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There are three semi-wide films vying for the female audience this weekend, and two other limited releases. Penelope and The Other Boleyn Girl seem to be going after the same market -- young women not interested in Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro -- and Bonneville is looking to tap into the older female market. Vivere is opening in NY and LA and the documentary Beyond Belief about two women whose husband's were killed on 9/11 and their journey to Afghanistan to help widows like themselves. (I saw the film at last year's Tribeca Film Fest. It was quite moving.) For more details on where its playing: Beyond Belief

Check out my reviews/ interviews from earlier this week on Vivere and Bonneville.

Penelope tells the fairy tale story of a young woman addled with a long family curse that the next born girl child would be doomed to live life with a pig's snout until she finds someone of her "class" to love her. Christina Ricci plays Penelope has spent her life hidden by her parents (mostly her mother played by Catherine O'Hara) so that she does not have to experience the world's cruel treatment of people who looks different.

A series of proper suitors are engaged on the search to break the curse and it is only when Penelope realizes and embraces that she is happy with herself and the way she looks pig nose and all, that the curse is broken.

The film was shot two years ago and was produced in part by Reese Witherspoon's Type A films. Witherspoon plays a small part (which she probably had to agree to do to get financing.) Sadly, she's too big a star for small parts and she seems out of place here. The film also stars a younger and greener (and freer) James McAvoy before his breakout performances in The Last King of Scotland and Atonement. This guy really has the goods, he lights up the screen.

I thought the film was cute and the story was touching. I think it's really good for the younger set and has a great message which is that we all need to love ourselves for who we are no matter what we look like.

The film is written by first time screenwriter Leslie Caveny whose goal was to rework the typical fairy tale "We've seen many fairytales where the woman loves the guy no matter what he looks like, so I wanted to create a story giving the woman the same treatment."

On the complete opposite end is The Other Boleyn Girl, this weekend's guilty pleasure movie. Big costumes, big dances, lots of deception. Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman play Mary and Anne Boleyn, the two sisters who seem to have a new movie or mini-series based on their lives each year. The film is based on Phillipa Gregory's best-selling historical novel that tells the story we all know too well. I've never been a big fan of Johansson's and this movie doesn't sway me any more in her favor. She seems shocked (shocked!) at the continued treachery of her sister played by the slumming Natalie Portman. Eric Bana is disappointing as King Henry. This bland film made me even more excited for the return of The Tudors on Showtime later this spring.

Films Opening
Penelope - 1,196
The Other Boleyn Girl - 1,166
Bonneville - 101
Vivere- NY/LA
Beyond Belief - NY

Remaining in Theatres
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
A Walk to Beautiful (LA)
Juno
27 Dresses
Caramel
Atonement
P.S. I Love You
Persepolis
The Golden Compass
The Savages
Mad Money
How She Move

Opening March 7
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Girls Rock

Missed this from earlier this week. It's worthy of a full copy and paste (from the First Post)

Brit actress saved by outraged Emma

The English actress Emma Thompson has stepped in to protest about an up-and-coming British actress, of seemingly perfect proportions, being required by an American film company to lose weight for her next role. Hayley Atwell may be the latest muse of Woody Allen, starring in his new film Cassandra's Dream, but she didn't measure up for Miramax Films, who are behind the big-screen remake of Brideshead Revisited.

Having been cast as Julia Flyte, the gilded scion of an aristocratic family played in the original TV series by Diana Quick, the 25-year-old Londoner was asked to shed a few pounds.

Thompson, who appears in the remake as Lady Marchmain (opposite Michael Gambon in the old Laurence Olivier role as Lord Marchmain), learned of Atwell's predicament when she invited her to dinner at her home.

Says Atwell: "I went round to Emma's one night and she was getting very angry that I wasn't eating all the food she was giving me. I told her why and she hit the roof." The no-nonsense Thompson was so outraged that she called the producers the next day and threatened to resign from the film if they forced Atwell to lose weight. Faced with Thompson - a two-times Oscar winner - on the warpath, Miramax Films swiftly relented.

This is why I love Emma Thompson.

