NYWIFT Success Story: ‘In Montauk’ and the Value of PR
Lukas Hassel and Nina Kaczorowski in a scene from In Montauk, written and directed by NYWIFT member Kim Cummings. Photo by Aja Nisenson. Independent filmmaking on a micro-budget is a lonely business. People come and go throughout the process. As the filmmaker, you’re the only constant day in and day out. It’s not that you...
READ MORENew Opportunities From NYTVF, Disney, Tribeca, IFP
We’re highlighting some of the latest, most innovative competitions and programs for film, TV, digital, and writing: For the second year in a row, the Tribeca Film Festival has launched the #6SECFILMS Competition. Choose from one of the categories — #GENRE, #DRAMA, #COMEDY, #ANIMATION — and enter as many Vines as you want by March 27, 2014. Just...
READ MOREWeekly Film & TV News Roundup
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/477632659?et=ypH3AGd2mk6QsjKiitLTPQ&sig=qYCv0zRZXUqeFAov_qAHtLjzjKyIqiTlbiAP8rKqCFo= Lena Dunham tells a SXSW crowd that “things need to change and I’m trying.” Piers Morgan met his match and her name is Chelsea Handler. (Video) Anita Hill discusses Anita, the Freida Lee Mock–directed doc about her life. Producer Paula Wagner is bringing Pretty Woman to broadway. CBS This Morning had wonderful coverage of NatGeo’s...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Old News
Photo via Go Into the Story. How long ago did you write your script? Does it show? It is impossible to stay convincingly up to the minute with technology and pop culture in a script, but it is possible to blow the dust off by doing a careful read for obsolescence. There’s an app for that....
READ MORETerry’s Picks: March 11, 2014
(A proud declaration via the ladies of P.Ink) AGING IS: a powerful lens for the Beautiful Minds Project’s innovative storytelling. NYWIFT member Lee Hunkins is honored as one of their 2014 Beautiful Minds for her lifelong commitment to narrative through play and television writing. And along that note… …FINDING THE BEAUTY IN: our bodies is the theme of today. The...
READ MOREFlix Not to Miss: ‘Short Term 12’
Short Term 12 is a heartbreaking look into the foster care system told through the eyes of Grace, played by the fantastic Brie Larson, who earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for the role. Grace is a former foster child, who is now a dedicated young worker supervising at-risk teens in a group foster home....
READ MORETruth Be Told: Women In Film at Sundance 2014
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READ MOREActing Up: Lights, Camera, Audition!
In the midst of pilot season, I realized that most of my auditions sent out to LA are being put on tape. I have always found the “audition on tape” a bit elusive — what exactly is it? That’s why I leave it to the professionals and instead focus on knocking auditions out of the park. Whether...
READ MOREWeekly Film & TV News Roundup
Oscar winners Lupita Nyong’o and Cate Blanchett at the 2014 Golden Globes. Source: Instagram user lupitanyongo. Here are the 2014 Oscar, Independent Spirit, and Razzie winners! “The world is round, people,” Cate Blanchett on female-driven films. The official Presidential Proclamation for Women’s History Month 2014. NYU’s Fusion Film Festival celebrates women March 6-8. (Video) 2008 Oscar winner Marion...
READ MORENotes From a Screenreader: The Likability Trap
Photo via Go Into the Story. Protagonists need a bigger than life personality. Most spec scripts have protagonists without one. The average protagonist is unobjectionable. They color inside the lines and find a way to get what they want without breaking any rules. That is the likability trap. In an effort to create a sympathetic protagonist,...
READ MOREWomen in Post
Thelma Schoonmaker, the last woman to win an oscar for editing. She won for The Departed in 2006. It shouldn’t surprise us that stats of women in post-production are just as scary as percentages of female directors in Hollywood. “Among 2012′s top 250 domestic grossing films, women represented 20 percent of editors,” film and television editor...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: March 4, 2014
Trying is: half the battle! See how easy it is to up the female quotient in your project with this handy infographic (above) from the Geena Davis Institute. Practicing my French: for this weekend’s screening of CINEAST(E)S at the French Institute Alliance Française. In honor of International Women’s Day, New York Women in Film & Television...
READ MOREWomen-Directed Films at Queens World Film Festival
Katia, directed by Anna Shishova, is a nominee for Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography at the Queens World Film Festival. The Queens World Film Festival runs March 4-9, 2014, in New York. Opening night will be held at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, with the rest of the films screening at...
READ MOREFlix Not To Miss: ‘Gloria’
Featuring one of the best female roles in film, Gloria, written and directed by Sebastian Lelio and starring the mesmerizing Paulina Garcia, is about a middle-aged divorcee looking for love in Santiago, Chile. The film opens with Gloria dancing in a club and our first impression of her is as a vivacious older woman looking to...
READ MOREWeekly Film & TV News Roundup
ABC screencap via Business Insider. It’s that time again! This OSCAR ballot will get you geared up for your office pool. Female actors get less screen time than their male counterparts. Chelsea Handler responds to her parenthetical mention in an NYT article about late night TV. “Zip your lips!” and other screenwriting pitch tips learned from Shark Tank....
READ MORESign Up for NYWIFT’s March Events
Photo from The Supreme Price. New York Women in Film & Television’s programs in March are open for registration: NYWIFT at ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival: Invitation to Dance Saturday, March 8, 7:30 pm The JCC (334 Amsterdam Avenue) NYWIFT is co-presenting Invitation to Dance by Simi Linton and Christian Von Tippelskirch, which received funding from NYWIFT’s...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: February 25, 2014
Poring Over: Inkoo Kang’s wonderful Oscars post over at Indiewire, which highlights the milestones and gaps of this year’s Academy Award nominations. Channeling: British women’s liberation leader Emmeline Pankhurst should be a breeze to Meryl Streep. The multiple Academy Award winner joins Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter in the upcoming historical drama Suffragette. Congratulating: Jessica Elbaum, who’s tapped to head Gloria Sanchez Productions, a new...
READ MOREWEEKLY ROUNDUP
Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith Photo Copyright: ITV VIA DIGITAL SPY Downton’s Laura Carmichael (Edith) discusses her character’s happiness. $250 + Makeup Artist Robin Mathews = Dallas Buyers Club Oscar Nom. Have a Theater degree? Hollywood may be the perfect next step. These TEN new grants from Tribeca Film Institute are much appreciated! 2013 Scientific & Technical Oscars were awarded. All...
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