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In 1980, the workplace comedy 9 to 5 killed at the box office.

It made more than $100 million dollars second only to the empire strikes back. There was just something about the movie that

connected with people at the time. It was this pointed and farcical portrayal of the experiences

of women in clerical jobs at the time, the millions of secretaries and typists and administrative

assistants. The actor Jane Fonda got the project going. She worked with her producing partner

Bruce Gilbert and the director Colin Higgins to tell a story that reflected the struggle of women

to be paid fairly, to be treated with dignity and have better working conditions.

But the script they were working with, at first anyway, wasn't right.

It was too heavy, too earnest.

But then something happened to change the direction and the fate of the movie.

This story is told in a documentary.

Here's the director, Camille Hardman.

So they went to the National Office for Women Workers and we've got about 40 women

together from the 9 to 5 National Association of Women Office Workers and they went around

in a circle and they told her story. It was a very stiff and stilted conversation.

Colin was very much a researcher and it was very imperative to him to meet the women who he

was doing a story about.

And I've spoken to Bruce about this scene many, many times.

And Bruce said it was very hard for the women to open up to them.

Because, you know, they sort of were a little bit skeptical.

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