• Cate Blanchett is one busy woman. About to give birth to her third child, and running the Sydney Theatre Company with her husband she has agreed to chair a culture think tank, Towards a Creative Australia. Blanchett to Chair Culture Forum

• Uma Thurman is producing her second film The Accidental Husband written by three women. She thinks things are getting better for women in Hollywood.
  

“I think female writers and directors have been getting more work in recent years,” she continues, her slender fingers fiddling with the fine blonde hair scraped back from her face. “The slow move towards Hollywood accepting women in the employer and leadership positions is getting better. I think we’re all growing up more and more. There is some positive movement, and that makes me happy.”

Yet she bought the rights to the film cause she couldn't get a part.

I bought the rights and developed the story because nobody at the time was letting me do comedy,” explains the 37-year-old New Yorker, a hint of frustration creeping into her otherwise sanguine tone as she recalls the earlier stages of her career.

Uma Thurman, Producer

• ABC will bring back the Women's Murder Club in April with a new showrunner. Gotta say I'm kind of pissed since I thought the show was fine. The good news is that Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft were quickly hired by Joss Whedon to work on his new show Dollhouse.
  

• Lipstick Jungle seems to have survived. NBC ordered six more scripts.

• Overture Films will release Sunshine Cleaning, Christina Jeffs drama starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Deal is for around $2 m, that's $5 m less than it cost them to make the film. Amy Adams was in the highest grossing film starring a woman in 2007.
  

• The Business of Being Born continues its run opening in Seattle this weekend. Here is another interview with Executive Producer, Ricki Lake: The Business of Being Born

I was so excited to see that a film starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen was happening. I am a fan of each actress and am really happy that this script brought Jessica Lange back to the big screen. Lange plays Arvilla Holden, a recent widow who promised her free spirited, traveler husband that he would never be buried below ground. The problem for her is that her late husband's daughter played by Christine Baranski (yes, he was 20 years older than Lange) wants her father buried next to her long deceased mother. The kicker is that the stupid dead husband never changed his will after they got married, so Arvilla will be homeless if she does not deliver the her husband's ashes for a proper internment.

So, Lange breaks out the old Bonneville and along with her two best friends, Margene (Kathy Bates) and Carol (Joan Allen), they journey west from Pocatello, Idaho to Santa Barbara, CA. This, being a road movie you get the inevitable flat tire and rescue by a young hot man worldly beyond his years on his own journey; a trip to the Grand Canyon; a rented houseboat disaster; and of course the leering truck driver (Tom Skerritt) who turns out quite the gentleman who falls for Margene. The trip also brings the women closer together and helps them rediscover their love for each other.

The film is directed by first timer Christopher N Rowley and his inexperience is evident onscreen especially because of the seasoned actresses he is directing. But the women clearly had fun making the film and seeing Lange, Bates and Allen onscreen together should be reason enough for anyone to fork over $10 bucks.

Lauren Timmons is an Associate Producer on the film. She was the one who first read the script at her company and was instrumental in all phases and facets of the film.

She answered a few questions about the film.

Women & Hollywood: How did you come across the script for Bonneville?

Lauren Timmons: After I finished classes for my MFA at Columbia, I started working in development at SenArt (the Tribeca production company behind “The Station Agent” and the Academy Award Winning Documentary “The Fog of War”). The writer and director of “Bonneville” had seen and loved “The Station Agent,” and they sent us their script because that character-driven, funny, uplifting feel was exactly what they were going for with “Bonneville.”

I was the first at SenArt to read “Bonneville” – I’d read hundreds of scripts at this point, and this story really stood out. I loved the characters, I loved that it was about friendship, fun, travel, living life to the fullest. And I loved that starred three women at an age that Hollywood so often relegates to playing the “supporting mother/grandmother” roles. Robert May, who founded SenArt, loved “Bonneville” as well – and so we started working with the writer and director to refine the script!

W&H: Explain what an associate producer does?

LT: I’ve been involved literally in every step of “Bonneville’s” creation since development: raising the money, casting the film, pre-production. I was on set in Utah and California when we shot it, and around for the post-production/editing as well. And finally, I’ve been working very closely on the marketing and release, which is really exciting. We’ve created an amazing website, www.BonnevilleTheMovie.com, where you can not only see the trailer and find out more on the film, but you can watch an amazing “Behind the Scenes” featurette, enter to win fabulous vacations, download driving directions to take the actual road trip Jessica brings her friends on in the film, and a lot more!

