Women & Hollywood

It’s been over a week since the DGA win, and almost a week since Kathryn Bigelow got her best director Oscar nomination and it turns out that since then, she has been nominated for a second Oscar as one of the producers for her film The Hurt Locker.  (When the nominations were announced last week, the credit were still pending.)  So, if she wins best director and The Hurt Locker wins best picture — both are conceivable — she will win two Oscars in one night.

The reason why I want to talk about it is because I think that no matter how much Ms. Bigelow doesn’t want to talk about the gender implications in her nomination, they are everywhere.  I heard them when I was listened to the Oscar Talk podcast when Kris Tapley called her “hot” and Anne Thompson said that she’s not 100% convinced she will win because the Academy is “overwhelmingly male and she just doesn’t trust them.”

I started thinking about this a lot more this weekend when I was reading the excellent new book Notes from the Cracked Ceiling by Washington Post reporter Anne Kornblut which is all about the gender issues and the 2008 election.  The book talks about how lots of people, especially young women, think that we have achieved equality, we are far from equal and what happened to the female candidates are examples of how far we have to go.  (Mind you I haven’t gotten past the Hillary Clinton section yet.)

While many believe we live in a “post feminist” culture, 2008 reminded us how far we still have to go.

But in hindsight, 2008 turned out to be just the opposite for women: a severe letdown, with damaging consequences.  It revided old sterotypes, divided the women’s movement, drove apart mothers and daughters, and set back the cause of equality in the political sphere by decades.

and

…the political culture does not take women as seriously as we would like to think.  The glass ceiling may be cracked, as Hillary Clinton declared at the end of her presidential campaign.  But it is far from broken.

Women in politics, though very different from women in Hollywood, still gives us a context to think about how women are looked at in general.

We all know that the Hollywood culture doesn’t take women as seriously as we would like to think they do.  The fact that there are so few female writers, so few female directors, so few female centric films are right off the top examples of the problems Hollywood has with women. Continue reading ‘Pondering the Bigelow Nomination in Larger Context’

I have been waiting impatiently for about a decade now to see the spark in Claire Danes’ eyes that I saw way back when she played Angela Chase in My So Called Life. She’s been in a bunch of movies and has been lovely and usually very good, but no where near great.

Finally, she has a found a role where she is beyond great, she is stupendous.  Claire Danes is revelatory as Temple Grandin animal behaviorist, best-selling author, autistic and expert in autism.  This is a fascinating movie and I learned so much about this woman and about autism.  Temple did not speak until she was four and if not for her mother would have probably ended up spending her life in an institution.  What a loss that would have been.

I was riveted in many ways by the film especially the scenes about how Grandin related to animals, especially cows.  I couldn’t believe it when I learned that she has designed over 50% cattle slaughterhouses in the country and they are all designed to promote humane treatment of the animals.

But it is Danes who is a revelation, and I really hope that this will convince her and others that she has the range to dig into meaty roles in the future.

Temple Grandin spent a couple of minutes on the phone with me talking about the film, her work and her life.

W&H: First I want to talk a little bit about your mother. The film shows how your mother never gave up on you. And it’s almost a love story between the two of you.  What was your father’s role?

Temple Grandin: Mother was the one who kept me out of an institution. My father, like a lot of dads, had very little input. He would have gone along with the doctors. Back in the 50’s you sort of did what the doctors did. In a lot of families where they have a severely handicapped kid, it’s the mothers that take care of it. I go and do a talk and autism meeting and there are a few dads there. But for every dad there are ten mothers.

W&H: What was so magical for me was your relationship with animals.

TG: When I was in high school I thought everybody thought in pictures like I did. The movie showed how I thought in pictures brilliantly. The other thing that I really liked about the movie was that all my projects that were in the movie. They were all actually done and they were all made.  The squeeze machines were built off the drawing. Those were all built exactly the way I did them.

Continue reading ‘Claire Danes as Temple Grandin Tomorrow Night on HBO’

Guess David Letterman is feeling the pressure cause he FINALLY hired a woman writer on his staff.

Her name is Jill Goodwin and she has been on the staff since 2001, started first as an assistant to the executive producers and most recently as a writer’s assistant to the staff.

Here’s what a spokesman said to the NY Times about the promotion:

For some time, Ms. Goodwin has been considered to be next in line for a writing job at “Late Show” as soon as there was an opening.

I want to know exactly what some time is and I want to know if there has not been a single male hired in the time she was “next in line.”  I’m gonna bet that some guys were hired.  If I am wrong I will apologize.

I just think the Ms. Goodwin should be giving my friend Nell Scovell a phone call of thanks cause had she not put herself out there and talked about the Letterman work environment I bet this news would still not have happened.

Additionally, Neely Swanson who did development for David E. Kelley and is now an adjunct professor at USC also counted the pilots for next season.  Here’s what she found:

Of the 66 pilots I documented, 13 pilots had at least one female writer as part of the “created by” team; however, of those 66 pilots, only 7 of them were written entirely by women.  You can do the math yourself, but this works out to a high of 20% involvement by women when writing alone and/or with men; and just 11% when written by women without male participation. A closer look at the all the names will reveal one writer of Hispanic origin, three Asian-Americans and an entire absence of African American writers.

As she says this:

This isn’t a glass ceiling, it’s a White Boys’ Club brick wall.

So all of you who think things are hunky dory out in la la land, really need to get a sense of the reality.

Letterman Show Adds a Female Staff Writer (NY Times)

Women Can’t Create and White Men Can’t Jump (Research Wrap Blog)

Here’s a definition we came up with.  What do you think?

