Tag Archive for 'Katie Holmes'

Sundance Non-Competition

Published
by
Melissa Silverstein
on December 8, 2009
in Festivals
. 1 Comment

Here’s the rest of the women directed and women-centric movies showing at Sundance in January.  (Info from Hollywood Reporter)

PREMIERES

The Extra Man (Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini; screenwriters: Robert Pulcini, Jonathan Ames, Shari Springer Berman). A down-and-out playwright who escorts wealthy widows in Manhattan’s Upper East Side takes a young aspiring writer under his wing. Cast: Katie Holmes, John C. Reilly, Paul Dano, Kevin Kline, Alicia Goranson. (U.S.)

Please Give (Director-screenwriter: Nicole Holofcener). In New York, a husband and wife butt heads with the granddaughters of the elderly woman who lives next door. Cast: Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Sarah Steele. (U.S.)

The Runaways (Director-screenwriter: Floria Sigismondi). In 1970s Los Angeles, a teenager named Joan Jett connects with an eccentric producer to form an all-girl band. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Scout Taylor-Compton, Michael Shannon, Alia Shawkat, Tatum O’Neal. (U.S.)

NEXT

(A new section composed of eight American films selected for their innovative and original work in low- and no-budget filmmaking.)

Armless (Director: Habib Azar; screenwriter: Kyle Jarrow). Comedy about a woman who comes to terms with her husband’s strange secret. Cast: Daniel London, Janel Moloney, Keith Powell, Laurie Kennedy, Matt Walton.

The Freebie (Director-screenwriter: Katie Aselton). A young married couple decides to give each other one night with someone else. Cast: Dax Shepard, Katie Aselton.

SPOTLIGHT

Bran Nue Dae (Director: Rachel Perkins; screenwriters: Reg Cribb, Rachel Perkins, Jimmy Chi). In summer 1965, a young man is filled with the life of the idyllic old pearling port Broome — fishing, hanging out with his mates and his girl. Cast: Rocky McKenzie, Jessica Mauboy, Geoffrey Rush, Ernie Dingo. (Australia)

Lourdes (Director-screenwriter: Jessica Hausner). A woman in a wheelchair travels to Lourdes in an attempt to escape her isolation. Cast: Sylvie Testud, Lea Seydoux, Bruno Todeschini, Gilette Barbier, Gerhard Liebmann, Irma Wagner. (Austria/France/Germany)

Mother & Child (Director-screenwriter: Rodrigo Garcia). The lives of three women –a physical therapist, the daughter she gave up at birth three decades ago and a black woman seeking to adopt a child of her own — intersect. Cast: Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, Samuel L. Jackson. (U.S.)

Women Without Men (Directors-screenwriters: Shirin Neshat, Shoja Azari). A dissection of Iranian society at the time of the 1953 CIA-backed coup that overturned the nationalist government and installed the shah in power. Cast: Pegah Ferydoni, Arita Shahrzad, Shabnam Tolouei (Munis), Orsi Toth. (Germany/Austria/France)

DOCUMENTARY FILMS IN SPOTLIGHT

To Catch a Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America (Director: Gayle Ferraro). Tapping into the success of Muhammad Yunus after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. (Bangladesh/U.S.)

NEW FRONTIER

Pepperminta (Director: Pipilotti Rist; screenwriters: Pipilotti Rist, Chris Niemeyer). Pepperminta is an anarchist of the imagination: Colors are the young woman’s best friends, and strawberries are her pets. With her friends, she sets out to fight for a more humane world. (Austria/Switzerland)

Shit Year (Director-screenwriter: Cam Archer). An aging, unhappy actress pursues enlightenment through early retirement, isolation, self-analysis and time aboard a spaceship. Cast: Bob Einstein, Ellen Barkin, Luke Grimes, Melora Walters, Nate Archer. (U.S.)

Sundance Reveals Non-Competition Lineup (Hollywood Reporter)

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Tags: Dakota Fanning, Katie Holmes, Kristen Stewart, Nicole Holofcener, Shari Springer Berman

The Most Powerful Women in Hollywood According to Nikki Finke

Published
by
Melissa Silverstein
on October 19, 2009
in Awards, Events and News
. 6 Comments

emilyTonight in Hollywood Elle Magazine will host the annual salute to women in Hollywood.  I am looking forward to the day when we don’t need to highlight women because they will have as much power as men, but in reality, women are nowhere near as powerful as the guys.

The women being ackowledged tonight include: Katie Holmes, Zoe Saldana, Emily Blunt, Renee Zellweger, Robin Wright Penn, Julie Andrews, Julianne Moore, and Bonnie Timmerman. (How come there is no link to the Julie Andrews and Bonnie Timmerman pieces?)

The highlight of the issue includes the most powerful women in Hollywood according to Nikki Finke the feared blogger who writes Deadline Hollywood.

Here’s the intro:

Last year I was on ELLE’s Women in Hollywood power list; this year I was asked to write it. That’s ironic, because I hate power lists more than one-size-fits-all spa robes. These influential jobs are not necessarily comparable. Are the casting directors I included more important than the cinematographers and film editors I didn’t? So what I have is a very subjective roster of women I deem essential to a town run by alpha males who don’t play well with others. Women in general do. In case you’re wondering, 2009 was a lousy year for female producers because the Industry has contracted, so they’re MIA here. But there are still some movie moguls standing, and, even better, TV execs are thriving. My favorite category, however, is the “coaches.” The trick in Hollywood is not just getting power, it’s keeping it, and if women need psychic intuition or telephone therapy or wise advice from showbiz legends for an edge, who am I to judge? Well, I am the judge. It’s my list!

Here are some of the categories on THE LIST.

THE TALENT

Tyra Banks, mogulette
So much more than that model show, she seems the likely successor to Oprah both in talk and in other TV programming her production company has cooking.

Beyoncé Knowles, singer, actress
She’s come into her own as an actress (Cadillac Records, Obsessed), pitchwoman extraordinaire (L’Oréal, American Express, Pepsi), and inaugural ball star, and is worth $87 million (No. 4 on the 2009 Forbes richest entertainers list).

Kathryn Bigelow, director, producer
This veteran action director (Point Break, The Weight of Water), unafraid of shocking us, may already have a bead on the Oscar with her latest, The Hurt Locker.

Miley Cyrus, Inc.
Young and gorgeous, rich and bankable, versatile and talented, earns $25 million a year, all in one teen-tween package.

Ellen DeGeneres, comedian, talk show host
She has broken every gay barrier—even Madison Avenue is comfortable with her.

Tina Fey, actress, comedian, writer
She saved NBC’s bacon during the 2008 election with her Sarah Palin bit on SNL and with her Emmy-winning 30 Rock.

Michael Patrick King, writer-director and 2009’s honorary female
He gave us the best years of Sex and the City on TV and can be credited for reviving the chick flick in Hollywood when the movie version grossed $415 million.

Stephenie Meyer, novelist
Delivered Hollywood its hottest franchise in years, the Twilight vampire series. She’s sold 70 million books to date, and the films have grossed $383 million worldwide.

Nancy Meyers, director
One of the few women directors who constantly works (The Parent Trap, What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give) because she’s expert at defining the sexual zeitgeist.

Meryl Streep, actress
She shattered Hollywood’s ageism and sexism; at 60, she’s getting her best and showiest roles.

Continue reading ‘The Most Powerful Women in Hollywood According to Nikki Finke’

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Tags: Emily Blunt, Julianne Moore, Julie Andrews, Katie Holmes, Renee Zellweger, Robin Wright Penn, Zoe Saldana