Illeana Douglas says Hollywood owes women more credit

Have you ever said casually that a movie changed your life?

Well, when Illeana Douglas says it, she's not exaggerating for effect. The actress (Six Feet Under, Cape Fear) and self-described indie queen joins guest host Gill Deacon to explain how Easy Rider dramatically changed the course of her life.

Her new memoir, I Blame Dennis Hopper, connects the dots between the 60s counterculture movie, her unconventional childhood, and her wild life and career.

'Is she trying to use his name to get ahead?'

Douglas, who dated Martin Scorsese for several years, also sheds light on a long-running tension behind the scenes in Hollywood. Far too many brilliant women disappear into the shadows of their prominent partners, she says, adding that they hesitate to take credit because they're stigmatized when they do.  

"We don't want to believe, for whatever reason, that a woman is contributing to the process," she tells Gill, counting herself among the women who've seen their creative input erased from the history books. 

"When we talk Alfred Hitchcock, we need to talk about Alma Hitchcock." 

WEB EXTRA | "It's not every man who can live off the land, ya know?" Watch the original trailer for Easy Rider.