In order to be considered a women centric film, this film would have to focus on one or more female characters – one protagonist and/or other female characters – at the center of the narrative. A female protagonist or female lead constitutes therefore the main characteristic of women centric. It is her story, told from her perspective.

Women centric film differs from definitions such as woman’s film or chick flick in that it does not refer to a specific genre of films. In other words, it includes animated films, horror films, (romantic) comedies, fantasy and action films. What matters is that the story is told from her perspective – be it an animated female character or girl in the horror film.

Furthermore, women centric does not necessarily imply a feminist protagonist neither does it guarantee that a feminist ‘message’ is contained (although it might).

Numbers matter. So we here at Women & Hollywood are going to try and put out as many numbers as we can.  (Just keep in mind that none of these are scientific studies)

Women & Hollywood intern Eva Krainitzki (all the way from England- how cool is that?) took a look at the 2009 box office numbers and also put forward a definition of what is a womencentric film.

Overview

2 of the top 10 grossing films are women centric;

9 of the top 50 grossing films (two of them are animated – The Princess and the Frog, Coraline);

18 of the top 100 grossing films;

26 of the top 150 grossing films

The Films, Their Rank and Total Gross

4 The Twilight Saga: New Moon ($293,897,327)

8 The Blind Side ($238,430,210)

—————————————————————————————————————-

16 The Proposal ($163,958,031)

31 It’s Complicated ($104,782,080)

32 The Princess and the Frog* ($100,352,358)

34 Julie & Julia ($94,125,426)

37 The Ugly Truth ($88,915,214)

39 Hannah Montana The Movie ($79,576,189)

42 Coraline* ($75,286,229)

—————————————————————————————————————-

56 Bride Wars ($58,715,510)

63 My Sister’s Keeper ($49,200,230)

66 Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire ($45,506,888)

67 Confessions of a Shopaholic ($44,277,350)

69 The Unborn (2009)** ($42,670,410)

70 Drag Me to Hell** ($42,100,625)

71 Orphan** ($41,596,251)

74 The Lovely Bones($38,647,080)

94 The Uninvited** ($28,596,818)

—————————————————————————————————————-

115 New in Town ($16,734,283)

116 Jennifer’s Body** ($16,204,793)

126 Amelia ($14,245,415)

129 Whip It ($13,043,363)

132 Sunshine Cleaning ($12,062,558)

144 An Education ($8,795,228)

146 My Life in Ruins ($8,665,206)

150 The Young Victoria ($7,673,21)

[1] Based on Box Office Mojo, domestic grosses for 2009.  As of February the 4th 2010.

* Animated Film

** Horror Film

The last time a woman was nominated for a best director Oscar was in 2003 before blogs and way before Women & Hollywood.

I wanted to take the opportunity to hear the voices of women directors themselves as to what Kathryn Bigelow’s nomination means to them as women working in the business.

Here are the comments of the ones who responded (women directors- we can keep adding to the piece so send you comments my way, anytime.)  Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.

Participants included (in alphabetical order): Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees); Rachel Feldman (Lizzie Maguire, Sisters); Rhianon Elan Gutierrez (When I’m Not Alone); Aviva Kempner (The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, Yoo Hoo Mrs. Goldberg);  Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou, Talk to Me); Tia Lessin (Trouble the Water); Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry, Stop Loss); Faith Pennick (Silent Choices)

Gina Prince-Bythewood

Kathryn’s stunning film and deserved DGA win and Oscar nomination puts an exclamation point on a mantra that should be carved onto every studio executive’s desk.  “Talent has no gender!”  She inspires by doing, and doing it well.

Rachel Feldman

This year, the DGA awards were a big win for women. Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman ever to win the DGA Best Director Feature Award for THE HURT LOCKER. Lesli Linka Glatter won for episodic television directing for her episode of MAD MEN. And Allison Liddi-Brown won in the children’s category for Disney Channel movie, PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM.

This is hugely meaningful to me and I hope is the start of a modern, boot-up to the very strange boys club that is Hollywood.

Kathryn directed a brilliant film that stayed with me and worked on many levels. I’m thrilled that she won the DGA award, that a woman finally won and I hope that this success, along with the other female wins, brings with it a sea change for women behind the camera.

France is implementing a new law requiring all large companies to employ at least 40% women to their executive ranks.  I believe that we must mandate change as well. Kathryn, Lesli and Allison deserve all of this and more, but so do thousands of other talented and deserving women whose livelihoods and voices are stifled by ridiculously antiquated gender discrimination, much of which is subconscious.

Rhianon Elan Gutierrez

I think that Kathryn’s nomination and strong contention for the actual award is a huge step for women, but what bothers me is that I’m reading articles that are talking about the battle of the exes…James Cameron versus Kathryn.  Can’t they just be who they are without the media playing out some epic battle of the sexes showdown?  Though I am not fond of how they’ll likely be drawing attention to Kathryn and the Oscars this way, I see the publicity as a major boost to female filmmakers everywhere to contribute their perspectives on Kathryn’s nomination and likely win.  Women are intelligent creators who are capable of making a film that is raw, emotional, gripping, and transformative.

I am happy to see a woman succeeding in an industry that often has them acting as objects of sexual fascination rather than intellectual and creative power.  Short-term, a win for Kathryn will mean that women have pushed themselves up in the ranks as worthy and capable directors, but what I am really looking forward to long-term is the win of a minority female director–because directors come in all abilities, colors, and genders.  I am a triple minority director (female, biracial, and hard of hearing), and I know that what young people really want is to see themselves represented–not all those people are white males!  In seeking the comments of other women regarding Bigelow’s nomination, it’s important to realize that there are many barriers that still need to be shattered–the strongest being the underrepresentation of people with disabilities in the Hollywood film industry.  To be included in technical roles on a production or to act in the same stereotypical, melodramatic supporting roles is, to be blunt, demeaning towards the abilities of people with disabilities.  It is not enough.  I want to see the most marginalized person in society: the disabled, nonwhite female be a winner for a film that appeals to large audiences.

