#Feminism
Crying Sexism As The Answer to an Under-performing Film
Daryl Wein is the co-writer (with partner Zoe Lister Jones) and director of Lola Versus starring Greta Gerwig which opened this Friday to a $31,000 gross in four theatres. Personally, I didn’t...
Author Jennifer Weiner Keynotes BookExpo America’s 2012 Bloggers Conference
Jennifer Weiner is one hugely successful author. I’ve liked many of her books especially her really early ones like Good in Bed and In Her Shoes (and the movie of the book is a seriously...
Cross-Post: Quote of the Day: Scarlett Johansson Tired of Sexist Diet Questions
Wow, who knew I could love Scarlett Johansson so much?? At The Avengers press conference in London, a reporter proceeded to ask Robert Downey Jr. an in-depth, thought-provoking question about his...
Interview with Pink Ribbons Director Lea Pool and Producer Ravida Din
This is a repost of an interview with the director Lea Pool and producer Ravida Din of the terrific and anger producing documentary Pink Ribbons that was conducted shortly after last fall’s...
Sexism Watch: Comment from Critic in Cannes
Here’s how Financial Times critic Nigel Andrews ended a recent piece on Cannes Film Festival On screen, at least, there is great work by women in this festival. So pay no regard to the...
Cannes 2012: Sexism Watch Continues
One of the things I am proud of regarding the work many people have done to raise awareness about the lack of opportunities for female directors is how we were able to interrupt the narrative which...
Cross-Post: Cannes 2012: The Stories Aren’t By Women but They’re About Women
It’s hard not to notice sexism when it is everywhere. After dealing with a person named Chris for three years trying to find lodging in Cannes I was stunned to find out that Chris was a woman....
Cannes Film Festival Slammed By Feminist Group La Barbe For Excluding Women Directors
The French feminist group La Barbe which was started several years ago in response to the sexist media treatment of Segolene Royal in her race against Nicholas Sarkozy, has taken on one of the most...
Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Julia Bluhm
Maybe it will take an awesome girl to get people to think differently about how absurd and damaging it is that we live in a world dominated by photoshopped pictures. We never get to see anyone real,...
The Status of Women’s Film Festivals
One of the reasons I went to Colgone to the International Frauen Film Festival was to be a part of a dialogue on the status of women’s films festivals. The festival invited Skadi Loist a...
The Guthrie Theatre Announces Its 50th Anniversary Season With No Female Playwrights on the Program
The Guthrie Theatre is one of the most prestigious regional theatres in America. Next year it will be celebrating it’s 50th anniversary season. Joe Dowling, the 7th Artistic director of the...
Female Reviewer Gets Attacked for Avengers Review
While I am not usually that interested in boycentric blockbusters, I am very into seeing The Avengers. I want to see how an open feminist man like Joss Whedon makes a big budget Hollywood film. Will...
Four Steps Back — NO Women Directors in Competition at Cannes
I’m sitting in my hotel room in Cologne, Germany having arrived yesterday at International Frauen Film Festival for the second year in a row. I came back this year because I had such a great time...
Must Watch Video: Funny or Die Dudes Go All Feminist
https://medium.com/media/a6273705bdf8a1cc59284e6b14f33baa/href Facebook h/t Anna Vanvalin
There is Hope for the Future: Tavi Gevinson’s TedxTeen Talk
Tavi embraces feminism and is way smarter than most people about pop culture at the rip old age of 15. Her advice- just be Stevie Nicks. Check out her magazine — Rookie for teen girls.
Ashley Judd Continues the Conversation on the Misogynistic Media
Here’s what she said: I think it’s the objectification of girls and women and the hypersexualization of our society that invites the criticism. We are anesthetized to it. She wants us all to...
Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Ashley Judd
I can count on one hand — even one finger — an actress with a show up for renewal (btw you should watch Missing it’s great and Eddard Stark is alive on that show) who spoke back...
Sports Diversion — Sexism Watch: The Masters
Here we are again. Nine years after Martha Burk tried to get the August National to allow a woman member we are still at a place where there is still not a female member since the club’s founding...
The Continuing Conversation About the Marginalization of Female Writers
I opened the NY Times book review this past weekend and lo and behold there was an essay by the divine Meg Wolitzer called The Second Shelf about how books written by men and women are treated...
