Women & Hollywood Featured in USA TODAY

USA Today has several great stories featuring women's power in film. The first, Hollywood's power women shed light on movies this summer, talks about the successes of Sex and the City and Mamma Mia and what that could mean for the future.

For these two pictures, having female talent calling at least some of the shots made all the difference.

"It absolutely matters who's behind the scenes," says Martha Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. "When you have at least one woman in a position of power, such as an executive producer or director, you not only get more female characters, but more dimensional and powerful female characters."

If Sex and the City and Mamma Mia! have proved anything, it's that it makes no difference to the bottom line if most men decide to steer clear. Women did it all by themselves.

And if female moviegoers want more of the same, they will have to continue to take a break from their busy routines and buy a ticket again.

"Go see a movie about women on the opening weekend, that is what matters to Hollywood," says Melissa Silverstein, who blogs on the Women & Hollywood site and contributes to the Huffington Post. "We need to build our economic power and prove we're a market."

Cash, at least, doesn't have a gender bias.

"The only thing that makes anyone pay attention is money," says Diane English, the creator of TV's Murphy Brown whose update of the 1939 Joan Crawford-Norma Shear classic The Women arrives Sept. 12.

"Anyone who thinks otherwise shouldn't be in this business. Young men under 25 keep seeing comic-book and slasher films, and that's why Hollywood makes them. If women want to change things, they can't wait for the DVD."

Ok, how cool is it that they have my quote and then Diane English's quote. Could I be any more psyched? It's true that we have to build a market but the only way we can build the market is that if there are quality movies out there for us to see.

Women won't go see a piece a shit movie like a 25-year-old boy, its just not going to happen, so the quality of films and the marketing of these films is key. Hollywood really needs to figure out how to market to women. They spend so much money on research but can't figure out how to get our butts in the seats except for the biggest, most high profile films. I think that even the smaller films could find an audience if Hollywood cared enough to market to us properly. Their marketing kind of reminds me of not too long ago when all medical testing was done on men and then all the findings were extrapolated to include women. Women are not just smaller men, we are different. Why is that so hard to understand?

Fashioning a future for women in Hollywood
These ladies got the moves at the box office

Interview with Allison and Tiffany Anders co-creators of Don't Knock the Rock Film and Music Festival

Indie film director Allison Anders (Gas, Food, Lodging) and her daughter musician Tiffany Anders co-created and co-curate the Don't Knock the Rock Film and Music Festival in LA. The festival continues through this month.

Women & Hollywood: Why did you start the Don't Knock the Rock Film and Music Festival and how long has it been in existence?

Allison Anders: This is our 4th year! I had created a class at UCSB where I teach one quarter a year called "Don't Knock The Rock" which was a history of rock n roll told through movies. I enjoyed teaching it so much, that I wanted to create a festival. I had also been inspired by a short-lived festival like this in Sheffield England back in 1999, when I was an honored guest there. They screened several of my music based movies and I had the best time, cause I was surrounded by music films, which – when they're good, for me there's nothing better!

But I wanted to add a live music element to our festival, so I asked Tiffany who was about to move back to LA from living in New York, if she'd be into curating the music for the festival. So we have been doing it that way ever since – I curate the films, she puts together the music line-ups. The very first year her LINE-UPS were reviewed, beautifully I might add – I had never seen line-ups reviewed!

Tiffany always has her ear to the ground for new music, and she is a master at predicting who will take off. She also has great love and rich knowledge of often more obscure artists who are on the verge of re-discovery.

We work together pairing the movies with live music (and DJs!). We have very similar sensibilities, and we don't shy away from stuff that may seem too marginal – cause somehow between the two of us we know how to reach the people who are avid fans of some obscure artist and get them out to see a movie about them!

We moved this year to our new home The Silent Movie Theater and it's a partnership made in movie and music nerd heaven!

W&H: What films and bands are you most proud of from this year?

AA: Well of course, we are thrilled with ALL of our films and bands! But we have been pretty stunned by how many films this year were directed or co-directed by women! Over HALF – that's quite a record! Last month we screened an incredible film by Ava DuVernay, our very first hip hop movie called "This Is The Life", and the week before that a film by Pamela Valente called Rock 'N' Tokyo about the punk and rockabilly scene in Japan.

Tiffany Anders: I have been very pleased with every performance we've had this year.One of my happy moments was 2 years ago when I received an email from Gary Wilson who said he had read about DKTR and was interested in it and that he currently had a film being made about him and that he would love to be involved. I didn't miss a beat and asked if he would like to "cover" (and I certainly knew Gary Wilson would not deliver a straight version) of a Daniel Johnston song to play after the dvd release party of " The Devil and Daniel Johnston". He agreed and since then we kept in touch. It was great to have him come back with the completed film and play live, and needless to say the audience was just as ecstatic as I was.

W&H: What's coming up that you want people to know about?

AA: Yesterday, we had 2 Punk Rock Premieres – one about the Chicago punk scene (You Weren't There) and one about the Dallas Fort Worth scene (DFW PUNK) – one directed by a woman and one co-directed by a woman. These are both fabulous looks at regional punk scenes during the same block of years.

August 14 we have a BBC documentary on Stiff Records, with an amazing Stiff Tribute Concert by the cream of the local crop of music talent after the movie with some special treats for Stiff fans!

TA: August 14th is going to be amazing fun. I have put together a Stiff tribute band that includes myself on guitar, Jessica Espeleta (ESPS) on guitar, Chet Bently on Bass and Terry Graham ( Gun Club, The Bags) on drums.

We also have amazing guest vocalists Dante ( Starlight Desperation), Jade Gordon (from art performance troop "My Barbarian", and Ian Marshall.

We have been rehearsing for that and it has been SO fun. It really makes you appreciate Stiff Records, they just had so many great artists who wrote such fun songs!

AA: On August 16 we have a Sonic Youth Concert film shot entirely by high school students called "Sleeping Nights Awake". We also have a BMI sponsored roundtable chat on getting your music into Films, TV And New Media and on clearing music for your work.