How can this happen?

Double and triple minority female directors must be visible.  The industry must welcome diversity, but not for diversity’s sake–but because those who work within it truly do recognize and value the talents of people of color with many abilities.

Thumbs up if Kathryn wins, but us women still have a ways to go to support the growth of all minority groups.

In the words of anarchist Emma Goldman: “No real social change has been brought about without a revolution…revolution is but thought carried into action.” Continue reading ‘Women Directors Respond to Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar Nomination’

Dutch director Marleen Gorris is one of the most feminist directors around.  She has actually won an academy award for one of the most feminist films I have ever seen -Antonia’s Line which won the best foreign language film Oscar in 1995.  Her other films include A Question of Silence, Mrs. Dalloway and the Luzhin Defence.

Her new film tells the true story of Evgenia Ginzburg (Emily Watson) who was sentenced to 10 years hard labor in Siberia during Stalin’s reign in the Soviet Union.  Watson is her usual wonderful self in this intense story about a woman who believed she was a solid and stalwart party member, who wound up in a whirlwind of accusations with no power.  But while the gulag is extraordinarily depressing, the film is a story of hope as Evgenia is able to find love with the camp’s doctor (played by Ulrich Tukur) under these most difficult circumstances.

Women & Hollywood was able to ask some questions of director Marleen Gorris and writer Nancy Larson when their film was screened at the recent NY Jewish Film Festival.

Women &Hollywood: Nancy, tell us how the story began.

Nancy Larson: I had developed a film with another producer and the producer wanted to work with me again. And he asked me what book I would like to do. And I had read this book and I said this is the one I would like to do.

W&H: So they hired you to write the script?

NL: I came in more like a writer/producer in a way. I just wrote the script and the first person we thought of was Marleen.

W&H: Marleen, what made you interested in the film?

Marleen Gorris: I was very interested in the subject because there is so little done with that particular period. The Stalin Purges. Stalin in general. And I was also fascinated with Russia. Even now, a great part of the population worships Stalin. So obviously the Russians did not do anything with their history in that sense as for instance the Germans did. What I mean is that it came out into the open and people started talking about it and historians went into the subject. None of all that happened in Russia. And then of course it was a personal story of a woman who had written very extensively with great memory about what she went through.  Also, my admiration for this woman. Where does one get the power to survive something like this? And all these elements I thought were fascinating to make a film of.

Continue reading ‘Interview with Marleen Gorris and Nancy Larson – director and writer of Within the Whirlwind’

Here’s the link to my BBC interview:

Women & Hollywood Talks Oscar Nominations on the BBC

Building on our earlier conversation about Golden Globes, I reached out to many different female film writers and bloggers about the Oscar nominations.

I laid out a couple of things to consider:

• A woman directed movie, The Hurt Locker matched a male directed movie, Avatar – nomination for nomination. Pretty groundbreaking.
• 3 of the 10 best picture nominations — Precious, An Education, The Blind Side — were for movies about women.
• 2 of the 10 best picture nominations were directed by women — An Education, The Hurt Locker.
• Only one of the five nominees for best adapted screenplay has a woman: District 9 – Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
• NO woman was nominated for original screenplay.
• Bright Star got only one nomination for costume design.
• Meryl Streep got her 16th nomination, the most ever and Sandra Bullock as well as Gabby Sidibe and Carey Mulligan got their firsts.
• Lastly, what does Bigelow’s nomination here and win at the DGA mean for women directors (if anything.)

The participants include (in alphabetical order):

Manohla Dargis, NY Times: Jan Lisa Huttner, The Hot Pink Pen; MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher; Jenni Miller, Cinematical; Mary Pols, Time; Katey Rich, Cinemablend; Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer; Shannon Ridler, The Movie Moxie; Sasha Stone, Awards Daily; Ella Taylor, LA Weekly

Some answered the questions, some gave other quotes and thoughts.

Manohla Dargis:

I’m just glad that Bigelow has received this initial recognition. There’s really not much more that can be said on this subject until she actually wins.

Jan Lisa Huttner:

Although the number of noms is the same the quality of these noms is very different.  With the exception of Best Picture & Best Director, AVATAR’s noms are all technical, whereas noms for THE HURT LOCKER include the major categories of BEST ACTOR & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY.  (Major/Minor being determined by what gets announced on Nominations Morning versus what just goes out in the press release for Oscar junkies like us.)  In this respect, ROTTEN TOMATOES is an accurate guide.  As of today, AVATAR stands @ 82% Fresh whereas THE HURT LOCKER stands @ 97% Fresh, way ahead of all other candidates qualitatively speaking.

I’m especially pleased that Jeremy Renner was nominated because his face in close-up is the core image in THE HURT LOCKER & I think Kathryn Bigelow directed him brilliantly.  I have some hope that the 9 noms will make more people see his extraordinary performance now that THE HURT LOCKER is a top contender beyond the best director barrier-buster.  Momentum for THE HURT LOCKER will surely build as more people see it, & if a significant number of voters decide to “vote the ticket,” he just might squeak thru.  One lives in hope!

This is a break-through year for women characters, & in particular, this should be appreciated as “the year of the woman as teacher.”  Look at the all the contenders again & you’ll see this thread running through almost all of this year’s “female-oriented” noms.  Who saves Precious?  Ms. Rain!  Who saves Jenny?  Miss Stubbs!  (See more on this below.)  Who are Leigh Anne Tuohy’s key allies: Miss Sue (Kathy Bates) & Mrs. Boswell (Kim Dickens).

