal point in her life. “I tried desperately to be a good wife.

Lansing said, “I was married to a perfectly lovely man, yet I wanted more. I just knew that somehow this wasn’t working out and that there must be something more. I was bored.”

“In reality, I got married far too young. At 19, I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted. By 26, I was just beginning to have an indentity, and I think the best thing that can be said about the two of us, Michael and myself, was that we grew up, and in doing so we got a divorce.”

Lansing tried movie acting for a while but because she was “uncomfortable” in front of the camera, she decided to move behind it. Her first production job, which earned her $5 an hour, was as a free-lance script reader.

She began to climb the corporate-entertainment ladder by moving from a story editor position to vice-president of creative affairs at MGM studios.

She moved on to become vice-president of production at Columbia Pictures, where she was responsible for half of the films the studio made, two of which were “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “The China Syndrome.” Finally, she was made president of 20th Century Fox.

Even though this natural process of job escalation sounds simple, Lansing said she had to deal with some setbacks. “When I was first made a vice-president of a studio, it was one of the happiest days of my life, and with that title I assumed I would get a raise,” Lansing said. “I went to the head of the company and asked for one. He refused and said I was earning quite enough money for a woman.”

“I also remember when I wanted to become president of the film division. I was informed by the board of directors that ‘I was qualified but that a woman couldn’t handle the job. After all, how could she get any man to work for her.'”

But even with these upsets, Lansing said she had to accept some of the responsibility. “I realized I had to assume some of the responsibility for my disappointments; it wasn’t just an unfair world,” Lansing admitted. “I began to realize that I had become a passive participant in my setbacks. For years I had been programed to believe that I was worth less dollars and that I couldn’t hold a number one position. My self-image needed to grow.”

Lansing said she started Jaffee/Lansing Productions because she wanted to start something from scratch, to be an entrepreneur, to reap the financial as well as the creative rewards of being an owner.

Since its birth five years ago, Jaffee/Lansing has made five films: “Racing with the Moon,” starring Sean Penn and Elizabeth McGovern; “First Born,” starring Teri Garr and Peter Weller; “Fatal Attraction,” starring Glenn Close, Ann Archer, and Michael Douglas; and “Black Rain,” starring Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia.

“The making of ‘Fatal Attraction’ was the single best work experience I ever had in my entire life,” Lansing said.” The process of making “Fatal Attraction” took nearly three and a half years. Every studio turned it down and some even turned it down twice.

Lansing said that everyone turned it down for the same reason. “They felt it was absolutly impossible to do a film about a man who cheats on his wife for no reason. They said everybody will hate this man. Nobody will identify with him,” Lansing said.”

In addition to her production work Lansing posed for an American Express print ad. The ad appeared in “Life” and “Premiere” magazines.

Lansing said. “I usually don’t do things like that, but I told them that if they’d make a donation to cancer research, which I’m very involved with, I’d do it. They said they would and I said great.

“The photographer came to my house to talk and she explained how she thought I should look. During the photography sesion, Leibovitz had Lansing weraing sunglasses, but Lansing didn’t know why. “Why is she doing this? The only trait I really think I have is big eyes,” Lansing laughed.

But after she viewed the photos, Lansing had her answer. “Then when I saw the pictures, I knew that it was the sunglasses that told everyone it was camp. Without the sunglasses, people would think I really dressed like that.”

The best advice Lansing has for people is simple and inspirational. “Enjoy the process of what you’re doing and the results will come. Too many people wish for immediate achievement,” Lansing said. “They overlook the fact that just getting up to bat, just trying, is what’s admirable.”