On August 21 we have a film called "Under The Covers" a fascinating look at the collaboration between photographer Henry Diltz and artist Gary Burden who created some of the most iconic album covers of the classic rock era. And after that a look at the eccentric world and music of one man bands!

On August 28, a beautiful film by New Zealand director Briget Sutherland on musician David Kilgour.

TA: David Kilgour was also in one of my favorite bands The Clean. Also we screened Steve Hanfts film "Return of the Rub a Dub style" and there was a scene where someone was being interviewed in a club and there was a flyer for a David Kilgour show in the background. I got a real kick out of that!

And we come back on Sept 6 for the DVD release party for riot girl favorite "Ladies And Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains" starring a young Diane Lane and Laura Dern from 1982.

W&H: What makes this festival unique?

AA: We show music movies that are for the informed and music savvy. We don't try to get the huge music films because they are really better served by the big festivals. Consequently, we cooperate with other festivals rather than compete. It's so great having that kind of support, cause these bigger festivals can sometimes alert us to films they can't take, but that would be better served by us.

And because we're an intimate, niche hand-made festival, we can take the time to find the obsessive fans and music nerds. And I think we do things in a personal way that is hard for larger festivals to do. And no one programs music line-ups the way Tiffany can – she just KNOWS!

TA: I feel strongly that both underground film and music does not get the support it needs to flourish and clearly from the success of DKTR it is obvious that people are very much interested in these films and these bands.

I think since my mother and I are both non- commercial, non corporate artists we are very sensitive to this. I have a lot of friends who are visual artists and it always blows my mind how much support there is for the arts, people get flown to different countries, get residencies, get grants.....and yet film and music is still sorta looked down upon, even if it is not exploring commercial avenues, so I'm happy that we are creating a place for these films and musicians to get their voices heard and people are listening.

W&H: Tiffany, what are you working on?

TA: I just finished an album that will be released in the UK through Poppydisc, which is run by the great Joe Foster who also does the AMAZING re-issue label Rev- Ola, so I'm very happy that I will be in such great company. As for the U.S., I am still searching for someone to release it.

W&H: Allison, we haven't seen a film from you in a while. What are you working on?

AA: I've been developing a western with my partner Terry Graham and we're also about to embark on a documentary film on 60s garage music with another filmmaker Ian Marshall.

W&H: You've been at the forefront of the movement to raise awareness of the lack of opportunities for women directors. The situation has not been improving in fact its getting worse. Do you have any theories? Do you have any advice for women who want to be directors?

AA: Well I think there was more room for everyone when the economy was better, and the indie world wasn't over-saturated and dead. Movies are hard for everyone right now. And in lean times, women will always be the first sent back home and out of the work force.

But now more than ever it's possible to make your films and get them seen without waiting for permission from the movie studio gods. Keep writing, keep focused and don't for a second lose the faith. We're here to stay.

More Info: Don't Knock the Rock Festival

Would a Young Woman Be Able to Say This?

Seth Rogen on The Daily Show promoting his new stoner action movie Pineapple Express



He actually said that kids should drop out of high school smoke a lot of pot and write a movie about it. Aside from that being the stupidest advice EVER, I don't think if a young female actress said this it would be looked at as funny. I think she would get her ass kicked. Me thinks I smell the "double standard."

Heaven: Meryl Streep Teaming up with Nancy Meyers

Variety is reporting that Meryl Streep is in advanced negotiations to star in the next Nancy Meyers film as a professor caught in a romantic triangle. Meyers has written the script and will direct. Scott Rudin will produce. Filming starts in February. This pairing is so exciting. Meyers is the best female wirter/director and Meryl, well, is Meryl.

I CAN'T WAIT.
Streep in deep with Meyers (Variety)
photo credit: Sylvain Gaboury/PR Photos

Guest Post: Feminist Mom Approved by Rachel Feldman

A few days before my 12-year-old son left for sleep-away camp, we wanted to do something special so we treated ourselves to a double feature of Journey To The Center Of The Earth and The Mummy - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

As a professional filmmaker, I absorb a film with a complex set of eyes, but when I watch with my son, the feminist mom in me dominates, and I can’t help but evaluate the experience as a woman raising a boy who will become a man.

There is a lot of talk in our culture about the impact of sex and violence in the media on our children. For me, issues of vulgarity and misogyny are far more important. The way a woman is depicted in a story and how men treat her are more relevant to me than the wielding of guns or the expression of desire. I want my son to grow up with an image of women as powerful creatures who are equals, not side-kicks, enablers or fluff girls.

I didn’t have high expectations for either film, so I was surprised to see that both films depicted women in extraordinary ways, without nary a bimbo in sight.

In Journey, the character of Hannah, played by Anita Briem, is smart and tough. She is the physically adept one; the powerful one who guides the journey. She rows the boat, she runs the train, she knows the way, and the guys trust her confidence absolutely. She wears little make-up has un-enhanced body parts and is beautiful in a completely organic, natural way.

Of course, my son’s pleasure of the film focused on the action and adventure, but I was delighted to see a woman depicted in a mainstream Hollywood film characterized in such an enlightened fashion. I would imagine that having a writer like Jennifer Flackett would have helpful in creating such a progressive character, but however she got there, I was happy.

Overall, I didn’t think The Mummy was as good as Journey but I was thrilled to see three solid female characters who play characters pivotal to the plot in the genre where women traditionally play secondary roles.

Maria Bello plays Brendan Fraser’s wife. There are a few moments where she used her feminine whiles in a clichéd manner, but by in large, this talented woman is multifaceted with a successful career, marriage and family life. She is the model of a woman I approve of. I very much enjoyed my son seeing a marriage that was full of fun and fire.

Michelle Yeoh plays an ancient wise-woman whose power ultimately vanquished the evil force of the Dragon Emperor. She sacrifices her immortality for supreme good, and is another example of an older woman full of grace, dignity and strength.

Isabella Leong plays her dutiful, warrior daughter. She is a great fighter who can wield a sword while falling in love. She does not suffer fools gladly, and fights demons fearlessly.