If I ruled the world, contenders would have included BRIGHT STAR, JULIE & JULIA, and THE LOVELY BONES.  Me, I nominated UP IN THE AIR for the Women Film Critics Circle’s “Hall of Shame Award,” & to call it “an adaptation” of Walter Kirns’ book is ludicrous.

I have BRIGHT STAR as a Top Contender in my own BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY category.  Whether you agree with me on this or not, I sincerely believe that BRIGHT STAR stands in much closer relation to Andrew Motion’s KEATS Bio than the “adaptation” of Walter Kirns’ novel in the UP IN THE AIR screenplay.  But bottom line, in this particular category I am simply thrilled that Nick Hornby was nominated for AN EDUCATION!!!  His screenplay opens with Miss Stubbs, closes with Miss Stubbs, & has Miss Stubbs mention the name “Mr. Rochester” THREE TIMES in between, so shame on anyone who’s surprised to learn that David “has secrets” in Act Three!!!

But here’s a fact that’s more important: Meryl Streep has not won an Oscar in 26 years!!!  Yet again, critics have used her brilliance primarily to damn her collaborators (in this case Amy Adams & Nora Ephron)–what’s up with that?!?  If they’re going to reward Jeff Bridges for CRAZY HEART then for sure, they should NOT “yawn” about Streep this year & pass her over yet again. (And I say this also having loved all the other contenders).

The Bigelow nomination means EVERYTHING!!!  Another huge crack in the celluloid ceiling!!!  Do not buy into the BS: Bigelow’s films have often included strong supporting women’s roles not to mention two wonderful female leads (Jamie Leigh Curtis in BLUE STEEL & Sara Polley in THE WEIGHT OF WATER).  Most offensive: Embedding in the gossipy “Exes Issue” is the not so subtle implication that she’s riding on Cameron’s coat tails.  Those of us who know better must fight back!!!  Yes, she’s a babe.  Yes, she’s got great legs.  Yes, she was once married to James Cameron.  But, guess what: THE HURT LOCKER is a riveting film that’s 97% Fresh, Bigelow has Lifetime Achievement, & oh yes, women hold up half the sky! Continue reading ‘Women Writers React to the Oscar Nominations’

“I spent my whole life searching for a man to look up to without lying down”.  That’s a pretty gutsy statement for any woman to make, but even more so, given the time it was said.  It was the early 1920s and this mantra was spoken by Frances Marion.  At the time she was Hollywood’s highest paid screenwriter.  Those words give an insight into this woman’s independent nature and savvy spirit.

Frances Marion and many other women began their careers on the east coast working for Thomas Edison Productions and other offshoot motion picture companies.  In 1913, when Edison’s Trust was in full swing many actors, screenwriters, directors and producers moved to the west coast.  Their goal was to put 3,000 miles between them and the miser who was trying to monopolize the movie making industry.  Edison wasn’t really interested in the artistic angle of the business.  He only wanted to sit back and collect royalties on the rental fees produced by his film and viewing apparatus.  He had locked up the production end of the business by gaining patents to all things necessary to making movies; except the actors.

Despite his stronghold on the business, it was a way for many to get their feet wet while working in Edison’s Black Maria (Ma-Riah) located on a dreary corner on the grounds of the Edison Laboratories in West Orange, New Jersey.  A large number of this group of actors were women who had waded into these waters simply because it was a way to make a living.  During this time, Jews and women were not accepted in many of the established professions, but were welcomed into the  creative working world of the movie studio known as the Black Maria. The first motion picture studio was nothing more than a large black, irregularly-shaped box covered with tar paper.  It rotated on an oval track so that the retractable roof could catch the sun from different angles. One actor compared the dismal working environment to a large outhouse.

Women in the early days of Hollywood who were working behind the camera as well as out in front had started their careers in this simple fashion making short, silent films on the east coast in dark studios. When the movie business moved west to Hollywood they followed.  According Cari Beauchamp, the Los Angeles-based author of the book entitled Without Lying Down, Frances Marion and Other Powerful Women of Early Hollywood, “California provided a better climate, diverse scenery and an opportunity to make money for men and women alike.” Continue reading ‘A Little Bit of History: How The Lives of Screenwriter Frances Marion And Movie Star Gloria Swanson Collided and Crashed! by Sharon Hazard’

This morning I have such a feeling of relief over Kathryn Bigelow’s nomination.  Since the Academy has such a shitty track record of honoring women, I thought in back of my mind that they just might give her (and us) the big finger.

But those thoughts have now been displaced, and the good news is that she got nominated.  The better news is that her film, The Hurt Locker — a film directed by a woman — got the same amount of nominations as Avatar — 9. I’m gonna go out on a limb (not very far out though) and say that no other female directed film has ever garnered that many nomination.

But in my joy and relief, I am still reminded of how far we have to go when I got these headlines in my in box describing the nominations:

From CNN: “Avatar,” “Up in the Air” among leading nominees at this year’s Academy Award nominations.”

From the Hollywood Reporter: “James Cameron, ‘Avatar’ among Oscar nominees”

The Hurt Locker got more noms than Up in the Air and was equal to Avatar.  So why doesn’t it rate a headline?

I know I’m nit picking but come on, when is this going to happen again?  When is a movie that is directed by a woman going to match nomination for nomination to the man who calls himself the king of the world?

