Tag Archive for 'Kathryn Bigelow'

Rachel Abramowitz of the LA Times and Lisa Schwarzbaum of EW weigh in on what a Bigelow win means for women (and the business.)

Abramowitz’ piece In Hollywood, female film directors are still the exception lays out the stats on where women are and how far we still have to go:

Bigelow’s likely ascension to the podium at the Academy Awards has provided a jolt of adrenaline.

For instance, neither Warner Bros., the world’s largest studio, nor Paramount Pictures hired a single female director last year, while Walt Disney Studios and Universal Studios hired just one apiece. No woman has ever been hired to direct an event picture with a budget of more than $100 million, the kind of film most valued by the Hollywood machine.

One apparent growth arena for women is in working for other women. Streep, for instance, told The Times that she attributes her box office renaissance to the fact that she opted to do three films, “Mamma Mia,” “Julie & Julia,” and “It’s Complicated,” that were written and directed by women, as well as backed by studios with women as presidents of production or even higher in rank.

And Schwartzbaum’s piece Kathryn Bigelow: If she wins the Oscar for directing, does that mean it’s been a great year for women?

As a movie-lover, I hope Bigelow wins, because of, well, her great directing of The Hurt Locker. As a woman (and thus, apparently, an oracle for the purposes of his little pre-Oscar feature) I’m aware of and excited about the significance of such a win, since she’d be, oh, the first woman ever to take the trophy in that category (and only the fourth ever nominated). But as a movie-lover, I’d like to think that if a man had directed The Hurt Locker as well as Bigelow did, then he would win the Oscar. I’d like to think that if Bigelow wins, the biggest benefit for women who want to make movies in Hollywood — a Hollywood run, as most of the world is run, by men — would be greater industry-wide recognition that talent comes in all sexes, colors, and sizes. A woman can make an action flick or a war movie; a man can make a feminine romance. All we want is to see stories that move us, excite us, entertain us, challenge us. Sometimes those movies are about alien blue people. More often, those movies are about people with whom we can identify, characters who look as young or old as we are. And as male or female, too.

AMEN.

There’s no denying that Sunday is a big night for women in Hollywood.  One of the things that has been so exciting about this awards season is that finally paying attention to the fact that no woman has ever won the best director Oscar.  It’s one of the issues around women and entertainment that most people can wrap their heads around.

I’ve also personally enjoyed watching Kathryn Bigelow on all the interviews and how her voice has grown in strength over the season.  A couple of months ago she didn’t say much and seemed quite uncomfortable in the limelight, but in the last few weeks everything she has said has been so outstanding and confident. I also like the fact that because of the content of her film we don’t spend the whole time talking about gender and issues related to women and women’s opportunities (not that those conversations aren’t important too.)

I remember when I worked in women’s organizations and when an important news event happened or an event was scheduled, people would try and get together with some talking points so that people could be on somewhat the same page.  While there is no concerted movement on this topic, I have been pondering some thoughts about what — a Bigelow win or loss –  would mean for women and wanted to know what other people are thinking.

Here are the points I am focused on:

If She Wins:

• A glass ceiling that has been in place for 82 years has been shattered.
• Young women and girls around the world now have an image of seeing themselves as a potential best director winner and hopefully that will dare them to dream bigger than they might have.
• Shows boys and men that women are just as competent as the men.
• That you don’t have to direct a movie about so-called women’s issues as a female director.
• That women can direct kick-ass action films and get noticed for it.
• AND that this is just the beginning and that there are relatively few opportunities (7 percent) for female directors and that we cannot let this win symbolize anything other than the fact that we still have so much farther to go.

If She Loses:

• This is another lost opportunity to break down a glass ceiling that has been held in place for over 8 decades.  Women go to the movies in equal numbers to men, yet our voices and visions are not seen as equal to men’s.  This issue is not going to go away and it’s not just about awards, it’s about opportunities and we need more for women.
• While it would be a huge disappointment, the nomination and all the attention has raised much needed awareness about the lack of opportunities for female directors in a way that has never been highlighted before.
• We need look at this as part of a continued effort to achieve gender equity in all areas of the entertainment business both on the screen and behind the scenes.