All in all for an afternoon of popcorn fluff, these two films surprisingly, showed my son some strong female characters. My son enjoyed them, and so did his feminist mom.

________
Rachel Feldman is a screenwriter and film director who lives and works in Hollywood. She has lived with her college boyfriend for 30 years and is the mother of a 20 year old daughter and a 12 year old son.

Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Connie Neilsen

Neilsen is a woman who could probably play any part she wants cause she's so tall and gorgeous. But that doesn't interest her. (Could this be something about women who grow up outside the US?) She rejects fame and money. Her films choices remind me a bit of Nicole Kidman - brave and not always commercial.

It's much harder for women to be brave and outside the box in their film choices because they have shorter careers than their male peers because of ageism and sexism. Two films of Neilsen's the I recommend checking out are The Situation where she plays a reporter in Iraq, and Brothers a Danish film directed by Susanne Bier. She co-stars in the upcoming Battle in Seattle.

"I absolutely refuse the fame part of my business," she says. "I refuse even the money side of my business. I try to do as good work as I can do, I try to grow in my art and reach for truth," she says.

Nielsen has in the past been critical of Hollywood for its lack of female roles, saying "you think once you've shown what you can do, and your movies have been successful, that snap, you work. So to discover the difference between guys' roles and girls' roles made me plain mad. It's unjust."

Neilsen proves she's no Hollywood eye candy (CNN)
photo credit: Glenn Harris/Photorazzi

Keke Palmer Stars in New Nickelodeon Show

Keke Palmer starred in the the under seen Akeelah and the Bee and now will have her own show on Nickelodeon where she plays a high schooler running the youth division of a major fashion label. This young woman clearly has her head on straight knowing that young girls look up to her. Impressive.

She's always wanted to do inspirational projects and be a beacon for other kids.

Her priority now is being a role model.

Look for the show later in 2008.

Keke Palmer stars in True Jackson, VP (NY Daily News)
photo credit: Nickelodeon

Why Batman Sucked

I might be the only one in the universe not to have LOVED Batman. Hollywood wanted and needed a big, big hit, but had Heath Ledger (who was really good and creepy) not unexpectedly passed away would it really be knocking on Titanic's door for the highest grossing film ever?

Here are my reasons why I thought it sucked:

1- Way too long- could have cut the last hour and it would have been way more enjoyable.

2- Christina Bale's voice. Is he a cyborg? That voice creeped me out.

3- That a talented actress like Maggie Gyllenhaal had to slum it in a very underwritten and basically unessential role. That sounds familiar.

4- The whole Aaron Eckhart becoming Harvey Two Face would have been better in the next installment. It felt forced and stupid.

5- Gary Oldman who play baddies better than most was the most sympathetic character in the film.

Oh, and did I say too long!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

What I liked best about the first Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was the great relationship between four different and not typically Hollywood looking actresses, America Ferrara, Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel. These young women came across as really truly loving and supporting one another. But, sadly, what was so evident in the first film was missing in the second as the young women departed their home town for college and the sisterhood was tested by distance.

I applaud the women power from director Sanaa Hamri to screenwriter Elizabeth Chandler to producers Debra Martin Chase and Denise Di Novi, I just wished there were more scenes with the young women together. What I did love is that each of the young women is undeniably a unique spirit. Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) is a filmmaker, Lena (Alexis Bledel) is an artist, Bridget (Blake Lively) is a soccer player and Carmen (America Ferrara) works in the theatre. Not very typical for young women in the movies today.

Since the film is targeted at young women and tweens, I felt it could have better handled the condom "malfunction" situation when Tibby has sex for the first time with her boyfriend. This young woman who moments before had self-identified as a feminist completely loses it and goes to a deep dark place assuming the worst. Now I know she's young and emotional but this was an opportunity to educate young women, so instead of availing herself of all her options, this strong smart, self-confident woman spends half the movie in a state when every time she sees a baby she looks like she wants to die. This storyline made me quite angry. It could have been handled in a more responsible manner without even having to utter the word abortion or heaven forbid having her get a morning after pill. Now I know I live in progressive "Melissaland" but they could have done something, anything but they decided to have her pout and freak out for much of the movie.

Other than that lapse which most people probably won't care about as much as me, the strong female friendships that survive and thrive even through long distance is still a big plus and what makes this film worthy for young women and girls.

photo credit: Phil Caruso

Anne Bancroft Films on TCM Tonight

The House Next Door brings a Anne Bancroft Film Festival on Turner Classic Movies to my attention and I am psyched. I haven't seen hardly any of them. I miss her.

Airing today are:
The Miracle Worker
The Pumpkin Eater
7 Women
The Graduate
84 Charing Cross Road

Here's their write up. Thanks for the tip.
Photo credit: BH Impact

Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Greta Scacchi

For speaking out about the lack of opportunities for older actresses.

I just wish there could be a little more movement towards encompassing the older woman."

Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins, she argues, look like energetic Bohemian girls in real life, "vibrant, passionate, expressive and fun". But in character they have to conform to the stereotype of the old lady.

Greta Scacchi is currently co-starring in Brideshead Revisited
Greta Scacchi: 'I'm done with taking off my clothes on screen' (The Telegraph)
Photo: InsideFoto/PR Photos

Joan Allen - What Were You Thinking?

I couldn't believe my eyes when last week at the X-Files (don't see it, it's so bad and homophobic) I saw the preview for Death Race a very violent looking prison drag racing movie. The reason why my eyes were popping out of my head was that Joan Allen (who won my devotion years ago when I saw her on Broadway in a Wendy Wasserstein play) plays the prison warden who makes inmates drive cars in a "death race" which is broadcast around the world on some type of pay per view channel. (Forgive me for not understanding WTF was going on in the preview since there were very few words used.) She is eeevil. The movie looks so bad and unbelievably violent.

I hope they paid her a lot of cash for this because it makes me so sad that an actress of her caliber who was robbed of an Oscar nomination three years ago for The Upside of Anger (if you haven't seen it rent it), is stuck making these crappy boy centric films to pay the rent because there are no good roles for women.

Will someone please write this woman a part and not another crappy part like she had in Bonneville. I am beyond disgusted.

