Through the Grapevine: NYWIFT Spring Membership Drive
Birds are chirping and spring bulbs are blooming, and that means it is Spring Membership Drive time! This is your opportunity to join New York Women in Film & Television, the preeminent entertainment industry association for women in New York, now through Monday May 5 and get 50% off our initiation fee. NYWIFT brings together...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Jane Pauley, Chelsea Clinton & Women’s Media Status
Jane Pauley, 2012. Photo credit: David Shankbone. Journalist Jane Pauley leaves NBC to join CBS News. New SNL writer Katie Rich has witty insight on male comedians’ success. Women’s Media Center updates its Status of Women in the U.S. Media report. Pam Dawber, TV’s original “Mindy,” to reunite with Robin Williams. Persistence pays off for Shaun of The Dead and Hot Fuzz producer Nira...
READ MOREA Conversation with WIGS & ‘Blue’ Creators
The award-winning web series Blue stars Julia Stiles as a single mother moonlighting as a call girl. It’s a case study of a successful drama series on the web. Blue premiered on WIGS, one of the first premium original content channels funded by YouTube and launched in 2012 by director Rodrigo Garcia (Albert Nobbs, In Treatment) and Emmy Award–nominated...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Bang a Gong
Photo via Go Into the Story. Theme is the beating heart of the screenplay, the proposition about the human condition that your story explores—the big issues. Love. Faith. Resilience. Trust. Power. Courage. All the goosebumpy things. The theme, that single, simple thesis that creates clarity and scope and resonance through the arcs of your story,...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Ellen Burstyn & Dorothy Arzner Retrospectives
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/483351167?et=KiKeevk2rUy8SBOzY0cQ9g&sig=1k129wSP0QWNtJJ2Xib0fHM98hta3EvKfxZCIOJU1zQ= Photo of Ellen Burstyn courtesy of Getty Images. ANTICIPATING: the retrospectives of two amazing female figures in film. Though Dorothy Arzner’s career retrospective will take place in Spain at the San Sebastian Film Festival, we’ll be able to catch Ellen Burstyn’s nine film retrospective at BAMcinematek in Brooklyn (with the actress herself slated to appear on May 3). Arzner was...
READ MOREAdvice from an Indie Producer: Script Breakdown & Budgeting
What is the real purpose of a budget? In my experience, it’s the road map of the production. The amount of money you have will dictate the majority of the decisions that are made in pre-production, principal photography, post-production and beyond (festivals, marketing, social media campaigns, etc). You may have used a “development” budget, usually...
READ MOREFlix Not to Miss: ‘It Felt Like Love’
It Felt Like Love, by first-time feature director Eliza Hittman, follows 14-year-old Lila (a perfectly cast Gina Piersanti) as she pursues an older teenage boy. There are a few passing similarities between It Felt Like Love and Andrea Arnold’s similar themed Fish Tank. Hittman distinguishes herself with intimate closeups and following subjects with tracking shots through parties and wooded areas of outer Brooklyn. This...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Peabodys Announced & ‘Frozen’ Breaks Record
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/479466007?et=nJS_4haSv02ARV_S30ZdPA&sig=VQUPmdJVaUZ420YSmZwtBWGQR-SXQcA20qQadX8IR4U= The Peabody Awards gave 43% of prizes to projects that featured a clear female protagonist or were made by a woman creator. Jennifer Lee’s ‘Frozen’ becomes the top-grossing animated film of all time. AFI’s superb Directing Workshop for Women turns 40. They grow up so fast! Variety’s Power of Women luncheon debuts in NYC — meet the honorees. Amy Schumer tackles the...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Commuter Blues
Photo via Go Into the Story. You drove 20 miles home in heavy traffic and don’t remember any of it. That’s the dissociation you use to deal with the sameness of your commute. It also happens when you read your script. Your brain fills in what’s supposed to be there and you blow right by your...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: April 1, 2014
Anita playing at the Film Society of Lincoln Center Thought-provoking: and powerful, Freida Lee Mock’s Anita is my must-see of the week. Twenty years after Anita Hill sought to confidentially report Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for sexual harassment, the archival footage (and new contemporary interviews) still feels startling relevant to gender inequality in the U.S. Anticipating: an amazing...
READ MOREActing Up: The Improv Audition
Lately, I’ve noticed that a lot of my auditions have been improv/ad-lib. Although I still receive a character breakdown, research the players of the project (via IMDB, Google), and do my best to get a description for any new shows, the question remains, What am I going to do in the room? I love sides,...
READ MOREDocumentary ‘Can’ to Screen on April 29 as Part of NYWIFT Member Series
Can, a groundbreaking documentary that intimately portrays the experience of an Asian-American family dealing with mental illness, will screen on Tuesday, April 29, at 7 pm, as part of the New York Women in Film and Television’s Member Screening Series, held at Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue, NYC). Directed and produced by NYWIFT member Pearl J. Park, Can follows...
READ MOREWeekly Film & TV News Roundup
1980s cartoon Jem (Hasbro). A Jem and the Holograms is being made—by men. #JemTheMovie Amazon Studios wants your comedy or children’s series. The PGA is stepping up to promote gender equality behind the scenes. Journalist Maria Bartiromo has a new show and three rules for success. OWN headquarters leaves the Windy City for the bright lights of LA. FreemantleMedia...
READ MORESign Up for NYWIFT’s April Events
Photo courtesy of NASA. New York Women in Film & Television’s events for April 2014: Power Player Breakfast: Jana Bennett, President, A+E Networks’ FYI & LMN Thursday, April 3, 8:30 am Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, 488 Madison Avenue, 10th Floor A+E Networks executive Jana Bennett, who manages two of the company’s fastest growing...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: The Wonkavator
Photo via Go Into the Story. Willy Wonka: No, it’s a Wonkavator. An elevator can only go up and down, but the Wonkavator can go sideways, and slantways, and longways, and backways… A screenplay should not be a Wonkavator, even if it isn’t linear. What you want in a spec script is a ride straight...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: March 25, 2014
Gloria Steinem at the Ms. Foundation for Women’s 23rd annual Gloria Awards on May 19, 2011. Photo via WikiMedia. Wishing a: happy birthday to Gloria Steinem! The feminist writer, activist, Women’s Media Center co-founder and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient turns 80 today. Checking out: some wonderful films this week! Beth B.’s provocative Exposed (co-produced by NYWIFT member Sandra...
READ MORENYWIFT Recap. Laughing Matters: Diverse Voices From the World of Comedy
Diversity in comedy has been all the buzz as of late, and on February 20, 2014, New York Women in Film and Television joined the conversation with Laughing Matters: Diverse Voices From the World of Comedy, a panel of seven female comedians. With much laughter and a riveting discussion, Laughing Matters unfolded into a memorable...
READ MOREFlix Not to Miss: ‘Nowhere Boy’
Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, Nowhere Boy follows The Beatles’ John Lennon (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) as a teenager finding his way, learning to play guitar, and meeting future bandmates Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Nowhere Boy explores the little-known family dynamic that played out in Lennon’s life before he toured with The Beatles. After being raised by his Aunt...
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