So beyond her nod for directing which is momentous, lets look at the bigger picture in that her leadership, and yes it is leadership (which is always one of the reasons why women have a hard time with directing — men can’t see them as leading the troops aka the crew) has been rewarded with NINE nominations.

Continue reading ‘Early Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations’

It’s not the picture that bothers me (except the women do look really glassy eyed) as much as the tired bullshit teaser heading that accompanies the photo:

Annie Leibovitz photographs the nine dolls on V.F.’s cover, as Evgenia Peretz explains why Anna Kendrick, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, et al. are nobody’s playthings.

DOLLS?  Seriously? WTF?

These are talented women!  If that was a headline on a picture I was in, I would be mortified.  I want to know who wrote that and if they really thought the word DOLL made sense.  All the editors should be ashamed.

I swear every time we make a big leap forward a la Bigelow’s DGA win, there is someone with a pitchfork ready to put us back in our places.

Use this link to send a letter to the editor telling him what you think.

What a weekend for female directors!

First, Kathryn Bigelow wins the DGA award putting her in the drivers seat for the Oscar, and almost simultaneously, Debra Granik took the Grand Jury Prize for her film Winter’s Bone.  That makes Granik two for two at Sundance with her winning the directing prize for Down to the Bone in 2004.   Down to the Bone, a brutal look at a drug addict, introduced the world to an actress we all now know well – Vera Farmiga.  (Check out guest blogger Kerri Yost’s post on Winter’s Bone.)

So clearly, this is a talented director.  So where’s her big pay day? (assuming she wants one.)  Please don’t tell me that if she were a guy they would not be beating down the door to sign her.  According to imdbpro she has a manager not an agent.  So where is her next deal?  She clearly has the goods. And also, she’s a talented writer.  She and her co-writer Anne Rosellini won the Waldo Salt screenwriting award for their adaptation of Daniel Woodrell’s novel.

The film was picked up by Roadside Attractions in the hours before the awards ceremony in a deal which, according to Variety was in the the “low- to mid-six figures.”  That seems really low.  The story said there was interest from other distributors including: Samuel Goldwyn Films, Sony Pictures Classics, Apparition and the Weinstein Co.  I think the marketing on this film will be a challenge.  It might make sense to play it as a real world tale kind of like Up in the Air.  You need to get into the zeitgeist to make people believe that this is an important movie to see and talk about just like what happened with Precious.

And speaking of Precious, the Guardian astutely reminded me that this is the third year in a row that a film with a female lead has won a big prize at Sundance.  Last year it was Precious and the year before was Frozen River.  Sundance seems to be a place where women can thrive.  I just wish it translated into the marketplace.

Sundance falls for another strong woman in Winter’s Bone (The Guardian)

“Winter’s Bone,” “Restrepo” Lead Sundance Award Winners (indieWIRE)

Sundance sales pick up (Variety)

Hey women- Apply for this! (info copied directly from DGA site)

Application Period Now Open; Applications Due March 10, 2010

HBO and the DGA recognize a mutual goal of increasing diversity among directors in television. To that end, we are announcing the second annual rotation of the HBO/DGA Television Directing Fellowship Program to tentatively begin in the late summer of 2010. We are searching for creative talent and are especially hopeful that talented women and minorities will apply. It is anticipated that up to three fellowships will be awarded for 2010.

Fellows will be employees of HBO on a non-exclusive basis and will be paid approximately $50,000 for up to one year, anticipated, but not guaranteed (depending upon the number of weeks worked and hours per week), to work on a television series to be determined by HBO pursuant to an employment contract. If the series requires the fellow to relocate, a reasonable allowance will be provided. In addition, HBO will endeavor to accommodate other professional commitments of each fellow, but cannot guarantee that fellows will be assigned to any particular series.

Appropriate applicants might include television, theatrical feature, documentary, music video and commercial directors (applicants are not required to be or become DGA members). Each fellow may have the opportunity to observe, consult and be mentored by select directors of an HBO series intended to provide exposure to the series. The fellows may have the opportunity to shadow the show directors and learn different creative approaches. The program is also intended to increase opportunities for professional relationships with executive producers, showrunners and other television executives, at HBO’s discretion and subject to availability. A directing assignment on an HBO series may be available after successful completion of the program, but is not provided, implied or guaranteed.

If this opportunity interests you, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
Links to the application and submission agreement are below.

Materials must be submitted by the deadline of March 10, 2010 to:

HBO/DGA Directing Fellowship
Home Box Office
2500 Broadway, 4th Floor
Santa Monica, CA. 90404

Please direct any inquiries to directing.fellowship@hbo.com. Please also be advised that response times may be delayed, so it is advisable to submit the completed application as soon as possible.

Click to Download the 2010 HBO/DGA Directing Fellowship Program Application Package

Getty Images

This is big.

This is Sally Ride, first American woman in space big.  This is Sandra Day O’Connor, first female on the Supreme Court big.  This is Billie Jean King beating Bobby Riggs big.

This is a big, bold blast in the glass ceiling for all women directors.

Last night in the wee hours here on the east coast, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman EVER to win the DGA top honors for feature filmmaking.

What is interesting about the DGA event is that all the nominees get up to make a speech, all receive a silver plaque and then at the end of the evening one gets the gold.  Reports are that when Bigelow’s name was announced everyone cheered.

I’m getting goose bumps just writing about it.

Her acceptance speech seemed incredibly humble:

“Just to be in the room with all of you is an unimaginable honor,” says Bigelow, who appeared uncomfortable speaking to the audience. “We all felt a deep responsibility to tell this story as honestly as possible, given the courage of our troops overseas. This is the most incredible moment of my life. And with that, I’ll disappear.”

