Ms. Marshall became the first woman to direct a feature film that grossed more than $100 million when she made “Big” (1988). In Hollywood Ms. Marshall had a reputation for instinctive directing, and was known for treating filmmaking as a team effort rather than a dictatorship.
“I like something that tells a story or that tells me something I didn’t know,” she told The San Diego Union-Tribune in 1992 when asked about her taste in films. “It should have humor in it — or it should have heart.”
“And if it doesn’t,” she added, with what the reporter described as a sly grin, “I’ll make it have heart.”