Hollywood Feminists of the Day: Chris O’Dowd and Jon Hamm — The Guys from Friends with Kids
It’s not very often that I think about a movie several weeks after I’ve seen it, but I have had Friends with Kids on my mind. The more I think about it, the more I like it. It’s just an adult...
Walking the Walk and Talking the Talk: Meryl Streep Saluting Hillary Clinton
Check out this AWESOME video of Meryl Streep introducing Hillary Clinton at the Women in the World Summit in NYC this past weekend. Make it to the end and you with see La Streep take out her Oscar...
Happy International Women’s Day: More on Women Not Getting Gigs Voicing Trailers
This is building on a piece from last month: Sexism Watch: Film Trailers. The piece includes a line from an agent that books people in trailers that men’s voices are stronger and that science has...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Sexism Watch: Film Trailers
The NY Times ran a story this weekend calling movie trailers the last holdout for women in the business. If that were only true we could fight it, but we all know this is just one of the...
Why Is Oscar Blue
From the indefatigable Jan Lisa Huttner who writes the Hot Pink Pen. Make sure to check out her Oscar Impact Chart. Here’s her thought process: We all want to believe that Oscar is “gold”...
A View from the Trenches: Is Estrogen My Last Hurdle to Success?
I blame my Midwestern roots for my optimistic views and somewhat naivé outlook on my career in Hollywood. Hard work reaps rewards so any hurdle I saw was positive because it made me a better...
Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal has penned a piece in Glamour in strong support of Planned Parenthood. Go Maggie! Here’s some of what she has to say: My mother was very politically active and taught both my...
Where are the Women?
It has not been a good couple of months for women on shortlists here in the UK. Back in December the nation presided over the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist: 10 men and 0 women....
Women and Hollywood Joins the National Domestic Workers Alliance #BeTheHelp Campaign
I have always believed that culture can help make change. I believe that you can use film and TV to move people about issues — if you do it right. The smart folks with the National Domestic...
Hollywood Feminist of the Day: George Clooney
…It was my first time to create a character from beginning to end. I’ve always just shown up and, whatever my lines are, I just do it, like almost robotic in a way. But this is the first time I...
Sexist Advertisement of the Day: Dr. Pepper 10
Seriously- this is one of the most sexist ads I have seen. It’s not new but I just got wind of it. I will never buy Dr. Pepper again. h/t Rebecca Feferman
From the Mouth of Babes
via jezebel Go Riley!
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Watching the bleak, intense, colorless, vibrant, taut thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo made me elated and sad at the same time. Elated because FINALLY here is a movie with an amazing female...
Cross-Post: No Women Allowed
I was recently introduced to a very rare and beautiful creature — a woman who works within the top echelons of an almost exclusively male below-the-line craft in both film and television....
Interview with Diablo Cody
Diablo Cody was kindly able to take a few minutes to talk Young Adult and feminism in the film business on the eve of the opening of her new film. It’s good to know that we have a strong feminist...
What Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep Have in Common
I know I am lucky. I get to watch and think about movies and write about them and talk about them. But being a blogger, I don’t very often get to see the people in the movies or those who make the...
Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Gemma Arterton
This is the third time that Gemma has gotten this mention. This young woman talks about being a feminist in her interviews and embraces it unlike any other high profile female actresses. She talks...
Quote of the Day
The Messages of Disney Princesses
This speaks for itself. I got this off of Facebook and it looks like it was first posted on George Takei’s (yes, the guy from Star Trek) page.
Miss Representation Directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom Premieres October 20 on OWN
Readers of this blog know that there are gender biases in media. The documentary film Miss Representation which premiered last year at Sundance (and also played the Athena Film Festival) is the film...
Why We All Love The Feminist Ryan Gosling Blog
Here’s a fun piece of Hollywood and Feminism and it’s a blog called Feminist Ryan Gosling. Danielle Henderson started the tumblr blog Feminist Ryan Gosling a week ago. In that week (actually it...
Johnny Depp Inserts Foot in Mouth in Vanity Fair Interview
Johnny Depp is the highest paid actor hauling in piles of cash to make crappy movies about being on a pirate ship in the caribbean and then making pretty unwatchable films based on Hunter S. Thompson...