But following the whole event on twitter I couldn’t help but be dismayed at some of the sexist remarks coming out of the mouths of people in the room.

Here’s what Lee Daniels, the director of Precious said of Bigelow: “Your movie is as beautiful as your legs.  You make me question my sexuality.”

I find that incredibly offensive.  Lee just finished making a movie about how a girl was treated because of how she looked and who she was, and this is the bullshit that comes out of his mouth when talking about his fellow nominee?  Unacceptable.

Another comment:

Stage manager (I can’t figure out who that person is) to Carl Reiner after seeing Bigelow: “That’s the most beautiful director I’ve ever seen.

And

Jeremy Renner said the only thing to rival Kathryn Bigelow in a bikini is “Lee Daniels in a one-piece.”

I was tweeting back and forth with another woman who knows much more about the awards that I do and she wrote to me when I said I was appauled:

I think it’s unique to have such a looker in the room up for awards.  Plus, ppl are surprised she is almost 60. But yeah.

I wonder if they said the same things to Robert Redford back in the day.

I was thinking maybe only in the most rare cases, like Brad Pitt or Redford.  I’ve never seen them talk this way about any other.

But some other people did notice the comments and were disturbed by them.  Andre Soares at Alt Film Guide wrote:

Comments abounded on Bigelow’s looks — in other words, on the fact that she’s a woman. Had she been a handsome guy, I wonder how many remarks would have been made about his physical attributes. And how many male directors and presenters would be publicly questioning their sexuality.

And in other good news, Lesli Linka Glatter took top honors for AMC’s Mad Men.

What does this mean for women directors in the future, only time will tell but at least no one will ever have to be the first one in this category again.

One big step forward and a little push back.

Kathryn Bigelow tops directors with ‘Hurt Locker’ (USA Today)

DGA Awards: Focus on Kathryn Bigelow’s Gender Alt Film Guide

It’s pilot time in Hollywood.  The time of the year when all the networks look at the submitted scripts and decide which ones to take to pilot.  Then after they see the pilots, the networks then decide which shows to put on the air next season.  It is a cut throat and difficult process.

One thing we started this year on the blog is to track the scripts and pilots written by and about women.

Clearly I missed the bigger picture.

While there are a fair amount of pilots about women, the story here is the lack of women who are writing and creating the shows. The only way I know about this is from a very disturbing email from a reader who sent me info that came from a high level female TV executive.  This is an industry wide problem and 2010 is way worse for women creators than it was in 2009.

Now remember, TV is supposed to be better than the movies.  Why?  Because TV people know that women watch TV and advertisers want women viewers because they want us to buy their products.  Simple.  So wouldn’t it make sense to have more women creating shows?  I guess we are now going to have to be as vigilant about our TV watching as we are about our moviegoing.  Deliberately supporting the women created shows so they are successful so that more get made.  What also pisses me off is that there are women at all levels of the decision making structure at the TV networks.  So again the question is, why are women being passed over?

Here are some stats about women in the business:

According to the Center for Study of Women in TV and Film, in 2008, women made up 25% creators, executive producers, producers, directors, writers, editors, and directors of photography working on situation comedies, dramas, and reality programs.

Women make up 23% of executive producers.  Usually all creators get an executive producer credit and there are always other executive producers besides the creator.  While I know of no comprehensive list that lists all the creators and executive producers by gender, extrapolating from the data above you could probably guess that women maybe make up around 10% of show creators and showrunners (and I’m probably being generous.)

Here’s the info I got about this year’s pilot season:

In 2010 – 3 out of 33 comedy scripts that went to pilot were written by women. That is 9%.
In 2010 – 6 out of 36 drama scripts went to pilot were written by women.  That is 16%.

In 2009 – 9 out of 43 comedy scripts that went to pilot were written by women.  That is 20%.
In 2009 – 10 of 44 drama scripts that went to pilot were written by women. That is 22%.

The numbers are getting worse.

NBC had no comedies written by women and Fox had no dramas written by women
HBO had one female written pilot in two years. FX nothing. Lifetime nothing.  USA nothing.

Here is the list of scripts that are being made into pilots (and some that have already been picked up for series ) written and created by women:

ABC Drama Series

Scoundrels – Richard Levine & Lyn Greene

ABC Pilots

Comedy: Awkward Situations for Men – Jeff & Jackie Filgo; Untitled Goldberg-Meehan Shana Goldberg-Meehan; Women are Crazy, Men are Stupid – Howard Morris & Jenny Lee

Drama: Cuthroat – Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters; Off the Map – Jenna Bans; Untitled. Yuspa & Goldsmith Cathy Yuspa & Josh Goldsmith

CBS Pilots

Comedy: Open Books – Gail Lerner

Drama: I, Witness – Pam Veasey

CW Pilots

Drama pilots: Betwixt – Liz Chandler; The Wyoming Project – Amy Sherman Palladino & Dan Palladino

Fox Pilots

Drama: Daylight Robbery- Karyn Usher

NBC Pilots

Drama: The Chase- Jennifer Johnson; Love Bites- Cindy Chupack

A&E Pilots

Drama: The Quickening- Jennifer Salt

ABC Family Pilots

Drama: Pretty Little Liars- Marlene King; Huge- Savanah Dooley & Winnie Holzman

AMC Pilots

Drama: The Killing- Veena Sud

Disney Channel Pilots

Comedy: Janet Saves the Planet- Billy Van Zandt & Janet Milmore; Smart Alec Ellen Byron & LIssa Kapstrom