Top Female Screewriter to Pen Sarah Jessica Parker Movie

Aline Brosh McKenna is the hottest female screenwriter having written The Devil Wears Prada adaptation as well as her original screenplay of 27 Dresses that starred Katherine Heigl and has grossed over $150 million worldwide.

She was recently signed to adapt The Ivy Chronicles based on the novel by Karen Quinn which will star Sarah Jessica Parker. Here's the plot according to the Hollywood Reporter: "The plot centers on an upper-middle-class New York mother is forced to start over after getting divorced and losing her high-powered job in one fell swoop."

Devil writer to pen The Ivy Chronicles (Hollywood Reporter)

Success - The First Women & Hollywood Film Club

Thanks to everyone who showed up at the launch of the Women & Hollywood Film Club. We had about 30 people in the theatre and about 20 or so of us went for a drink afterwards.

Next time I'll get some pictures to post. Frozen River did well at the box office this weekend with an average of $10,475 on each of the seven screens for a total of $73,322.

Keep telling people about this great film.

Trailer for Rachel Getting Married

Another dysfunctional family wedding drama starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt and Debra Winger (yeah!) written by Jenny Lumet. Directed by Jonathan Demme



Opens October 3

Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Annie Lennox

I know that she's not technically a Hollywood person...

This week in Mexico City 25,000 people are attending the International AIDS conference. Lennox has been raising attention to HIV and AIDS issues especially related to women in Africa. She organized other women singers and put together a single SING to raise money for drug treatments for women to prevent maternal transmission of HIV.

Check out this site for more information and ways to get involved: SING

Women at the Box Office This Weekend

Frozen River is an unexpected gem of a movie. I loved it as much as I've loved anything in a long, long time. I first heard about it after it won the best feature prize at Sundance, and was intrigued and excited to see it. It tells the story of two poor, desperate women (one white and one Mohawk) who smuggle illegal immigrants across a frozen river from Canada to the US in order to help their families survive.

A couple of days before Christmas, Ray Eddy's (Melissa Leo) gambler of a husband has run off with the money she was saving for a new double wide trailer. Her sense of defeat is palpable. What she wants is simple: to give her kids a safe place to live since the trailer they currently live in is falling apart. She is desperate to get cash and meets Lila Littlewolf (Misty Upham) who introduces her to smuggling, a dangerous way to make some fast cash. Each journey across the ice is harrowing never knowing if the ice will hold them. Their last run goes bad and they are forced to rely on each other and this bizarre relationship they have formed.

Melissa Leo is an actress you have seen in many movies (21 Grams) and TV shows (Homicide: Life on the Streets) that she just blends into the background -- which is a good thing. She's been the perfect supporting character. Incredibly, this is the first time that she has carried a film, and her performance is outstanding and Oscar worthy. What I particularly love about her is that she is uses her face and age fearlessly to relay Ray's emotions and desperation.

Other films in Theatres
Falling for Grace- opens in Des Moines
Mamma Mia!
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Brick Lane
Sex and the City

Interview with Courtney Hunt, director of Frozen River.

44 year old Courtney Hunt makes her feature film debut this week with the spectacular Frozen River. The film debuted at the 2008 Sundance film festival where it was awarded the best feature.

Women & Hollywood: How did you get the idea for this film?

Courtney Hunt: This (smuggling) really goes on at the border 300 miles from here. It is a smuggling culture that has been around since prohibition. The commodity may change -- it has been booze and cigarettes -- now it's illegal immigrants, but it's also pantyhose sometimes. I learned that women were involved and I went and met some of them in the late 90s who were smuggling cigarettes at the time. They were really interesting. They happened to be Mohawk. That's how I came up with the idea.

W&H: You are able address race and class issues by putting a white woman with a native American woman. Did you know that you wanted to have this cross cultural conversation?

CH: I did. One reason was a function of the storytelling. For us to understand the situation we needed to see it through the eyes of someone who knew nothing about it. I did love this idea of a white woman and Mohawk woman stuck in a car together and just seeing what happens.

W&H: What compelled you to put pen to paper?

CH: I wrote the first draft based on cigarette smuggling and wasn't happy with the way it came out. Then 9-11 happened, I had a baby, I moved upstate, and one day I was writing in my journal and this whole monologue of Ray's (the Melissa Leo character) just poured out. I thought was a poem. (for more on the writing process pick up this month's issue of Script magazine - not available online). And so I took that and it became the short film. Once I saw the short film got into the NY Film Festival and it got attention I went back and said let's just show the whole thing.

W&H: Did anyone say to you why don't you make this into a feature?

CH: Nobody said they wanted to make it into a feature. Once I finished it nobody said they wanted to produce or fund it.

W&H: How did you find funders?

CH: In other areas. I looked in real estate. I looked at areas where people had lots of profits.

W&H: How much did it cost to make the film?

CH: Well under a million dollars.

W&H: It was purchased by Sony Pictures Classics after Sundance?

CH: It was purchased before we won the award at Sundance.

W&H: It is so hard nowadays for films from a female perspective to get made and released. Your film is resonating and its such a tough subject. Why do you think that is?

CH: I think the reason is that it's a good story. It's a story with some suspense which grows out of the true motivations of the characters. I tell it in a really suspenseful way because that was the one commercial aspect of the movie that I could deliver to pay back my investors. And suspense makes you stay in your seat until the last frame because they need to see what happens to this woman.

W&H: These two women don't like each other initially.

CH: When I went to write everyday it would scare me that I was writing about two characters who don't like each other. I'd think: where can I go with this? Are they even going to speak to each other in the car? I think that when we are around people from other cultures, especially when its uncomfortable, we just want to flee. But they are stuck in the car together so they have to sort of work it out. I like that the awkwardness that I was feeling writing shows in the movie because that was the truth.

W&H: How did you get Melissa Leo to be a part of this?

CH: James Schamus brought 21 Grams to the little town where I live and I met Melissa after I saw that movie. Her performance is really good in that film and I felt she had such a powerhouse persona and knew she could carry a feature. Most importantly, I thought she would be interested in the short based on the kind of character she played. Both Misty (Upham) and Melissa were in the short.

