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Stacey Sher as a teenager wanted to produce films. She was accepted to USC's Peter Stark Graduate Program for aspiring producers. After earning her M.F.A. from the USC School of Cinema-Television in 1985, she was hired as a director of development at Hill/Obst Productions in 1985 and was promoted to vp of production two years later. After serving as associate producer on "Heartbreak Hotel" and "The Fisher King," Sher became senior vp at Lynda Obst Productions in 1991.

In 1992, she joined Danny Devito's Jersey Films. After a few years, she became a partner with Michael Shamberg and DeVito.

Sher told Dramalogue: "I'm drawn to the exploration of the human condition and human connection, whether it's in a science fiction genre like "Gattaca," which asks, What is it that makes us who we are?, or "Pulp Fiction," in which the characters are so textured, or "Get Shorty," which also examines a destiny of a character--[mobster] Chili Palmer wanting a change in his life.

"There's nothing we [Jersey Films] wouldn't do, but you've got to find a personal hook or something that's fresh. We're not really interested in doing the ninth version of something that's been done before. What we try to do is find fresh voices and we've been incredibly fortunate.

"You can't believe the number of people that I meet to interview for jobs who don't know who Orson Welles is, as frightening as that sounds. If people want to choose this as their path, they should know about the arts that they're working in and know about the history of films and have actually seen [works by] the great filmmakers. How can you judge or have a point of view if you haven't read about or seen stuff? So see movies--old and new, but especially old.

"I think my generation of women is much more encouraging of other women because we're not frightened that there's a scarcity of jobs out there for women. I think early on, sadly, there was this idea that there was a limited amount of jobs and I don't think that it was as supportive as it is now."