SYFY Pilots

Drama: Being Human Ellen Byron & LIssa Kapstrom

Showtime Series

Comedy: The Big C- Darlene Hunt

TNT Series

Drama: Rizzoli – Janet Tamaro; Delta Blues Joshua Horto & Liz Garcia

Winter's Bone

This year Sundance is telling us to “rebel”, re-start the revolution, to re-think what independent filmmaking is. Their animated bumpers before the films are persuasive propoganda and it’s embedded in all the panels and new director John Cooper’s conversations.  As female filmmakers, I say we take this advice.  Sundance is noted for highlighting filmmakers who are ignored in the mainstream media. For giving new directors a chance to break in with their smaller films that would be ignored in the larger Hollywood film industry.  For finding original voices.  Well, for the most part, that’s us.  I’m hear at Sundance mostly for programming for the Citizen Jane Film Festival, a film festival in Columbia, Missouri that celebrates films by female filmmakers.  And I am excited that some of the best work at Sundance this year comes from original female voices, with the biggest buzz circulating around Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone.

Granik is no stranger to Sundance.  She took the Dramatic Directing Award for her first feature-length film Down to the Bone back in 2004, and this year she is one of the few lucky filmmakers to have multiple distributors interested in her work.  Winter’s Bone is a unique coming of age story set in the Missouri Ozark mountains and told through the experiences of 17-year old Ree Dolly (in a breakout performance by Jennifer Lawrence).  While Ree’s meth-cooking father is running from the law, Ree is left to tend to her younger siblings and mentally ill mother.  We are soon swallowed into Ree’s world through her journey to find her missing father, who has put the family house up for bond after being arrested.  Based on the award-winning novel by Daniel Woodrell and shot completely on location in the Missouri Ozarks, this “country noir” has a sense of place rarely seen.   Granik immersed herself in the Ozarks, starting with writer Woodrell’s own neighborhood and befriending locals to develop locations, find many of her actors, get a sense of the local dialect, and find musicians that we see and hear throughout the film.  Her collaborative nature and attention to detail ultimately creates a reality that is both naturalistic and at times mythical.  Granik captures the close-knit sense of family kin and codes of law, as well as the devastation the meth epidemic has had on families in that region, much like the rest of rural America.  But what is most obvious from both Down to the Bone and Winter’s Bone is Granik’s ability to bring out the best in actors.  Much like Down to the Bone brought Vera Farmiga attention and awards, I suspect Winter’s Bone will garner much deserved attention for young Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes, who plays Ree’s uncle who goes from sinister to sympathetic with very few words.  Hopefully the buzz and attention for Winter’s Bone will last beyond the festival circuit.

Perhaps no film follows the Sundance slogan of “renewed rebellion” more than Katie Aselton’s directing debut The Freebie.  Festival regulars know Aselton as actress in many a mumblecore film and the wife of one of the pioneers of the mumblecore movement, Mark Duplass (The Puffy Chair).  Like many other actresses, Aselton wasn’t getting the roles she wanted, so she took the advice from her husband and decided to write and direct her own film to solve this problem.   And along with writing, directing, and co-producing, Aselton is also in nearly every frame of the film.   Continue reading ‘Guest Post: The View on the Ground at Sundance by Kerri Yost’

Adriana Maggs is one of a bunch of up-and-coming female directors with their work on display this year at Sundance.  Her writing and directing debut Grown Up Movie Star is in competition this year in the World Cinema Narrative section.

Synopsis is below.  Adriana answered some questions by email while she was at Sundance.

Women & Hollywood: How did you come up with the story for Grown Up Movie Star?

Adriana Maggs: Grown Up Movie Star was a short film script I wrote and was workshopping on a panel. A local producer, Jill Knox-Gosse, was interested in it and asked me if I would tell more of the story, make it into a feature. The characters and scenarios are rooted in the themes that I explore both in my work and in my life.

W&H: Female directors tend to get pigeon holed into certain types of movies. Are you aware of that, and did you ever take that into consideration when writing this film?

AM: No, I didn’t take that into consideration.  I come from a place that is completely open to artists, a community that fully supports all storytelling perspectives.  I actually find it really hard when I step onto a “main stage” so to speak, that so many women artists and filmmakers struggle to have their stories told.  But I am not naive to think that the support we receive from the Newfoundland government and arts community is “standard” practice.  I am so thankful to have been nurtured in a creative environment. But after having moved to Toronto, I do understand the importance of supporting women in the arts and appreciate all of the strong and talented filmmakers and producers who as women have really paved the way for the rest of us.  Heather Rae, producer of Frozen River comes to mind.

W&H: Do you think its easier for a female director to be more successful in directing if she also writes the film?

AM: Again, I’m finding the question unusual, considering how I was, if you will, raised in a community of artists.  I suppose it’s easier for a first time director whether male or female to have an opportunity to direct if they in fact, write their own script.  I really want to believe that good story telling is good story telling and I also feel watching a film is like going to an art gallery or reading poetry or any artistic medium.  The viewer is subjective based on taste, life experiences, tolerance, empathy and will choose whether they like or dislike a film based on individual taste whether written and directed by a woman or a man.

W&H: What does getting into Sundance mean for your film and your career and what are you hoping to get out of it?

AM: It is a complete honor and really wonderful to have Grown up Movie Star included in such a prestigious and welcoming festival.  I have always thought that if I could have a film in a festival, I would have wanted it at Sundance.  The history of the festival, the amazing support of independent film and filmmakers, the amazing Sundance Institute are all reasons I am very proud our film was accepted this year.