W&H: You spent a lot of time focusing on Melissa's face which might be unique to a female director. You helped us see her life on her face. Did you always know you were going to direct this piece?

CH: Yes.

W&H: Women directors find they have to write the scripts in order to get the directing gig. Has that been your experience?

CH: Yes.

W&H: I've also interviewed women directors on their post Sundance experience. Some talk about the expectations out of Sundance. What were your expectations and what has been your experience?

CH: I had high hopes and low expectations. I thought if I could sell this film I will have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. That was my goal and I really didn't worry about anything else. I didn't have an agent going in and I didn't worry about it. I had a sales agent but not an agent for me.

I sold my film and then I was done, ready to go home. Then we won the prize. And we won it from Quentin Tarantino. And it was so weird and so great. We had no idea that was going to happen. I remember walking past him at the directors brunch thinking he is going to hate this movie. How wrong I was.

I had been working with this agent at William Morris through the week who was helping to sell the film and they had given me a pitch and I hired him as I walked off the stage.

Then we went home to our little town and there was nothing. Then we went out to dinner and people just started coming up to the table because everybody knew and that was sweet. Since then I've just been reading scripts. I've had a charmed experience, first that it's getting a release, and second that it's getting a wide release.

W&H: So you are reading other people's scripts now? Are you going to write another script?

CH: I have one already written in a fourth draft and I'm going to do that but I'd like to take a directing assignment first. I'm not particularly wed to my own work. I'm getting all these scripts to read and a book to adapt that they are going to pay me to do.

W&H: Are the scripts that you are getting mostly about women?

CH: No. I have one about a sherrif. They all have suspense. I feel that's really good, we are moving on.

W&H: Why do you think its still so hard for women directors?

CH: There is a bunch of different elements to it. One is that it's just the pattern. You know when you are on an airplane and there is turbulence and the pilot gets on and says hi this is captain Bonnie. And I think Bonnie, can she really do this?

W&H: Do you really think that?

CH: I get a little nervous because I have the same biases as everyone else. I think it's just the matter of people getting used to the idea and getting familiar with it. Like with my crew, I'm sure when I first showed up they were like oh my goodness can she do this? Then within 3 or 4 days we are all on the same team.

The worst of it was my parents who said do you really have to direct it? This is my mother who struggled her way through law school and I am like what? yes I do. We have to a) insist upon it b) support each other and c) willing to be commercially viable. If suspense keeps me viable then that's good. The next generation of men are totally comfortable seeing a woman protagonist as long as she's doing something. These relationship movies won't appeal to them. You look at Knocked Up and all the Apatow stuff. That's all about relationships. I find the characters more realistic. Everything doesn't have to be va va voom in order to keep the male viewer watching. A woman engaged in fascinating action is just as interesting as a guy, in fact more so since we've seen guys pretty much do everything.

W&H: The numbers are going backwards not forward.

CH: There is always going to be two steps forward, one step back. I feel that everything after 1979 has been going backwards.

W&H: Women I've interviewed bring up how Hillary Clinton was treated in the campaign in relation to their work as directors in Hollywood. Do you think that seeing that a woman has run for president could help propel more women into the director's chair?

CH: I think it's about getting used to it, getting familiar with it and realizing oh its different from guys. It's different but not less than. I come out of law so I have this optimism because law is dominated by women at this point. At my law school it was 60% women.

W&H: So you have law degree also?

CH: Yes.

W&H: Did you work as a lawyer?

CH: No, but I finished law school and then went to film school. I worked for my husband as a lawyer doing murder appeals to pay for film school. 30 or 40 years ago there were only a few women in law. Now it's not unusual to see a woman lawyer. I think that is one example of what was once a male dominated world that is not at all anymore. There's plenty of room for everyone in that world and I know its going to be that way for film too because good stories are universal.

W&H: Do you feel comfortable saying your age?

CH: Oh yeah, 44.

W&H: It's an awesome story that here you are at directing your first film at 44. It's heartening.

CH: I think in a way I have a little more credibility. It helps with the crew. It helps with the cast. It helps talking to the money dudes because they are not as scared and I am not as scared.

Are All Books By Women Chick Lit?

I've talked about how all movies about women seem to be relegated to chick flick status no matter what they are about. It's no surprise that it's happening for books too:

Having cottoned on to the fact that chick lit books sell like cupcakes, publishers are now adding chick lit-style covers to any book written by a woman whether it fits the genre definition or not.

...books aimed at women are becoming increasingly homogenised, girly and bland-looking.

But this affliction doesn't only blight women who write. Male authors who create sympathetic female characters are also at risk. Douglas Kennedy's work is frequently lauded for its intelligence and vision, yet his novels all feature non-descript pictures of wistful-looking women and the ubiquitous flowing script that denotes a female-friendly beach book.

The great chick lit cover-up (The Guardian)

Deals

• North American rights to Kelly Reichardt's "Wendy and Lucy," from this year's Cannes Film Festival, have been acquired by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's upstart distribution company Oscilloscope Pictures. The film, starring Michele Williams, will have its theatrical debut in December at New York City's Film Forum. (Indirewire)

• Fox Searchlight Pictures will distribute the romantic comedy MY LIFE IN RUINS starring Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Harland Williams and Rachel Dratch. Vardalos plays Georgia (Nia Vardalos) who is kind of lost and works as a tour guide showing of the beauty of her native Greece. While opening the eyes of the tourists, she too begins to see things in new ways.