In general, I think this is a great opportunity to encourage people to think about the movies that they see and suggest they ask themselves a series of questions before buying tickets.  Who directed this film?  Who wrote this film?  What is this film about?  Sometimes the fact that so few women’s names will come up won’t matter, but if you ask the question enough times it starts to sink in that things are just not right and maybe, just maybe, the next week that person will choose a woman directed film.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Here are my bets as to who will pick up Sunday night’s awards.  Also don’t forget, the Indie Spirit Awards are tonight at 8pm.  You can watch it live on IFC.  Here are the nominees.

Keep in mind that these are just my picks based on the movies I saw and other things I have been reading.

I hope everyone has a great time on Sunday night.  We’ll be live tweeting: If you want to join in follow me at: @melsil.

Best picture: “The Hurt Locker”
Actor
: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
Actress: 
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Supporting actor
: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Supporting actress: 
Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
Animated feature: “Up”
Original screenplay
: “Inglourious Basterds”
Adapted screenplay
: “Up in the Air”
Best foreign-language film
: “El Secreto de Sus Ojos”
Best film editing: 
”The Hurt Locker”
Art direction: “Avatar”
Cinematography: 
”The Hurt Locker”
Costume design
: “The Young Victoria”
Best documentary feature
: “The Cove”
Documentary short: “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
Makeup
: “The Young Victoria”
Music (original score): 
”Up”
Music (original song)
: “The Weary Kind (Theme from “Crazy Heart”) from “Crazy Heart”
Short film, animated: 
”A Matter of Loaf and Death”
Short film, live action: 
”Kavi”
Sound editing: 
”The Hurt Locker”
Sound mixing: 
”The Hurt Locker”
Visual effects: “Avatar”

So it wasn’t perfect, but it’s the beginning and next time will be better. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

If you can make it through the first couple of minutes of me talking to myself about Kathryn Bigelow and the Oscars, the show starts to rock when Sasha Stone of Awards Daily joins.

Let me know what you think.

I know I beat the drum consistently for Kathryn Bigelow but I want everyone to remember that if, and when she wins, the best director award at the Oscars on Sunday it will be only the beginning.   Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking things are equal just because a single woman wins the award.

There is still so much work to do to improve the situation for other female directors.

Martha Lauzen, the guru of stats from San Diego State U.  for one, won’t let that happen:

Just because you can name four or five women directors doesn’t mean no problem exists. If you don’t think there’s any problem then you’re not going to be looking for a solution. And that perpetuates the status quo.

If Kathryn Bigelow wins, media stories could talk about how everything has changed now and that women are equal. And that would be unfortunate.

We must all be vigilant.

Women Directors Face Celluloid Ceiling (AFP via Yahoo)

Note: I get lots of email from people who have scripts and films they want me to look at.  While I can’t watch or read all requests, I believe it is vital that we get as many women’s voices heard so they can get the exposure needed to continue of their filmmaking journey.  Women & Hollywood will try and feature these new voices on a regular basis.

All of the buzz around Kathryn Bigelow as best director is amazing—sure, she’s a woman, but more importantly, she made an incredible film, and had the guts to stick it out in a business that eats people alive and shatters dreams…

Yes, it’s been quite the long and arduous journey getting my first feature made.

It all began over six years ago, with a script called Raspberry Magic, a coming-of-age story about a young girl who believes that she can mend her broken family by proving to her dad that she can win the science fair.

Her project explores whether it’s nature or nurture that can make raspberries grow, something she measures through touch therapy.  I was inspired to write this story to explore a young girls’ relationship to nature and how it helps her realize that she can’t solve every problem through quantifiable means.