W&H: What in the script resonated with you that you wanted to pursue it?

LT: As I mentioned above, I was immediately struck by the script. I loved the characters - that this was a story about three women, each with a real journey to go on. It was funny, sad, and completely character-driven. It drops you into these women’s world and you really feel like you’re right there on the road with them. Plus, it was fun - a road film, a buddy film. It leaves you feeling good, which is extremely refreshing – it’s a celebration of friendship, fun, travel and living life to the fullest.

W&H: Scripts with female leads are few and far between and this film has three strong female characters. Why do you think there are some few female centric films in Hollywood?

LT: I keep hearing that “women will go see a movie starring men, but men won’t see a movie starring women” but I think that’s crazy. There have been huge “female centric” hits - “Calendar Girls,” “Something’s Got to Give,” “The Devil Wears Prada” – and most recently, “Juno.” I truly believe that if it’s a good story with good characters, it has every opportunity to be a really big, profitable success. And I think women want to see films that resonate with their lives. At preview screenings of “Bonneville,” I can’t tell you how many women have come up to us afterwards, telling us how passionate they are about the film, and asking why more films aren’t made like this. What we tell them is, bring every one of your friends to see “Bonneville” and truly help us make it a success – and there will be more films made like it!

W&H: You worked with a first-time director on the project. Did he come attached to the script and if not, how did you pick him? Why was he the right person to direct this film?

LT: The director, Christopher N Rowley, developed the screenplay along with the writer, Dan Davis. They had brought the screenplay to SenArt together, and we spent over a year working with them on further development, and then on all the pre-production leading up to filming. So we had a long period to get to know each other, and Chris really impressed us with both his preparation and vision. As an independent film company, you absolutely look for new voices, first-time directors with a fresh vision and something interesting to say. Tom McCarthy hadn’t even directed a short film before he made “The Station Agent,” and it’s especially exciting to give someone a shot to make a film that truly might never get made otherwise.

W&H: You yourself are a writer and director. Why do you think women writers and directors continue to struggle to get their work made in Hollywood.

LT: I really do think it’s getting better, and I have every hope that women writers AND directors will continue to get more and more work made at a really rapid pace. I thought it was great that three of the five best original screenplay nominees were women this year, with Diablo Cody winning for “Juno.” A lot of people who see “Bonneville” are surprised that it was written and directed by men, but the screenwriter, Dan Davis, is a really smart and insightful guy who wrote the film from his life. Jessica Lange’s character was very closely based on his grandmother, Margene (Kathy Bates) was a close family friend, and Carol (Joan Allen) was his Aunt Carol, who we actually met on set. But in any case, I think we should absolutely be supporting films both made by and made about women.

W&H: The film was shot in the fall of of 2005. What was the delay from shoot to release?

Well, first of all, it took awhile to find the right balance – “Bonneville” is a true mix of comedy and drama, of character and adventure. Along the way, we would screen cuts of the film to audiences to see how they reacted – and as we went on, we started to get more and more comments like “why doesn’t Hollywood make films like this anymore”. Then, when we started talking to distributors, we found out – in large part, distributors think it’s simply a lot harder to market to “Boomers” than teenage boys. And by this point, we believed so strongly in the film, and we felt that we knew this audience so well, that ultimately we decided we could do a better job. So we partnered with Jeff Lipsky and formed SenArt Films Releasing. And we’re doing all kinds of “outside the box” outreach to get the word out. A key part of our promotion has been preview screenings - we want people to see “Bonneville,” love it, and talk about it to all their friends and family! So we’ve orchestrated screenings for art groups, senior communities, film clubs, boomer groups, the Red Hat Society, and two weeks ago the film screened as a special event on all 16 of Princess Cruises’ ships! We’ve also partnered with AAA, igourmet.com, Xanterra Resorts, and other companies that are helping get the word out to our audience. And what we tell everyone is, if you like “Bonneville,” share it with everyone you know – let’s prove that Boomer women will get out to the theater and support an uplifting, adult story!

