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Virginia Tyler Hudson (later known as Virginia Hudson Brightman) was a prominent woman behind the scenes in the media industry in the early 20th century. She was born on January 7th, 1886 in Kentucky (“Virginia Tyler Hudson”). Hudson was the daughter of a well-known reverend, and had two sisters named Blanche and Juanita. In her youth, she attended Millersburg Female College in Kentucky (The Bourbon News). Hudson had a long history throughout her life of writing for both print and film companies. In 1899, an article was published in the local Kentucky paper The Bourbon News about Hudson’s supposed engagement to a millionaire merchant from India by the name of Anand A. Advani, who she met while working on a news stories in Chicago. This story drew attention to the small town, because Hudson was a well-known girl with a bright future, and was engaged to this man just three days after meeting him. The article describes Hudson as “bright, amicable, and musical”, noting that she had a future career if she desired in music, and intended to study it in Italy. Advani was eventually arrested for a series of crimes, and the engagement broke off. (The Bourbon News). Hudson later married Grant L. Brightman, a man also of the film industry (Variety). She moved to attend Wesleyan College in Virginia upon graduating high school. After graduating from Wesleyan College, Hudson accepted a position writing for the Louisville Courier Journal, a local paper that covered Kentucky and Indiana (Bowers). During her time working at the paper, she was recognized for her great work, and was even known as the “only newspaper woman who is a newspaper man”. It was working at this paper that Hudson met Colonel Henry Watterson, who at the time was the chief editor. He served as her mentor, and eventually advised that she move to Chicago permanently because there would be more opportunity for her to grow professionally in the city. Watterson recognized that Hudson had talent, and Hudson took his advice and made the move to Chicago (Exhibitors’ Times, Inc.). During this time, it is unclear exactly when Hudson lived in each of the different cities she wrote for, but she worked for many different publications and periodicals, and even at one point worked as a press agent. Some of the popular papers she frequently wrote for included The Boston Journal, The Chicago Tribune, and The Kansas City Star. She covered high-profile news stories such as one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s campaigns, and also the election of Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, but was not heavily involved in politics (Bowers). Hudson began to shift her writing to not just news stories, but also more creatively. She first started out working on plays, and then quickly moved to writing for films. Hudson then spends time working for major motion picture company Thanhouser, where she develops her skills as a scenario writer. She worked at the company from 1915-1916. Her most accounted for films were Inspiration in 1915, and The Cruise of Fate, The Flight of the Duchess, and The Reunion in 1916. Inspiration is most likely Hudson’s most popular work, as it features female nudity and may have been the first of its kind (Bowers). After later leaving Thanhouser, she began to work for The World Film Association. One of the most heavily cited events of Hudson’s life took place in 1918 while working for this association. Hudson sued the company for supposedly breaching her contract and firing her 19 weeks before the contract expired. She sued for $1,900.00, which was the part of her salary she would have obtained if the contract had been finished (Chalmers Publishing Company). The company appealed the case, and said that the contract was written to be broken any time, and that they had not violated Hudson in any way. They argued that she should have know enough to read over the contract and understand the guidelines, as she had already been doing a lot of work for them. She was eventually quoted as saying she was “starving” and needed the money to support herself, so she didn’t think to make sure the contract was legitimate (Wid’s Film and Film Folks, Inc). The case ended up going to the Supreme Court multiple times in the year 1919 (Variety). It went back and forth before a final verdict was reached that said Hudson had been violated, but the amount owed to her was reduced by $300 (Chalmers Publishing Company). The story was all over the media as it concerned one of the largest film companies in existence at the time. Hudson’s gender, political past, array of experience with many high-profile entertainment companies very likely lead to the exposure and popularity of this case. Overall, Virginia Tyler Hudson was an extremely accomplished woman. She was at the forefront of the film and journalism industries at a time where very few, if any, other women were. She paved the way for future generations through her work in screenwriting, and was not afraid to use her voice in her writing, both on screen and off, to further certain social ideologies and feminine opinion. Works Cited Bowers, Q. David. “Volume 3: Biographies: Hudson, Virginia Tyler”. Thanhouser.org, 1995. 11 November, 2016. Chalmers Publishing Company. “Scenarist Gains Salary Verdict in Appeals Court”. Moving Picture World, May 3 ,1919. Page 677 Exhibitors’ Times, Inc. “Virginia Hudson and Stagg Write for Thanhouser”. Motion Picture News, 1915. Page 106. The Bourbon News. “A Kentucky Girl’s Romance”. The Bourbon News: September 26, 1899. Page 5. Paris, KY. Variety. “World Must Settle”. Variety, 1918. Page 141. “Virginia Tyler Hudson”. IMDb, 11 November 2016. IMDb, Inc. Wid’s Films and Film Folk, Inc. “From the Courts”. The Film Daily, 1918. Page 782.