• Jennifer Lopez will topline Yari Film Group’s romantic comedy "The Governess,". Story centers on a professional thief who, in order to pull off a major bank heist, poses as a nanny to the three unruly children of a wealthy widower. When she starts to fall for the kids and their father, she must decide if she can give up her past for a chance to start over. (Variety)

• HBO has picked up Liza Palmer's "Conversations With the Fat Girl," a novel about Maggie, who's dealing with the fact that former fellow fat girl Olivia is now less copious and getting hitched to a jerk. Optioned for series development, "Conversations" came to "Rome" exec producer Anne Thomopoulos and Anna Garduno when Garduno attended a panel on chick lit at the West Hollywood Books Fair moderated by Palmer. (Variety)
  

Emma Thompson Gets New Writing Gig

Fresh off the success of her stellar performance as Lady Marchmain in the remake of Brideshead Revisited (I predict a best supporting actress nomination), Thompson is going to pen a new adaptation of the beloved musical My Fair Lady. Columbia Pictures and CBS Films will produce along with Duncan Kenworthy and Cameron Mackintosh.

Academy Award Winner Thompson to Pen Screenplay for "My Fair Lady" Remake (Playbill)

Shame on Conan and Dave

I just noticed the list of writers for the Emmy nominated Late Night with Conan O'Brien and the Late Show with David Letterman.

Know what they have in common? NOT A SINGLE FEMALE WRITER. Shouldn't there be a rule against this? Or at least they at least be shamed publicly? I've done my duty.

Late Night With Conan O'Brien
Mike Sweeney, Head Writer
Chris Albers, Written By
Jose Arroyo, Written By
Dan Cronin, Written By
Kevin Dorff, Written By
Daniel J. Goor, Written By
Michael Gordon, Written By
Berkley Johnson, Written By
Brian Kiley, Written By
Michael Koman, Written By
Brian McCann, Written By
Guy Nicolucci, Written By
Conan O'Brien, Written By
Matt O'Brien, Written By
Brian Stack, Written By
Andrew Weinberg, Written By

Late Show With David Letterman
Eric Stangel, Head Writer
Justin Stangel, Head Writer
Jim Mulholland, Written By
Michael Barrie, Written By
Steve Young, Written By
Tom Ruprecht, Written By
Lee Ellenberg, Written By
Matt Roberts, Written By
Jeremy Weiner, Written By
Joe Grossman, Written By
Bill Scheft, Written By
Bob Borden, Written By
Frank Sebastiano, Written By
David Letterman, Written By

Women at Comic-Con Part 2

Karina Longworth of Spout blog actually attends Comic-Con and had a great post this week that people should check out.

Even though "girls" got a film of their own Twilight which they went wild over, Comic-Con just seems to perpetuate all that's wrong with women in Hollywood.

...panel after panel featured actresses, who should have better things to do, endlessly discussing their own physical attributes, as the young men in the audience continually made it clear that this was all they were interested in. When asked how playing the girlfriend role in the third Mummy film differed from her usual day at the office, Bello answered, “Well, I’m not naked in this film!” Cue the smirking slur from a young gentleman in the crowd: “Wow, that was the wrong thing to say. They just lost my ticket.”

Even as the changing nature of the action/sci-fi/nerdbait landscape may be opening up more opportunities for a Mila Kunis to take a tertiary role in a film like Max Payne (which allows her to “kick some ass in 5 inch heels,” as she crowed to auto-hoots on Day One), protagonist roles for women in such films have become virtually non-existent. There seem to be just enough to keep Angelina Jolie busy every three years or so in between her persistent stabs at a second Oscar.

What we’re seeing is the ghettoization of the female action star to below-the-title, near-disposable status. Even as eye candy, the sex appeal that many of these girls bring to a given film are just one element of an overall production design designed to keep aural erections intact for the duration. The idea of making a film where women actually look sexy, fight crime and are given the agency of real human beings isn’t even on the minds of those filmmakers who have done it before.

Comic-Con Diary: Where the Girls Are

Defending Katherine Heigl...Again

What is it about beautiful, opinionated women that makes all of Hollywood (especially the media) want to scream? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it's not like berating women for speaking up is a new practice. If memory serves me correctly, both Jane Fonda and Barbra Streisand got handed a very large can of whooping ass for expressing their personal and political opinions. In Hollywood, you can be a do good political persona ala Angelina Jolie, but having an opinion that might call Hollywood on the carpet, that's a no no.

The person in the center of the current "everyone in Hollywood hates me" storm is Katherine Heigl star of Grey's Anatomy and 27 Dresses. You might recall that earlier this year she had the gaul to say that Knocked Up was sexist (which it was), and for that honesty she was labeled as ungrateful and her film career was declared dead. It's a good thing her fans didn't get that message because the gross of 27 Dresses was $76 million in the US and almost $160 million worldwide.

Recently, she had the nerve to decline to submit herself for Emmy consideration and publicly mentioned that she felt her storyline this past season was unworthy of recognition (another truth.)

Everyone pounced calling her ungrateful (again) and adding that she wants out of her TV contract to make movies. Rumors surfaced (everywhere) that the writers and producers were upset and that the set was full of tension. Many a site began the Izzie death watch. The venom that was displayed was way over the top. People didn't just want her to get fired (for giving an opinion no less), but they wanted her character to die. That's the lesson a woman gets for speaking out about something that honestly is not really important at all -- an Emmy award nomination -- yet people want to punish her in such a profound way. Extrapolating this into real life, if a woman gets punished for speaking out about something as trivial as an award nomination, imagine the message the rest of us get about speaking out about issues like equal pay, choice, rape...you get the picture. The message is to shut up and take what you got and don't make waves cause you will be punished. Sound familiar?

It took a while but finally one of her co-stars Chandra Wilson (Dr. Bailey) found her voice and explained to us lay people about the Emmy nomination process. You really need have had a spectacular episode to submit. Some years you have one, some you don't, and if you don't you shouldn't bother submitting.

I didn't find another person in print defending Heigl until I read Mark Harris' column in EW. Harris is the author of the critically acclaimed Pictures at a Revolution. I meant to give him some props for his earlier column that took it to the Hollywood suits for their pathetic realization that women do go to the movies after the success of Sex and the City. Please check out the story: Hollywood 'Shocker': Women Go To Movies.

But his defense of Heigl and women in Hollywood is fantastic. I'm still shocked that there are so few people willing to stand up for this woman? Where are the other Hollywood actresses?

Could there be a worse career move for an actress than telling the truth?