I went through many, many drafts of this script and even work-shopped it at a couple of writer’s conferences.  While I had written several screenplays before, Raspberry Magic was one I just kept working and working on over a period of many years.  I got a lot of positive feedback on it, and tried for years to meet that perfect person who would want to help me bring it to the screen…

But ultimately, no one wanted to make a movie about a young Indian girl, science, raspberries or the likes…Until 2006, when I met Megha Kadakia, an aspiring producer who had raised some financing for a couple of other indie films and was looking to do an low budget indie film.

Continue reading ‘Guest Post: The Hustle to Make the First Film by Leena Pendharkar’

Here’s the beginning:

In less than one week, March 7 to be exact, the Hollywood awards season will be over, and chances are very good that for the first time a woman—Kathryn Bigelow—will have won the best director Oscar for The Hurt Locker.  Three other women (Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion and Sophia Coppola) have been nominated in the 82 years that the Academy has held its awards, but with due respect to them and their films, none of them had a shot.

This year is different.  Based on earlier awards by critics and more recently by the Directors Guild (a first for a woman director) and the British academy (BAFTA)—as well as conversations with several Oscar watchers—the consensus is that Bigelow is at the front of the pack to win the award.  Last week, Time magazine got into the act titling its story “The Front Runner.” Forgive me for not sounding the trumpets in advance but we all have seen female front runners fade. While there are many reasons to believe that Bigelow will win, there is something in the back of my head that screams caution remembering the Gloria Steinem piece from the 2008 election season “Women are Never Front-Runners.”

Read full piece here

She totally rocked

Watch CBS News Videos Online

With all the hoopla over Kathryn Bigelow (as well the nomination for An Education as best picture) I missed another women directed film — The Milk of Sorrow directed by Claudia Llosa — which is up for the foreign film Oscar.

Not only is this film directed by a woman, it is about sexual violence against women in Peru.  Here is the description from IMDB:

Fausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. She chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother’s footsteps.

So here’s an example of a movie raising important issues — about women’s lives — that clearly works and is resonating.

It can be done.  I’ve got it saved in my netflix queue.

Peru film on sexual violence nominated for Oscar (AP via Yahoo)

I started to get real nervous as I paged through the top 25 since I didn’t run into a woman’s name until SHOCKER, at number 4 is Kathryn Bigelow.  What a difference a year (a great movie, and some awards) make.  Think she would have been on the list last year?

Here’s the list of the top 50

50- Nancy Meyers

45- Mira Nair

30- Sophia Coppola

4- Kathryn Bigelow

Who do you think is missing from this list?

25 Greatest Working Directors (EW)

Here’s Kathryn Bigelow talking about the film and what it might mean to other women if she wins the Oscar. The anticipation for the Oscars is killing me. I am so excited.

When asked what she thinks of being a role model she said it is “thrilling” especially because “you can factor into someone’s aspirations.”

Seeing is believing:

The awards season keeps rolling on for Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker. Not only was the film named best picture last evening at the BAFTA’s (the British version of the Academy Awards), but Bigelow became the first woman EVER to be named best director.  The film won six awards kicking some Avatar ass on its way to the podium.

Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank was named outstanding British Film and for the first time in a long time Carey Mulligan took best actress honors.

So that means two films directed by women won best picture.  And both women also won awards from the London Film Critics Circle earlier in the week.  How great is that?

Here’s what Bigelow had to say about winning:

“I think the secret to directing is collaboration, and I was so lucky to have an incredible cast and crew. This is deeply moving — we all felt an incredible responsibility to honor the courage of the men and women in the field.”

She also said she hoped she was “first of many” women to win the prize.

Her grace in winning continues to make me even more and more excited for her.  She’s not getting a big head or acting like the “queen of the world.”  She is a great example for all directors  — men and women — to follow.

Bigelow is first woman to win BAFTA director prize (Screen Daily)

THE HURT LOCKER: BAFTA’s Big Winner (Alt Film Guide)

Bigelow Takes Directing Prize From London Film Critics Circle (The Wrap)

I am traveling and seeing family for the next several days and also working on the book (I have made some great progress) so I won’t be blogging until mid next week.