W&H: What do you want people to walk out of the theatre thinking after they see the film?

LT: I think ultimately audiences will leave moved, and uplifted. “Bonneville” is a celebration of friendship and of freedom, of letting go of the past and embracing everything life has to offer.

Film opens tomorrow in markets across the country.

Vivere is another one of those hard to describe films. It takes place on Christmas eve in a dreary town outside Cologne, Germany. Three women of different generations-- two sisters and a mysterious older women -- are on the run from their lives and each is affected by the other women in her journey towards creating her future.

Francesca (Esther Zimmering) has been taking care of her her sister Antonietta (Kim Schnitzer) and their father for years driving a cab. When Antoinetta takes off for Rotterdam with her musician boyfriend, Francesca goes in search of her. On her journey she encounters Gerlinde (Hannelore Elsner) and they form an unlikely team in the search for Antoinetta.

Their story is told from each woman's individual perspective. When the stories converge at the end, the three have come together for each other and you get a glimmer that maybe they have created some new connections to each other that will help each of them on her next journey.

The film is written and directed by Angelina Maccarone and produced by Anita Elsani. Angelina answered some questions about the film for Women & Hollywood.

Women & Hollywood: You are the writer and director of this film. How did you come up
with the idea for the film, and did you write it with the intention that you would direct it?

Angelina Maccarone: Since I am a writer/director as you said, I did write VIVERE with the intention to direct it as well. In this case it is an important part of the film since the way it is shot is interwined with my intention of showing three different views of basically the same events and thus make it the subjective story of each of the three protagonists. The basic idea was to show three women of different generations who are at some crossroads in their lives. They all have to make a seemingly small decision that will have great impact onto their lives.

W&H: Explain the title: Vivere.

AM: VIVERE is Italian and means "to live". The three women are in a kind of waiting situation. They wait for other people to make decisions and to tell them what to do. In order to take their lives into their own hands and responsibility they have to give up their waiting and just decide that life begins NOW.

W&H: Each of the women in the film is lonely and desperate to make a connection to others around them. What is the message behind the desperation of people to connect?

AM: I believe that we as human beings are not self-sufficient. But still we need to grow up in the sense of becoming responsible and emotionally independent to be able to have deep and meaningful relationships that are not based on need in the first place. This sounds like a paradox: Becoming independent to being able to belong, but this is how life works, I guess, with paradoxes.

W&H: What do you want people to get out of the film?

AM: I hope for people to think about their situation, their wishes and maybe make them take the first step into the direction they want to head into. Every small step takes you further. I hope this comes across while watching the characters on screen.

W&H: Your film is not only written and directed by a woman, it stars three women and it is produced by a woman. That is very uncommon in the US. Is it easier for women writers and directors in Germany, and what can the US industry learn about how to integrate more women's visions and stories into our film business?

AM: I know too little about the movie business in the US but in Germany it is not necessarily easier for women. We worked on the funding for this film for nearly ten years. Maybe this was due to the fact that there are three female main characters. But still it was great fun working with Anita, the producer, and the cast: Hannelore, Esther and Kim.

Film opens in NY and LA on Friday

Update: A fifth film Beyond Belief is opening Friday in NY.


This Friday, 4 movies about women are opening. I just have to say how lame brained this is. I know that the studios and distributors all work separately and set up their own schedules, but people we need to be smarter about this. Talk to each other! Remember last month when 27 Dresses and Mad Money opening on the same day. Things didn't go so well for Mad Money.

To make matters worse, Will Ferrell is opening a remake of Semi-Pro this weekend. Will Ferrell is one of the guy who gets women to go to see his films so Semi-Pro will cut into all the potential box office dollars. It will have the most effect on the films targeted at the younger market like The Other Boleyn Girl and Penelope.

I'm going to write about and have some interviews about all four films between now and Friday.

The films are:

Bonneville- starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen

Penelope- starring Christina Ricci

The Other Boleyn Girl - starring Scarlett Johannson and Natalie Portman

Vivere- Directed by Angelina Maccarone starring Hannelore Elsner, Esther Zimmering and Kim Schnitzer. (In German)

It's not a surprise that Oscar winning screenwriter Diablo Cody is experiencing some serious jealousy now that she reached the pinnacle of Hollywood on her first time out. Hollywood loves a Cinderella story especially one with a twist which is what Cody has.