Little has changed, except the coarseness with which celebrities can now be discussed — and the rules actresses must obey. Among them: Have a ''positive body image,'' but also a killer body. Stay within the two-pound weight range that will not reveal you as either anorexic or a pig. Age gracefully, but never get older. Don't have wrinkles, but don't use Botox. Be modest, but when you win an award, weep as if a gold statuette is a personalized gift from heaven. If you get pregnant, be prepared to let a dozen news outlets act as your ob-gyn. Express concern about your carbon footprint, but don't be ''political.'' Talk about how living a normal life is important to you, but smile while every aspect of it is scrutinized.

I like Heigl because there seems to be a person in there, one who occasionally says things that people can't stand. (And really, if she'd said, ''Actually, I do think my material should get me an Emmy nomination,'' would that sound better?) I like the fact that she busted Isaiah Washington for homophobia when everyone behind the scenes at Grey's Anatomy was busy staring into space. I like the fact that she gently tweaked Judd Apatow for the slight gender imbalance in Knocked Up. I like the fact that her first thought after winning an Emmy wasn't ''How can I get another one?'' And I like the fact that her mouth — which is not even slightly ugly — is connected to her brain. Katherine Heigl's 'Grey' Matter: What's the Problem? (EW)

The treatment of Katherine Heigl should be a lesson to all women, and not just in Hollywood. We need to stand up and support each other.

Update: Found this story written about the situation AFTER I posted my piece. Interesting.
What’s wrong with Heigl speaking out? (AP via MSNBC)

TV Likes Older Women

I was traveling so I didn't get to comment on the Emmy nominations. I am excited to see many of my favorites on the list, but I also think it's worthy to note that older women who have disappeared from our movie screens are thriving and being acknowledged for their work on TV.

When anyone asks me why women over 40 are doing better on TV, I give them my standard answer -- advertising. TV is driven by the ads, and anyone in that business knows that women make all the consumer buying decisions. So, they target the ads at women which in turn leads to content that could drive the desired audience to those shows for the ads. Not rocket science. On the other hand, film is driven by opening weekend box office and the 12-24 demo both boys and girls and the ones who come out en masse.

Here are some of the nominees:
Best Comedy Series
One women centric show - 30 Rock starring Tina Fey

Outstanding Drama Series
One women centric show- Damages starring Glenn Close

Where the Women are Missing
Best Directing of a Comedy Series
Best Directing for a Miniseries, Movie of Dramatic Special
Outstanding Directing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series
30 Rock - Carrie Fisher as Rosemary Howard; Edie Falco as Celeste 'C.C.' Cunningham; Elaine Stritch as Colleen Donaghy
Desperate Housewives- Polly Bergen as Stella Wingfield; Kathryn Joosten as Karen McCluskey
Monk - Sarah Silverman as Marci Maven

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series
Big Love - Ellen Burstyn as Nancy Dutton
Grey's Anatomy - Diahann Carroll as Jane Burke
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Cynthia Nixon as Janis Donovan
Medium - Anjelica Huston as Cynthia Keener
Nip/Tuck - Sharon Gless as Colleen Rose

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
30 Rock - Tina Fey as Liz Lemon
Samantha Who? - Christina Applegate as Samantha Newly
The New Adventures Of Old Christine - Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell
Ugly Betty - America Ferrera as Betty Suarez
Weeds - Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Brothers & Sisters - Sally Field as Nora Holden-Walker
Damages - Glenn Close as Patty Hewes
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson
Saving Grace - Holly Hunter as Grace Hanadarko
The Closer - Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie
A Raisin In The Sun - Phylicia Rashad as Lena Younger
An American Crime - Catherine Keener as Gertrude Baniszewski
Bernard And Doris - Susan Sarandon as Doris Duke
Cranford - Dame Judi Dench as Miss Matty Jenkyns
John Adams - Laura Linney as Abigail Adams

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Pushing Daisies - Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook
Samantha Who? - Jean Smart as Regina Newly
Saturday Night Live - Amy Poehler, Performer
Two And A Half Men - Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper
Ugly Betty - Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Boston Legal - Candice Bergen as Shirley Schmidt
Brothers & Sisters - Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker-Whedon
Grey's Anatomy - Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey; Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang
In Treatment - Dianne Wiest as Dr. Gina Toll

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie
A Raisin In The Sun - Audra McDonald as Ruth Younger
Cranford (MASTERPIECE) - Dame Eileen Atkins as Miss Deborah Jenkyns
Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale - Ashley Jensen as Maggie Jacobs
Pictures Of Hollis Woods (Hallmark Hall Of Fame Presentation) - Alfre Woodard as Edna Reilly
Recount - Laura Dern as Katherine Harris

Emmy nominated women show younger isn't always better (AP via Chicago Sun-Times)

Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Mia Farrow

Should have done this a long time ago.

For standing up and speaking out about the genocide in Darfur. She's just been in Burma and Thailand with the Nobel Women's Initiative (a group of female Nobel peace laureates- bet that's a cool group.) Here's their platform:

The Nobel Women’s Initiative seeks:

• To spotlight the massive violations of women and women’s rights – which are nothing less than human rights – that occur daily and not only have an impact on women individually but also on their families, their communities, and often the entire fabric of a society;

• To spotlight the struggle for human rights which when recognized and accepted also reinforce efforts to bring about participatory governance in Burma and the Sudan (indeed throughout the world); and

• To call upon citizens around the world to take individual and collective action to build sustainable peace as well as to insist that the international community implement existing commitments for peace, justice and equality in Burma and Sudan;

We have come to the area of the Thai/Burma border and will continue on to South Sudan and Darfuri refugee camps in Chad,

• To build alliances with women and women’s organizations there by:

• Listening to their unique stories, perspectives and experiences;

• Learning from their work to build sustainable peace in their communities how they see the role of women in actively negotiating peace agreements in their countries and in rebuilding their communities and societies when the conflicts have ended;

• Conveying their messages to other women’s organizations where we live and work and through our collective networks as well as to the media and to governments at national, regional and international levels; and by

• Highlighting China’s influential role in these crises

Learn more: Mia Farrow's site and blog
Nobel Women's Initiative
Mia Farrow Pressure China on Burma Rights (AP via SF Chronicle)

The Evolution of the "Male" Hollywood Writer

If I was a woman writer in Hollywood I would be up in arms over this story Evolution of a Screenwriter that appeared in last week's Hollywood Reporter. The premise of the story is that people (i.e. - men) who were traditionally known just as screenwriters in the past now have to branch out into new mediums and platforms in order to have successful careers.