But, I couldn’t resist sharing these two clips one from James Cameron on Charlie Rose (via Deadline Hollywood) and one from Kathryn Bigelow (and writer Mark Boal) on The Rachel Maddow Show.

Cameron told Charlie Rose that his film deserves to win because his team “worked so hard” (as if the other nominated teams didn’t) and that Bigelow should win the best director honor cause “he already has a couple and doesn’t need another one.”

I don’t know why anyone let this man speak in public. I truly believe that he thinks he is doing something nice by saying that she should win. That’s how tone deaf he is to his own voice. If I were her I would call him and say shut the hell up.

The whole transcript made me nauseous cause he is really setting himself up as her biggest cheerleader if she wins, and if he wins he can at least say, oh, well I tried, I said I didn’t need another.

Gross.

Bigelow and Boal are total class acts talking to Rachel who has of late gotten into the Oscar race (she interviewed Quentin Tarantino recently.)  Rachel said that she “didn’t expect to like the film as much as she did” and I think that is a very consistent feeling that I get from lots of people.  People do shy away from war films (especially ones about Iraq) but this one just feels different and that’s the reason why it is resonating for so long.  It’s just that good.

This Oscar race is way tighter in the best picture and best director categories than expected.  It’s going to be a nail biter all the way to March 7th.

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Yesterday, 121 Oscar nominees gathered to celebrate themselves and get their marching order for the show (speeches can only be 45 seconds.)

Anne Thompson has a report from the event.

How fun would it have been to be in that room where Tom Sherak the head of the Academy said to the nominees that “everyone is equal.”

Here’s the 2010 class picture

In  case you care- Kathryn Bigelow is in white on second row third in from the right side between Morgan Freeman and Jeremy Renner.

Would anyone have thought that a year ago Kathryn Bigelow would be directing a hot pilot for HBO?  Not me.  No way.

Here’s the breaking news headline I got in my box Sunday from The Hollywood Report:

HBO snags Kathryn Bigelow:
HBO has snagged the hottest film director at the moment, Oscar nominee for “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow.

Hottest Film Director of the Moment- and they are talking about a women!

Seems that she is venturing out of her comfort zone (i.e. no action) and directing the light drama Miraculous Year by John Logan which is: “an examination of a New York family as seen through the lens of a charismatic, self-destructive Broadway composer.”

This is her third venture to into TV having directed some episodes of Homicide and Karen Sisco.

What a difference a year makes.

HBO Snags Kathryn Bigelow (Hollywood Reporter)

You have to check out the NY Magazine piece that Mark Harris wrote on the Oscar campaign.  The more I read and learn about this stuff, the more it resembles politics with handlers telling people what to wear, what to say, where to go and how to act.

It seems so bizarre, but there is a lot at stake here, not only money, but prestige and bragging rights.  If you were a person in the film business and lucky to work on something that had Oscar potential, you would work your ass off to get there.  Cause, really, how many people in the world can say they are an Academy Award winner or even nominee.  Oscar is the top of the mountain.

But while on the surface everything looks pretty, Mark Harris dives into the ickiness factor that starts seeping out of the awards circuit if you look a bit too closely.  Looking at the reality of the merry go round these actors, directors and stars go on reminds me of the push towards election day.  Kissing babies and shaking hands all towards that coveted Oscar nomination.

Here are some of the parts I liked.

When Sandra Bullock tied with Meryl Streep at the Broadcast Film Critics Awards:

Bullock, who has never come anywhere near an Oscar nomination but is riding a wave of big box office and positive press for The Blind Side, is almost as good as Streep at the podium: She gives the kind of emotive, funny, ingratiating speech that makes people say, “Maybe she should win,” just because it seems like fun. All at once, we have a contest—and the most interesting acting face-off of the season, since the excellent narrative behind Streep (namely, There Is No Way on God’s Green Earth That This Woman Should Have Fewer Best Actress Oscars Than Hilary Swank) must now fight off Bullock’s, the much simpler Who’da Thunk It?!

Continue reading ‘Oscar Campaigning’

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’

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’

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’