On Carolyn McGuinness, assistant to Jennifer Aniston: “Literally, we all say to her, ‘Can you please train everyone’s assistant to be like you?’ ”

THE TALENTJennifer Lawrence

The “undeniable” Lawrence, who won an Oscar this year for Silver

Linings Playbook (Up next: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and American Hustle), is “a full-fledged movie star” and “the most exciting actress in a long time.” “Her appeal is being relatable” (read: funny and self-deprecating). “And look her work: touchstones for pop culture.”

Jessica ChastainThe “adventurous and vulnerable” Chastain’s power lies in “her creative

choices and her spirit.” It also doesn’t hurt that this “unconventional” beauty works: The 36-year-old star of the upcoming Miss Julie and Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar has 32 film credits and two Oscar nods to her name (for The Help and Zero Dark Thirty).

THE SOCIAL-MEDIA STARAnna Kendrick

Instead of confining her charms to the silver screen, the

“hilarious” Pitch Perfect actress takes her “great voice” to Twitter, where she trades bons mots with the likes of Aubrey Plaza, sets trends (#CarryMeHomeMeryl), and

vocalizes her lust for Ryan Gosling. “She feels like an original—in this town, that’s rare.”

THE AUTHORGillian Flynn

“The whole time reading [Flynn’s Gone Girl], I was just like, ‘This is

going to be a movie.’ ” Well, Flynn certainly has Hollywood at attention: Gone Girl, which Flynn is adapting for the big screen herself, is being produced by Reese Witherspoon, with Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck to star; films based on her two earlier novels are in the works, and she’s writing a pilot for HBO, too.

THE SCREENWRITERSKate Dippold

Dippold “outdid the boys in terms of comedy this summer” with The

Heat, her major movie debut. The former Parks and Recreation writer has several “female-centric” projects in the works, including The Heat 2.

Vanessa TaylorA producer and the only female scribe on HBO’s Game of Thrones, the “really

talented” Taylor is now behind the “strong script” for Veronica Roth’s best-selling young adult novel Divergent, a

high-stakes production that Hollywood hopes will become a Hunger Games–level franchise.

THE DIRECTORSKathryn Bigelow

Bigelow has become a power icon in Hollywood—and not because she

beat her ex-husband, James Cameron, for a Best Director Oscar (although she did that, too). “Her power comes from her ability to pick timely but difficult subjects,” such as The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. “There aren’t a lot of women getting things made. She’s doing it.”

Sam Taylor-JohnsonNow that the Nowhere Boy director—“a force of nature”—has

snagged the director’s chair for Fifty Shades of Grey, “she’s about to be a household name.”

THE TRIPLE THREATJulie Delpy

“People think that Before Midnight was all one big improvisation”—

thanks to Delpy’s “real deal” performance—“and it’s not. It’s extremely scripted.” Delpy—who wrote, directed, produced, and starred in last year’s Two Days in New York—also cowrote Midnight and thus “should be nominated in as many categories as possible.”

THE CASTING DIRECTORSEllen Chenoweth

From Clint Eastwood to George Clooney, “Ellen has an

innate ability to see through a director’s lens and capture the world they’re trying to create.” The go-to casting director for the Coen brothers—with whom she worked on eight films—she boasts “an authenticity in

every character, even in the smallest roles.”

Jennifer EustonEuston—who “has phenomenal taste and an encyclopedic

memory”—won an Emmy last year for casting HBO’s Girls, was nominated again for the same award this year, and “will certainly be nominated for Orange Is the New Black.”

THE PRODUCERSMegan Ellison

The daughter of Oracle cofounder and billionaire Larry Ellison, this

financier has “more money than God!” Instead of using her ample funds to “finance the next horror film,” she “supports movies that are harder to get made” from “very, very good filmmakers,” such as True Grit and Zero Dark Thirty. Next up: Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher and David O. Russell’s American Hustle.

Barbara BroccoliThe “hilarious” and “humble” producer “resurrected the

[Bond] franchise” with unlikely star Daniel Craig. Said to be as involved as any director—007 is in her blood: She’s the daughter of late James Bond producer Cubby Broccoli—this Bond girl is “tough as nails.” “Oh my God, don’t cross her!”

THE EXECUTIVESStacey Snider

As cochair and CEO of DreamWorks, Snider is a “solid,

incredibly accomplished executive” who “hasn’t forgotten where she came from.” “She’s committed to bringing up female filmmakers”—“but she’s agnostic enough about it that it’s not like she’s on a crusade.”

In planning our twentieth annual quest to identify Hollywood’s most influential women,

we asked: “Who would know Hollywood better than Hollywood herself?” So we tapped 24 all-

star powerhouses (all of whom have ranked on ELLE Power Lists past) to nominate and speak—anonymously, of course, because in this town

you can’t let it all hang out—about their industry’s hottest players. Here, a peer-sanctioned survey of the Hollywood power complex—in their own

words. By Jennifer Vineyard

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Donna LangleyIn addition to being “a great mentor” to junior execs, the

Universal Pictures chair and CEO is “a behind-the-scenes person” who has shepherded woman-centric hits from Bridesmaids to The Identity Thief—and, most recently, a little megadeal called the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.