For me, once I wrote the film and we were on set, it became everyone’s film.  The actors — Shawn, Tatiana, Jonny — and the amazing crew really brought it to life and added so much to the story.  They really let me see the film through new eyes and it was like discovering the story all over again.  So what am I hoping to get out of it?  Well, I am really happy people are coming to see our work, I hope that people appreciate the work and hope that some can relate to the characters and their personal struggles.  And being from a small island off the coast of Canada and arriving in Park City on an international stage, I am excited to meet other filmmakers, see lots of films and figure out a way for more people to see ours!

Continue reading ‘Sundance Interview: Adriana Maggs, Director/Writer of Grown Up Movie Star’

Good news, no great news.  Winnie Holzman creator of My So Called Life and book writer for the Boradway musical Wicked is getting back into TV.

She and her daughter, Savannah Dooley have penned the show Huge based on the YA novel of the same name by Sasha Paley.  The show has just gotten a 10 episode order from ABC Family.  Wolzman will executive produce the first episode and consult on the remaining ones.  Savannah will serve as the show’s executive producer.  Hopefully, Savannah will be as awesome a writer as her mom.

Here’s the description:

The project, described as “Glee” meets “Ugly Betty,” explores how young girls deal with body-image issues. It is set at Wellness Canyon, a weight-loss camp, and revolves around two girls from different backgrounds who fall for the same guy.

Ok, I’m not sold on the description.  Hate that it’s set at a weight loss camp, and hate the the leads fall for the same guy (been there, done that), but I will give Holzman the benefit of the doubt since she basically created the best drama ever, which I still kind of miss.

ABC Family eyeing ‘Huge’ drama (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC Family Order Dramas (Variety)

I’m still bitter over the Golden Globes.  I can’t let it go.  I really thought that Bigelow would win best director and she, of course, didn’t.  I wish that I didn’t care this much but I find the fact that we girls have a horse in the race for best director so empowering.  I can’t imagine what it is doing for women in film schools or for women directors in the business. (Any of you out there have any thoughts?)

Just like Hillary Clinton said in her speech when she dropped out of the presidential race, that there are 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, this Kathryn Bigelow best director conversation has moved the bar on women directors further than we have ever gone before.

We all know that it’s probably because the film had such wide appeal to men and even though I wish that women who direct films about women or emotions had wider appeal, the more we dive into awards season, the less I care.

I JUST WANT THE WIN.

I know this is not about me, but in some way I feel it is.  I hate to put the pressure on other folks but we have been waiting a long time.  While it looks like we’re going to have to wait a long time for a female president, we women can finally get our first female winner at the DGA Awards and hopefully at the Oscars.

While folks were thinking that James Cameron and Avatar had all the momentum after the Globes, The Hurt Locker pulled a huge upset and stole back that momentum this past weekend at the Producer’s Guild Awards and won best picture.  Why is this win so important?

Here’s what Oscar watcher Scott Feinberg said on his blog And the Winner Is:

That’s right, producers, that rare breed of money-hungry urchins, liked the movie that’s made a mere $16 million so much that they gave it their prize over the one that’s made $1.8 billion (on the very day that it surpassed “Titanic” to become the highest-grossing movie of all-time). In case you need it spelled out for you, that’s an upset of epic proportions — the cinematic equivalent of David slaying Goliath.

Thanks, however, to tonight’s PGA shocker, Cameron and his ex-wife appear to have on their hands a serious battle for custody of not only the best director Oscar but the best picture Oscar, too.

Sasha Stone at Awards Daily breaks down the Director’s Guild nominees and comes away with mixed feeling of calling a potential winner:

After the PGA’s shocker, I feel unsure of even calling Kathryn Bigelow to win this thing hands down, although if there is a frontrunner, she is it.

Here’s her case for Bigelow (she makes cases for all the nominees)

The Hurt Locker is a film that has come through against all possible odds.  There isn’t a single “sellable” thing about this movie.  No stars, a woman director, a movie about the Iraq war — by rights, this film should be left on the pile to be discovered years from now.  But it just didn’t happen that way.  It was one of those movies you had to see and if you saw it, you would find that it tells the moving story of three men on the ground in Iraq fighting our futile and unwinnable war.  People say it doesn’t take sides – what it doesn’t do is lecture.  It goes right into the motivations behind this war and it reveals the ultimate impossibility of it: there are always going to be scrappy warriors who can build better IED that kill us despite our military might.  If 9/11 didn’t say it all, The Hurt Locker most certainly does.

Bigelow is not getting accolades because she is a woman.  She is there because her film has the goods.  Someone made the argument recently that had it been directed by Ridley Scott it wouldn’t be getting the same attention – and while I’ll concede that the idea of a woman winning for the first time in 82 years is a thrilling prospect — Ridley Scott could not have directed this film this way because it is wholly Bigelow’s vision.  One would have to be familiar with Bigelow’s work to know this, but from the way she directs actors, to the sequences of the action shots, to the eroticism – this is all Bigelow.  With much help from writer Mark Boal.  I know it’s difficult for some people to wrap their mind around the fact that a woman could actually direct a film that wasn’t about whining, men and weight loss, but there it is.  In fact, women have been directing great films all along; it’s just that no one has ever felt like they directed the best film of the year.  Until now.

Women don’t usually win on the first time out.  It takes a while to create the climate for women to lead and win.  I believe that Kathryn Bigelow is a leader and that directors are seen as leaders in our culture and society because they are seen as the leaders on the set.  They are in charge and the buck stops with them.

Bigelow should be glad that she’s not the first woman to have been nominated because it is not about the novelty but about the accomplishment.  She walks in the shoes of the women who came before her.  It’s just that her shoes just might be the ones to finally kick through the ceiling.

THE PGA UNLOCKS “THE HURT LOCKER,” ROCKS OSCAR RACE (And the Winner Is)

The Director’s Guild Preview (Awards Daily)