Terry’s Picks: Screen Tales, Joss Whedon, Michele Spitz
Screen Tales: This month, thanks to our friends at Lifetime Broad Focus and WIF LA, The Writers Lab presented 10-minute readings from the scripts from the inaugural 2015 Lab to audiences of industry movers & shakers in both New York and LA. We’re so proud of all those involved and are looking forward to working...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Equity Trailer, Nancy Drew, Wendy Blackstone
Equity trailer: Loving the new trailer for Equity – starring Anna Gunn and Alysia Reiner – as unapologetic “she-wolves” of Wall Street. Nancy Drew: Deadline reports that even though CBS’ Nancy Drew pilot tested well with viewers, it “skewed too female for CBS’ schedule” and was not picked up to series. Too female – seriously?...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Swim Team, Shots Fired, U.K. Women
Swim Team: Congratulations to 2015 NYWIFT Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant recipient Swim Team, whose all-female creative team has been selected for the 2016 IFP Filmmaker Labs annual yearlong fellowship for first-time feature directors. Shots Fired: Check out the riveting trailer for Writers Lab mentor Gina Prince-Bythewood’s new event series Shots Fired, which examines the...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Goodbye Alicia, Independent Women, Preserving the Legacy
Goodbye, Alicia: This weekend we bid farewell to The Good Wife, a classic made-in-New-York show with a marvelously complex female-driven storyline, starring our own 2009 NYWIFT Muse Honoree Julianna Margulies as power attorney Alicia Florrick. It will be missed. Independent Women: A new study from Martha Lauzen at the Center for the Study of Women...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Cinco de Mayo, Women’s Voices, Spring Drive
Cinco de Mayo: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with NYWIFT on Thursday at the next installment of our Immigrant Experiences screening series! We’ll screen three films in Queens about local immigrant artist Marela Zacarías, followed by a Q&A and a reception with Mexican food and margaritas. It’s free! Women’s Voices: Through Friday, May 6 you can...
READ MOREThe Art of First Impressions and Movie Trailers
NYWIFT Board of Directors member Maura Kelly writes about female entrepreneurs in tech and entertainment for The Huffington Post. She recently sat down with Evelyn Brady-Watters and her sister Monica Brady, the founders of the Golden Trailers Awards (GTA's) as they gear up for the live ceremony on May 4th in LA.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Loving Lifetime, Fox’s Failure, Congrats Katharina
Loving Lifetime: Check out this great read on Buzzfeed about the evolution of Lifetime from “guiltily pleasure” to “groundbreaking television.” Women wrote or directed 73% of the network’s original films from 1994 to 2016, and its new initiative called the “Fempire” will draw together linear, digital, social and community partnerships with the goal of “entertaining...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Tribeca Films, Stuntwomen Survey, Protect Yourself
Tribeca Films: Headed to the festival this week? Consider seeing one of these ten films from talented NYWIFT members. Stuntwomen Survey: An informal poll of Hollywood’s stuntwomen conducted by veteran stuntwoman Julie Johnson has found that nearly two-thirds of the 43 respondents have been bullied or sexually harassed in the workplace. Additionally, nearly 40% of...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Shot Callers, Be Here Now, Negative Numbers
Shot Callers: Listen to NYWIFT’s brand new Shot Callers podcast – a great way to get to know our fabulous members as they talk about their careers and the state of the industry. Be Here Now: NYWIFT member Lilibet Foster talks to IndieWire about her new documentary Be Here Now, which follows the inspiring journey...
READ MORENYWIFT Member Films at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival
From Katie Holmes' directorial debut to a documentary of the NY Times' obituary page, NYWIFT members have been hard at work. Here's a guideline of who, what, when and where to watch at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Paul Feig, Melinda Gates, The Invitation
Paul Feig: Writer/Director Paul Feig says he wants to add an equity clause to his future film contracts that would require gender-balanced casting for minor roles. Melinda Gates: The renowned philanthropist talked to Lena Dunham’s Lenny newsletter about the gender gap in unpaid labor and why poverty is sexist. The Invitation: Looking forward to the...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Under Pressure, Reverse Renaissance, Hollywood Power
Under pressure: Reese Witherspoon talked to Entertainment Weekly about how, due to lack of opportunities and added scrutiny, women directors aren’t allowed to fail. Reverse Renaissance: A new study from the Writers Guild of America shows that “progress has been slow at best for women and minority writers in an era of television renaissance, while...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Be Yourself, Women in Motion, Making Music
Be Yourself: Costume designer Jenny Beavan talks about her recent Oscar win for Mad Max: Fury Road – and the “drama” sparked by her decision not to glam it up for the awards ceremony. Women in Motion: Kering and the Cannes Film Festival have announced the second edition of the “Women in Motion” program, which highlights...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Super Girls, NYWIFT Pride, SWAN Day
Super girls: Marvel Studios launched a national contest that invites girls in grades 10 through 12 to create science or technology projects that “could make the world a better place.” NYWIFT pride: This a great profile on actor-writer-director-producer Erica Fae who, like so many of her fellow NYWIFT members, is a multi-talented artist creating her...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Congrats Wendy, Raise Awareness, The Writers Lab
Congrats, Wendy: NYWIFT member Wendy Blackstone is the composer for A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, winner of the 2016 Oscar for Best Documentary Short. It is the harrowing tale of a Pakistani honor killing survivor. Watch it on demand through HBO Go. Raise awareness: Four films by NYWIFT members will...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: True Stories, Get Together, Second Class Superstars
True stories: The New York Times published a detailed, sobering compilation of first-hand accounts of women and minorities struggling for equality in the entertainment industry. Get Together: Jessica Chastain, Juliette Binoche, Freida Pinto, Queen Latifah, Catherine Hardwicke, Marielle Heller, Alysia Reiner and more have joined the advisory board of a new non-profit organization, We Do It...
READ MORENOW ON VOD – FEBRUARY 2016
This month, NYWIFT members are offering some feature length film suggestions to your VOD queue - plus a film screening in NYC today, one coming up very soon, and one you can pre-order for digital download while simultaneously supporting its Kickstarter campaign for wide release. So show some love to members of New York Women in Film & Television and check out these films...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Diversity Study, Ms. Factor Toolkit, Sally Field
#OscarsSoWhite, Male AND Straight: USC Annenberg’s Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative has released a groundbreaking new study which shows the breadth and depth to which Hollywood tends to be straight, white and male. The report evaluates every speaking character across 414 films, television and digital stories released in 2014-2015, and 11,000 speaking characters are...
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