Back
	www.prideisp.com Dec 1, 2000 Power Player - Stacy Codikow By Laurie Kay Stacy Codikow might laugh at being referred to as a "power player." But it’s not because she isn’t one. Such a pretentious title would just strike the good-natured, good-humored native Californian as funny. With eight feature films under her belt, Codikow is not the type to flaunt her position with power suits or power pumps, but she isn’t opposed to planning power strategies over power lunches. As one who believes women like herself should grab every opportunity available to get their films made and let their voices be heard, she is the brainchild behind Power Up, the new organization created to encourage, support and integrate lesbians in the entertainment industry. Stacy Codikow quickly found success in Hollywood. Right out of USC’s film school she went to work on "Cagney and Lacey," then joined a production company at Orion Television. By age 24, she established Codikow Films and set out to produce independent feature films. Throughout her early career, the subject of her sexuality never came up and she has yet to make a lesbian-themed film. In fact, as recently as a year ago she was basically clueless about the gay community as it related to her career or her personal life. "I would have parties at my house with about 200 people," she said, "190 of them would be straight, 10 would be gay, and two of those would be women—my girlfriend and me." Things changed, however, when she came out to her mother about a year ago. With that out of the way, she set out to find other women like her. "I decided it was time for me to get involved," she said, over lunch at a restaurant below her Beverly Boulevard office. "I didn’t know how to be involved or how to meet women. I didn’t really have gay friends." She found GLAAD on the Internet and joined the development team. That was "a rewarding experience," she said, which lead her to reevaluate her life this past summer. "I thought, ‘what am I going to do next?’ I could be a fulltime GLAADiator, as I like to call them, but I also think there’s something out there that I’m personally into." As a lesbian filmmaker, that would be other lesbians in the entertainment industry. So Codikow contacted two women she had met through her stint with GLAAD, and over bagels she laid out her idea for a networking organization for lesbians. Power UP was born. A practical more than idealistic veteran of the fickle film industry, Codikow knows from experience that connections can make all the difference. "I’ve done a lot of business but there’s that certain ‘kin,’ like when you know something about somebody. I can go to a meeting and say, I went to SC, and somebody says, ‘I went to USC!’ You have that sort of camaraderie, something that bonds you." That’s the idea behind Power UP. While there are other groups for gays and women, no other organization that Codikow has come across puts lesbians in the industry at the forefront. "There’s something about being part of an organization, having friends in common or whatever it takes. If I sat down across from a woman that I knew was gay … we sort of have an affinity and an automatic comfort. That’s really our main focus." Other aspects of the group include resume banks, seminars, discussions promoting positive self-image and, ultimately, to fund short films by members. "The reality is, if we can find each other, there’s strength in numbers."