I noticed that she was wearing flats at the Oscars and she seems to have gotten into a tiff with shoe designer Stuart Weitzman over the fact that she was supposed to wear his million dollar diamond encrusted shoes on the red carpet. She didn't realize that she had pimped herself out to Weitzman for the publicity so she backed out. (That's a little naive) Here's what she wrote on her blog:

"They're using me to publicize their stupid shoes and NOBODY ASKED ME," wrote Cody, who ultimately wore gold flats. "I would never consent to a lame publicity stunt at a time when I already want to hide.'

I guess I'm surprised that it took so long for the backlash to rear its ugly head. There are people who hate her for her success, and there are people who hate her for keeping her voice and not becoming completely "hollywoodfied."

Hollywood followers know that you are only as good as your last success so her best revenge is to keep making successful films. I, for one, hope that she will still be spouting the great feminist lines we have become so accustomed to during this Oscar season.

Juno Writer Feeling Hollywood Backlash (AP via The Star)

Tina did a great job hosting Saturday Night Live last weekend. If you missed it check out this link here (from the great feminists at Salon's Broadsheet) where Tina riffs that "bitch is the new black" cause bitches get stuff done!

Bitch is the New Black

Essence magazine hosted a black women in Hollywood luncheon to coincide with the Oscars. Their annual black Hollywood issue with a Hollywood power list (3 women are in the top 10: Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah) is on newsstands now. Included are interviews with up and comers Jurnee Smollet and Raven- Symone (who is already a mogul herself).

I like this picture so much better than the one on the cover of Vanity Fair. All these women actually have clothes on and look like they are enjoying themselves and celebrating something, rather than looking pinched and hungry like on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Black Hollywood

Hell, no. Let's not paint too rosy a picture on the nomination of three women in the original screenplay category (but it does say we are more original thinkers), and one woman in the adapted category.

An AP pre-Oscar piece takes a look at the writing nominees (sadly it is a record)

Some quotes:

To "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody, the attention she and three other women are getting for their Academy Award nominations in the typically male-dominated screenwriting categories is "kind of a double edged-sword."

"You don't want to be singled out as a woman," she says. "On the other end, as a feminist, and someone who feels that women are marginalized in this industry, I'm thrilled that women are getting this sort of recognition."

"We're given this chance to promote fresh representations of women. For me, my thought is if I wrote a movie, I'm not going to fill my movie with stock girlfriend characters. I'm going to write about a girl who wears hoodies and likes the Stooges (punk band)."

All the writers lament the lack of women in the directing category, reflecting a dearth of female directors in general; only three women have been nominated for a directing trophy in Oscar history: Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion and Sofia Coppola.

Could sexism be considered a factor?

"Call me an idealist, but I don't think so," says Bruce Davis, the academy's executive director, who acknowledges that academy voters are mostly men. "To get nominated as a writer and director, you have to impress other writers and directors. These groups -- I meet with them all the time -- they are about as unprejudiced of a constituency that you can think of."

I have to laugh. Writers and Directors in Hollywood unprejudiced. Sure.

But discrimination remains a fact for women in Hollywood, from Cody noting that some film critics have criticized her own body in their reviews of "Juno" to Polley bemoaning that women are "still obligated" to sell their sexuality with their careers.

"The way we're raised up, girls are raised in a different way -- that they have to be cute and sweet. But you don't have to be cute and sweet," says Satrapi, who once fired a male employee who refused to listen to her.

And, says Cody, "Women tend to be crippled by what they believe is their own incompetence."

"We need to do it like men, charge it like a bull, no matter if it's bad," says the writer, who first gained media attention for penning a book about her stint as a stripper.

"I've gotten an excessive amount of attention because I have that cheesy back story," she says, sighing. "It's really a lot of bells and whistles. We're really all just sedentary geeks, who love to write."

I am again impressed by Cody and Polley. Both of them are of a younger generation and are really speaking truth to power. We need to figure out a way to support and nurture both these women's visions because they are truly unique.

