Diane Warren on writing a song about women’s empowerment for Tell It Like A Woman – Sound & Screen

Diane Warren songwriting works for Tell it like a woman was simple: Create a song for women’s empowerment.

“We tend to beat ourselves up,” the veteran songwriter said during a panel at Deadline’s Sound & Screen event. “Sometimes you just gotta give yourself a damn round of applause, give yourself some love, give yourself some respect. Give it to yourself before you give it to anyone else.”

Tell it like a woman consists of seven segments directed by female directors from different parts of the world. Genres include drama, comedy, docudrama and animation. “Those are pretty strong stories,” Warren said. “I wanted to write a song that would go with all these different movies that are really all about empowerment. These are stories about strong women. I wanted the song to reflect that.”

It took her about five days to write the lyrics to her song “Applause”, which was sung by Sofia Carson in the film, because she just wanted it right.

The intertwined segments of Tell it like a woman Include unspokendirected by Maria Sole Tognazzi and starring Margherita Buy; lagonegrodirected by Lucia Puenzo and starring Eva Longoria; elbows deepdirected by Catherine Hardwicke and starring Cara Delevingne, Marcia Gay Harden and Jasmine Luv; Share a ridedirected by Leena Yadav and starring Jacqueline Fernandez and Anjali Lama; A week in my life directed by Mipo O and starring Anne Watanabe; and Pep and Kim, directed by Taraji P. Henson and starring Jennifer Hudson and Pauletta Washington. The project is the result of a collaboration with We Do It Together, a non-profit film production company committed to gender equality and founded by producer Chiara Tilesi. Producers are Tilesi, Andrea Iervolino, Lucas Akoskin and Monika Bacardi.

After Warren discussed her hearing, she was asked about the Academy’s Governor’s Award, which she will receive later this month. Her plan is to hang the honorary Oscar on her piano where she can look at it every day.

“It took me 34 years,” says Warren, a 13-time nominee who insisted winning the Oscar won’t hinder her future songwriting. “I do what I do because I enjoy it. Still, it’s pretty damn cool to have an Oscar.”

Check back Monday for the panel video.