The first thing about the story that you can't help but notice is that EVERY SINGLE SCREENWRITER MENTIONED AND INTERVIEWED IS A GUY.

You can't tell me that there is not a single female screenwriter who couldn't be interviewed for this story. That's such bs.

The second thing is that it makes it seem that all anybody is working on is movies about comic books and I find that so pathetically sad.

I am throughly disgusted.

Thanks for the tip, Lee.

Barbra Streisand Talks Politics

A Hollywood woman with strong political opinions. Gotta love her. Here are emails answers she gave to The Politico. But when will we see you onscreen again?

The Politico: You strongly supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Was switching to Sen. Barack Obama difficult?

We had a very deep bench of Democratic Presidential candidates in the primary, and we were very lucky to finally have two capable, dynamic and intelligent candidates vying to be the nominee. Supporting Sen. Obama for President was an immediate decision for me after Sen. Clinton ended her bid for the Democratic nomination. Throughout this process, they challenged each other to be better. It was a historical race, with Hillary breaking through that glass ceiling for all women and Barack inspiring young kids that they can overcome their circumstances to reach greatness.

Will you be doing any concerts to support Obama and the Democrats before the election?

I would absolutely consider performing for Sen. Obama and for the Democratic Party.

What do you say to Hillary’s fans that might be moving to vote for McCain — a figure that’s been estimated to be as high as 15 percent of her supporters?

I would urge those voters to take a step back and realize that our country is at an extremely serious crossroad . . . . There is too much at stake right now to elect another George W. Bush to the White House. And John McCain is just that. He has stated that the issue of economics is not something he’s understood as well as he should. He does not support reproductive rights for women, increased veteran’s benefits and ending the war in Iraq. There is just no reason for Sen. Clinton’s supporters not to back Sen. Obama.

Read the full interview (The Politico)
photo credit: Glenn Harris/Photorazzi

Honoring a Theatrical Pioneer

Barbara Ann Teer the founder of the National Black Theatre which she ran for 40 years, and one of the strong forces in the black theatre, died last week. Her funeral in Harlem attracted 700 people including politicians like Charlie Rangel and former mayor David Dinkins.

From the NY Times: Ms. Teer, a Harlem fixture who served as nurturer, gadfly and inspirational mother superior, was a passionate, articulate advocate for black culture and black artists, speakers said. And her life was a celebration of being “free, open and black,” as she used to put it.

For Champion of Black Theater, a Salute in Harlem’s Streets (NY Times)

Women at Comic-Con

The geek fest better known as Comic-Con was held this last weekend in San Diego. It used to be that guys and guy films dominated, but no more. This year women made up 40% of attendees and the upcoming Catherine Hardwicke film Twilight based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer has the women present in a frenzy and the guy critics scratching their heads. Anne Thompson at Variety asks: Twilight: Will Male Critics Ever Understand Its Femme Appeal?

Here's what she writes when discussing the dismal stats released last week about female film critics:

And the coverage that movies with femme appeal do get from male critics is not the necessarily as positive or understanding as that from female critics. Mamma, Mia! and Sex in the City would be recent examples. Why would a guy particularly engage with a romantic comedy like 27 Dresses? Professional film critics will argue that it is their job to know how to review such a movie. Let's put it this way. Some men are better able to adopt the female POV, and tap into their femme side, than others. Many men are not trained to do see things from the perspective of the opposite sex. All women are.

That's one reason why today's movies are so geared toward men, while women starve for material aimed at them. Women are accustomed to going along and accepting slim pickings in pictures by and about men. Even at Comic-Con, there's a sense that female fans are yearning for romance. The screaming response to Twilight's Brit heartthrob Robert Pattinson was enormous. He could be the next Leo di Caprio after Titanic, if Twilight hits as big as I suspect it will.

I agree with Anne. One problem I find is that women critics don't necessarily want to be known as women critics, just like I've met many women directors who don't want to be known as women directors. News flash -- if things were equal it would be ok if you wanted to just be known as a critic or a director and it would be awesome. But in my world no matter what we want to believe women critics and women directors can't escape the "woman" label. We have to understand that we might be seeing a film from a different perspective and not think that it makes us less than, it just makes us different. And we need to support other women. I'm not saying that you should write a good review for a bad movie, but I am saying that we should try and review movies the guys might dismiss and not be interested in just because they come from a female perspective. That shouldn't be too hard.

Here's a report from USA Today on Comic-Con

Otter represents another shift in the comic-book movie universe: an influx of women. Over the years, female attendance at Comic-Con has grown, this year reaching a record of nearly 40%, perhaps reflecting increasing involvement of women in the filmmaking.

"It was getting depressing," says Rose McGowan, who will play the title comic-book vixen in Red Sonja, due in 2010. "I was getting scripts to play the straight man to the straight man. But lately, we're seeing more scripts that allow us to kick (butt). Comic books have always been good about it, and now movies seem to be catching on."

Deborah Del Prete, producer of Frank Miller's Spirit, has been coming to Comic-Con since she was 8 years old. Usually, she was asked if she was looking for Wonder Woman comics.

"Now they ask me what I'm working on," she says. "We're seeing a partnership in making these movies we never saw before. I say it's about time people recognize women enjoy comics and comic-book movies as much as any other fan."

Mila Kunis, who plays an assassin in the video game adaptation Max Payne, says Hollywood is finally mirroring the times.

"If you ask me, they're a little slow in catching up with the rest of the world," she says. "I'm really glad for movies like Wanted and Underworld, because it's casting us as mainstream heroes.

"But come on. It wasn't that long ago when we thought a woman was going to be the Democratic nominee for president. We should have been at this place a long time ago."