BY Women and Hollywood
New Hunger Games Trailer — Katniss Shows Her Skills
Over a million views since March 1st.
How Big Will The Hunger Games Open?
The news is that this week when The Hunger Games came onto the pre release tracking (which is what the studios use to gauge awareness and desire to see a film) it was huge — so huge that...
Branding The Oscar Body
If this year’s Oscars known as the “women’s superbowl” only attracted half (39.3 million to be exact) the viewing audience of that great male gladiator event, that’s still way more than...
Jennifer Haley Wins 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
US based playwright Jennifer Haley has been awarded the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the most prestigious award for female playwrights for her play The Nether. She prevailed over 9 other...
Trailer Watch: Brave
Get Ready for Cannes 2012
Already missing the Oscar season — just kidding. The Cannes Film Festival played a big role this past year so who knows what the next Cannes Film Festival has in store for us. Hopefully...
Interview with Carice van Houten — Star of Black Butterflies
Here is a reposting of the interview I did a little less than a year ago with Carice before she took the Tribeca Film Festival by storm. She stars in Black Butterflies which opens Friday and is...
Sexism Watch: Male Writer Numbers Dwarf Females Numbers at High Profile Magazines
No matter how many times people try and convince me that things are better for women every time I see new stats they just prove the opposite. Women’s progress has plateaued. You’ve seen the...
Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now To Open 41st Annual New Directors/New Films
The 41st New Directors/ New Film which partners the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art will open on March 21st with Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now which I caught last...
Exclusive Clip: Black Butterflies
I fell in love with Black Butterflies when I saw it in preparation for last year’s Tribeca Film Festival. The film shows an actor — Carice Van Houten — and a director — Paula van...
Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now To Open 41st Annual New Directors/New Films
The 41st New Directors/ New Film which partners the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art will open on March 21st with Nadine Labaki's Where Do We Go Now which I caught last...
Oscar Thoughts: Boys, Boys and More Boys
Here’s my thing about the Oscars. There were women everywhere. We can’t stop talking about the great dresses. Women were also there as great presenters (like the crew from Bridesmaids and Emma...
Hunger Games Advance Ticket Sales Break Records
This is very, very good news. Advanced tickets went on sale last week for The Hunger Games which opens on March 23rd. According to Fandango, the one day total for the film was bigger than the one...
Vamps, Vixens and Feminists is Friday in Leeds!
No don’t worry if you don’t live anywhere near Leeds. This year the event which tackles issues related to gender disparity in performing arts will be online. You can watch it here. The event...
Trailer Watch: Veep Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Bring it on. Series premiere on April 22.
Amy Poehler’s Message to Lawmakers
Could I love her anymore? Doubtful. If you haven’t seen her segment from SNL that this came from, watch it here.
The Help: Eat My Shit
Love this video. Done by Jon and Al Kaplan. h/t Cinema Blend
Cross Post: Oiling the Oscar Machine
Sasha Stone from Awards Daily attended the Oscars last night and write a very good analysis piece. She has a big section on Viola Davis and Meryl Streep which she has given permission to cross post....
To The Academy: Consider the Women
It’s that time of year, The Academy Awards, the “Super Bowl for Women.” It’s the night where we all get catty about whose dress doesn’t work, who’s got a new boyfriend or girlfriend, and...
Oscar Watch: Looking at Gender and the Oscars
Stacy L. Smith, Marc Choueiti and Stephanie Gall of USC have taken a look at gender onscreen and behind the scenes in the best picture nominees over the last 30 years. There are two sets of...
Chicken and Egg Pictures Hits $2 Million in Grants
This is one of the places for women filmmakers to get money to get their films done. The list of films they are funding is incredible. I want to see them all. The descriptions are directly from the...
Comedians Take on the Contraception Issue
These are worth watching. Just goes to show that the Republicans are our comedians best friends. https://medium.com/media/526c2e5ebdd9ede686e7315d16661a9f/href The Daily Show with Jon Stewart ...
Sexism Watch: Vanity Fair Believes There are Only Two Female Character Actors
And they need to look like they are ready to murder you. Who else would you suggest to Vanity Fair that they include? How about a couple of women of color? Character Actors (Vanity Fair)
Quote of the Day on the Oscars and How Women Get Screwed
You must read these really depressing but totally spot on piece by Martha Lauzen (the woman who gives us the stats of how many women are making movies, today published by the Women’s...
Julie Taymor and Spiderman Reach Partial Settlement
It’s always interesting how the filing of the lawsuits get so much news and the settlements…not so much, but this one is important to note. Last week the producers of Spiderman and director...
Trailer Watch: Dark Tide Starring Halle Berry
It looks like this will be released in March. good to see Halle back on screen again. It’s been a long time.
Trailer Watch: Girls
No more teases. This is the real albeit short trailer. It’s Tiny Furniture but with HBO money. Also take note that Tiny Furniture is now available in DVD via the Criterion Collection which by the...