Hannah MinghellaThe daughter of late director Anthony Minghella, this

“rising star” also happens to be “film royalty.” But as the president of production for Columbia Pictures, Minghella’s earning serious cred for her “instrumental” work on the Bond movies. “We’re going to see a lot more of her.”

THE MARKETING MAVENSSue Kroll

President of marketing for Warner Brothers, Kroll—whom

“directors think of as their guiding light”—is responsible for “spectacular” campaigns for projects from Man of Steel to The Great Gatsby. “Even under enormous pressure, she navigates with class and ease.” And if you’re looking to get in good with her, “ask her about her garden.”

Megan ColliganIn Hollywood circles, the “really well-respected” Colligan gets props

for “having it all” like no one else. As the head of marketing and distribution at Paramount, she handles the “big tentpoles” such as World War Z as well as big docs such as Waiting for Superman. Plus, this “badass on every level” has “three sons under the age of six.”

THE AGENTS

Maha DakhilDakhil reps “everyone from Tom Cruise to Steve McQueen to

Danny Strong,” but what makes her a “top, top agent” is that “she keeps signing better and better people.” While others “rise and fall,” “she’s on [veteran agent] Beth Swofford’s heels.”

Christy HaubeggerThe Latina magazine founder and CAA agent, who reps John

Legend and Eva Longoria, is “incredibly great at her job,” but also “a real voice in the Latina community”—“a truth teller about what it’s like to be a woman and a minority in this town.”

THE PRODUCTION DESIGNERJudy Becker

“The production design is so good, it becomes a character in the

movie.” Directors such as Ang Lee and Todd Haynes, who hired her for Brokeback Mountain and I’m Not There, respectively, agree—as does David O. Russell, for whom she designed on The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle.

THE LAWyERSPatti Felker

What do you do if you’re an A-lister with a contractual quandary? In the

words of her clients: “Release the Felker.” This tough negotiator, who was a key player in the Modern Family actors’ contract wars and juggled Jeremy Renner’s multiple franchise offers for

Marvel and the Bourne series, is also considered “a real mentor” who “constantly helps people in the business who are starting out.”

Blair BerkWhether the battle at hand is over a paparazzi scuffle, a hit-and-run, or a

DUI, this “phenomenal” criminal defense attorney “commands in court” and “the judicial officials love her.” All of which comes in quite handy, considering the fact that Berk “handles some of the most difficult people, from Lindsay Lohan to Mel Gibson.”

THE FIXERMia Gorman

“A real up-and-comer,” Gorman “counsels people, not just celebrities”

on how to set up charities and foundations, through the Gorman Advisory Firm. Involved with a slew of charities and political causes, including Obama’s reelection campaign, herself, Gorman “knows how to network and make things happen.”

THE POLITICOKamala Harris

California’s attorney general is “huge in Hollywood.”

“Everyone thinks she’s going to become governor one day, or even president.” “Whenever there’s an election, she’s the one everyone is having parties for.” (And, as President Obama noted earlier this year, “she’s gorgeous.”)

THE COSTUMERTrish Summerville

For The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Summerville—who created The

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’s Scandi-hot looks—has been charged with conjuring the book’s “out of this world” outfits for the silver screen. This fall, she’ll “continue to top herself” with a Games-themed retail line named (what else?) Capitol Couture. Next up: Gone Girl.

THE OSCAR WHISPERERSColleen Camp

An endorsement from Camp “can be game changing.” This

“incredibly connected” Hollywood doyenne is an unofficial lobbyist deployed when studios don’t want to leave fingerprints on a campaign. Each year, the onetime actress and ex-wife of former Paramount executive John Goldwyn supports a few key films and actors—hosting “terrific events” chock-full of Academy voters. “She doesn’t receive enough credit for all the work she does. And she’s a hoot, by the way.”

Melody KorenbrotThis “silent assassin” is the (official) publicist behind many of

Sony Pictures Classics’ most successful campaigns, especially those in the realms of prestige films and foreign actors. “The ultimate executionist” is credited with scoring Juliette Binoche and Marion Cotillard their statues.

MANy THANKS TO OUR ILLUSTRIOUS PANELDarla K. Anderson, producer, Pixar • Bonnie Arnold, producer • Shari Springer Berman, director • Sarah Colonna, writer-comedian • Nancy Dubuc, president and CEO, A&E Networks • Nikki Finke, journalist • Aleen Keshishian,

manager • Nancy Kirkpatrick, president of worldwide marketing, Summit • Sherry Lansing, CEO, The Sherry Lansing Foundation • Ashley Lent, alumni relations, Sundance Institute • Ellen Lewis, casting director • Katie McGrath, chief

strategy officer, Bad Robot • Thao Nguyen, CAA • Hylda Queally, CAA • Elyse Scherz, William Morris Endeavor • Mary Parent, producer • Keri Putnam, executive director, Sundance Institute • Lynne Ramsay, director • Joyce Rey,

real estate agent • Nancy Utley, President, Fox Searchlight • Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, William Morris Endeavor • Laura Wasser, attorney • Linda Woolverton, screenwriter • Debra Zane, casting director

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