NYWIFT Blog

Terry’s Picks: December 9, 2013

GEARING UP FOR: our biggest awards yet! The 2013 Muse Awards will be hosted by friends and TV stars Andy Cohen & Wendy Williams, and will honor actors Ellen Barkin, Connie Britton, and Robin Wright, actor and writer Sonia Manzano, Bravo and Oxygen Media President Frances Berwick, and director, producer, and writer Nancy Malone. Stay tuned all...

Road to Muse: Honoree Robin Wright

Robin Wright has made an indelible mark in Hollywood, from her unforgettable early role as Jenny in the Oscar-winning Forrest Gump, to more recent television-starring portrayals on House of Cards with Kevin Spacey. House of Cards earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series this year. Wright began her career on the...

Road to Muse: Win a Designer Dress

Designs from Marco Hall in a store window. Fancy showing up at a special event wearing a one-of-a-kind dress designed just for you? Well, you may just win that one at this year’s Muse Awards. Thanks to NYWIFT member Eldonie Mason, one lucky Muse raffle winner will be dressed for success by Marco Hall, considered...

Road to Muse: More On Co-Hosts Wendy Williams & Andy Cohen

Andy Cohen and Wendy Williams on the set of Watch What Happens Live. Photo via Bravo. Wendy Williams and Andy Cohen will bring their hosting skills to NYWIFT’s Muse Awards on December 12 at the New York Hilton. These two multitalented TV stars are going to make it a one fantastic afternoon. Williams’ bio describes her as...

Road to Muse: Honoree Connie Britton

http://abc.go.com/embed/VDKA0_d5hxqz4b If you’re not one of the many fans spending Wednesday nights watching Nashville, you’re missing out on some exciting television. Connie Britton shines as Rayna Jaymes, a music legend trying to maintain her “Queen of Country” status. NYWIFT is honoring the Friday Night Lights star—along with Ellen Barkin, Robin Wright, Sonia Manzano, Bravo President Frances...

Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Slut: The Play. Sasithon Photography. Teen actors from Slut: The Play discuss a serious issue among the selfie generation. Naomie Harris on the struggles of portraying Winnie Mandela. (video) Helpful phone apps for actors. Do (non)friends ask to meet for coffee? Charge them for it. Q&A with Teresa Lee, creator of NYC comedy web series #YouUp. Halle Berry helps Hannibal gain strength at the...

Notes from a Screenreader: Meaningful Images

Photo via Go Into the Story. A script is a story that will be told with images. It feels like that goes without saying, but spec scripts are so often crushed under the weight of their own dialogue that it bears repeating. Meaningful images are revealing, memorable, interesting to read, and space saving. To rewrite for...

Road to Muse: Meet Past Honoree Marquita Pool-Eckert

Marquita Pool-Eckert, a 1999 Muse Awards honoree, was a CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite producer when I joined that broadcast as a production secretary in 1978. I was totally intimidated by her role on that fabled news program, but she treated me as an equal. That’s says so much about her. So, imagine my delight when I joined NYWIFT in 2011...

Terry’s Picks: December 3, 2013

Susan Sontag, Quai des Grands Augustins, Paris, 2002, chromogenic print. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz (via The Australian). Reflecting on: Susan Sontag’s thoughts on stereotypes and their negative impact on culture, highlighted this week by Maria Popova on Brain Pickings. Surprised but satisfied by: the inclusion of five women in Variety’s annual 10 Directors to Watch list....

New Member Spotlight: Imoya Monroque

The NYWIFT fall membership drive is almost over. So, it’s a perfect time to check in with new member Imoya Monroque and find out why she joined NYWIFT. Imoya, would you tell us a bit about your acting career? I am a member of SAG/AFTRA and have appeared in several national commercials and TV shows and pilots, such...

Road to Muse: Meet Our Announcer, Valerie Smaldone

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome…” That mysterious off-stage voice that announces presenters and honorees during awards ceremonies — it’s an actual position, listed on scripts and production notes. It’s called the VOG, the voice of god. At this year’s Muse Awards, that role will be filled by someone who’s becoming a NYWIFT favorite: Valerie Smaldone. New York Women in...

‘Monster-Fighting Feminists’

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Over at RogerEbert.com, Bob Calhoun discusses the liberated women of 1950s sci-fi cinema — classics like Them! (1954) and The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) — and why the woman scientist archetype waned in later decades: In her October 8, 2013 RogerEbert.com piece, “Visual Pleasure and Voodoo Demographics: a Reflection on...

Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Photo by Joe Pugliese Finally, a truly diverse actress roundtable. New York Film Academy’s article on gender inequality in film. Wow. HBO’s getting a show created by Diablo Cody and someone named Oprah. Winona is back. And starring in an action flick. Meet director Dennie Gordon, made in the USA—in demand in China! Indie producer Alison Owen controls the only...

Notes from a Screenreader: The Deep Freeze Script

Photo via Go Into the Story. Scripts that feel rote turn readers off right away even though rote scripts are written by people who know exactly what they’re doing. The plot moves forward, the conflicts are in place, the beats come and go like clockwork. Scoring high marks for plot and structure, these scripts still feel...

NYWIFT December Programs: Pitch Fest, Muse Awards + More

December programs are filling up fast so make sure to RSVP soon. Bullets, Bios, Resumes, and Interviews Monday, Dec 2, 6:30 pm, NYWIFT Offices (6 East 39th St) Learn to write, pitch, and interview for high impact. TV Pitch Fest Wednesday, Dec 4, 6 pm, NYWIFT Offices (6 East 39th St) An amazing opportunity! NYWIFT members...

Terry’s Picks: November 26, 2013

How far do we still have to go? Check out NYFA’s infographic (link below) STILL PORING OVER: This incredibly comprehensive infographic about gender inequality in film sent to us by the New York Film Academy. From pay rates and movie portrayals to awards and ages, this is a definitive tool for understanding the state of women in...

Out of 300 Scripts, Only 30 Written by Women

That number comes from a fascinating infographic created by a script reader who says they’ve covered 300 spec scripts for 5 different companies. See the full infographic. Given the record-breaking success of female-protagonist-led Hunger Games and Twilight series, we hope stats like “out of 300 scripts, only 77 had a female hero” will be changing soon. What do you think of...

L-R: Alessandra Stanley, Delia Ephron, Fran Drescher, Samantha Bee, and Whitney Cummings at NYWIFT’s Women in…Comedy panel. Photo via CINEMATIQ magazine.  Women in…Comedy: Changing Times A few weeks ago, NYWIFT brought together Samantha Bee (The Daily Show), Whitney Cummings (co-creator, 2 Broke Girls), Fran Drescher (Happily Divorced), and Delia Ephron (writer, You’ve Got Mail) to discuss the changing landscape for...