The LA Times Confirms What We Already Know — The Academy is Old, White and Male
For some reason the folks that run the Academy have made it their business to keep the membership a secret. You kind of know who has recently been asked to be a member because they now release lists...
Sexism Watch: NY Times Book Review Calls NY Times Reporter’s Book “Chick Nonfiction”
We hit another dubious milestone this weekend. A book called The Obamas written by veteran NY Times reporter Jodi Kantor was called “chick nonfiction” in a NY Times book review written by...
Trailer Watch: Take The Waltz — Co-written and Directed by Sarah Polley
This is the sophomore effort from Sarah Polley after the fantabulous Away From Her.
Sexism Watch: Gender Disparities in Actor Salaries
I saw a story the other day about how the actor Chris Pine (whose new film This Means War opens today and looks beyond dreadful) was being sued by his former agents over non payment of commissions....
Guest Post: Making the Money Talk for Women Filmmakers
Oscar night is coming. The pinnacle of a year in film. What’s deemed to be the best fare from the brightest stars in entertainment. For most, the event brings little excitement beyond the...
2012 Oscar Contenders Fail the Bechdel Test
Another brilliant cultural criticism from Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency From her you tube page description: It’s been a few years since I’ve checked in with The Bechdel Test for Women...
Women in Film (LA) Names New Board Members
This board is full of some seriously powerful women. The new members (below) join the board for 2012. The board is led by producer Cathy Schulman. New Members Orly Adelson Adriana Alberghetti ...
Hollywood Reporter FAIL! — Directors Roundtable from Berlin
How many times do we really need to say that it is not cool to have a directors roundtable and not include women. Please do not tell me you could not find a single female director at the Berlin Film...
Guest Post: Sex, Lies, and Phone-Hacking: British Tabloid Journalism on Trial
Britain has been riveted by the Leveson Inquiry, a legal body set up to investigate illegal information-gathering techniques used by the tabloid press — such as phone-hacking, data...
Trailer Watch: Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines
I cannot wait to see this film. Hoping it will be ready for Athena Film Festival 2013! More info
Meryl Streep Gets Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival
Coming off her BAFTA win for best actress in London on Sunday night, Meryl Streep headed to the Berlin Film Festival to pick up a lifetime acheivement award. At the variety of press conferences she...
A Studio Run By Women
Elizabeth Gabler just renewed her contract as the President of Fox 2000. This is the studio which is under the main Fox studio focuses on films targeted at the female audience. Its nickname is...
Trailer Watch: Musical Chairs — Directed by Susan Seidelman
Film Opens March 23.
Cross-Post: A Feminist Film Festival With a Different Take
A couple of years ago as part of my work on Women and Hollywood I hosted a party for the great Australian director Jane Campion. Campion is one of only four women nominated for a best director...
Trailer Watch: Seeking a Friend at the End of the World — Written and Directed by Lorene Scafaria
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In Darkness
Agnieszka Holland’s latest film, “In Darkness,” pulls us into a monochromatic world in which all of the primary characters display shading and nuance. The film is based on a true story about a...
Cross Post: Streep Speaks and Illuminates the Need for More Female Critics
Earlier this week, Terry Gross broadcast a provocative interview with Meryl Streep on her NPR program Fresh Air. The interview was tied to Streep’s unprecedented 17th Oscar nomination for her...
Top Grossing Women Centric Films of 2011
When I read that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo crossed the $100 million mark, it reminded me to take a look at how women centric films did last year. One film — Twilight- Breaking Dawn is...
We Need to Talk About Kevin Wins Best Film at the Evening Standard Awards
Lynne Ramsey’s We Need to Talk About Kevin took another top award in Britain this week — The Evening Standard Award. These awards are given out by the top London film writers and are only...
Trailer Watch: Hemingway and Gellhorn
I seriously have not been this excited about a Nicole Kidman movie in a long time. Based on the voice over it should be named Gellhorn and Hemingway but as is typical with women in history, she seems...
Trailer Watch: New Trailer for the Hunger Games
Counting down towards March 23. The Hollywood Reporter in a cover story says that it took Jennifer Lawrence 3 days to say yes to the part of a lifetime and that she is made about $500,000. (But she...
Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer Book New Projects
Smart women. Strike while the iron is hot. Octavia starts shooting Diablo Cody’s directorial debut shortly, but she also has booked her next role which came to me yesterday in one of the Hollywood...
Sexism Watch: Sexist Ads for Jean Dujardin’s New Film Les Infideles
Aside from the fact that the film is about male infidelity, this ad (which is among several problemmatic ads for the film) could cause Mr. Dujardin a perception problem. I know that Mr. Dujardin does...
Can Girls Be a Game Changer?
I found this brief behind the scenes one minute and forty two second piece from the upcoming HBO series Girls created by Lena Dunham and after I watched it I could not help but think that this show...