Full story: Women Writers Make Strides in Oscar Nominations (AP via Seattle PI)

I watched the Oscars as I watch most things nowadays, using my TIVO. I start late, don't need to watch any of the boring stuff (including some of the awards) and don't watch any commercials.

From my perspective, the show was just as it always is, too long and too fawning, but it had some funny moments and I thought Jon Stewart did fine especially since he only had writers working with him for a little over a week.

It figures that a site about women and Hollywood would get both its predictions in the actress category wrong, but that's life. I'm still surprised that both Marion Cottilard and Tilda Swinton won. My rationale for Swinton is that the voters wanted to give something to Michael Clayton which was really the only studio film nominated so they gave it to Swinton. She's spectacular but I gotta say that she was even better in the much smaller Stephanie Daley so if you want to see this woman's range, rent that.

Regarding Marion Cottilard's win, I think that the Academy loves biopics where people transform themselves and this woman really went through the ringer for this role. I'm surprised that Julie Christie didn't win since she was, as has been said before, transcendent in Away from Her. Maybe the folks in the Academy don't like Christie because she won't play by the Hollywood rules. Too bad. Hers was the performance of the year.

Diablo Cody was truly overwhelmed by her win (and uncomfortable in a too high slitted dress that was hard for her to walk in) and dedicated her win to writers. I noticed that she wore flats (did anyone else see that?).

Two women did win best director last night -- Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth won for directing the documentary short, Freeheld. Freeheld is the story of a Laurel Hester's dying fight to give her police pension to her partner and the homophobia she encountered during her fight. I really need to see this one.

How cool was it that the song from Once beat out the Disney machine of Enchanted. It was even cooler that Marketa Irglova got to come back onstage after getting cut off and say her thanks. Classy moment.

Some fun lines:
Tilda Swinton to CNN:

That's what the professional actress who lives in the U.K. confessed to CNN reporters on the red carpet earlier today while describing her feelings about being at this event as "mellow," adding "Feels like being at a dog show."

Helen Mirren to Regis Philbin:

Unfortunately the roles are often not good enough for the women. But the roles for the men are always wonderful.

Backstage:

"Juno's" Diablo Cody corrected descriptions of her former job as "exotic dancer."

"I was not a dancer. I can't dance," she said, which leaves "stripper" as the correct job description. "If I had the money, I would pay off people in the journalism world to not mention it again."

OK Diablo, Women & Hollywood will never refer to you as a former stripper anymore. You are now officially and Oscar winning writer. How does that sound?

I love watching the Independent Spirit Awards because the attendees wear normal clothes and look like they are enjoying themselves rather than being stuffed into tight dresses and shoes too high without any food or drink for several long hours.

So the first big award show post-writers strike gave a couple of awards to some women, including Diablo Cody for best first screenplay for Juno, and Tamara Jenkins for best screenplay for The Savages. Jenkins had a hard journey since her first film (The Slums of Beverly Hills) almost 10 years ago. Best quote of the evening was from Jenkins in describing getting the financing for her film: "A lot of people in this room didn't want to finance this movie."

I got pissed off at the Someone to Watch Award which includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant to an emerging filmmaker. All (3) of the nominees were guys. Now, this is right after Dawn Hudson who runs Film Independent, the sponsor of the spirit award just talked about the importance of diversity to the organization. Diversity of color is extremely important, but diversity of gender is important too. The lack of opportunities available for women directors is not a topic these folks are unaware of, and I would think that they would try and take the opportunity to highlight at least ONE emerging woman director. Please don't tell me that ONE couldn't be found.

Since the Oscars are this weekend, the pickings are quite slim at the box office. I got Amy Heckerling's I Could Never be Your Woman from Netflix, so that's on my list this weekend. The Independent Spirit Awards air Saturday (5pm EST on IFC) and of course the Oscars are on Sunday, preceded by the Barbara Walters special (on the east coast) where three out of her four guests are women (Ellen Page, Vanessa Williams and Miley Cyrus).

There are still some gems in the theatres for your watching pleasure.

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
A Walk to Beautiful (NY)
Juno
The Savages
Mad Money
Caramel
Persepolis
The Business of Being Born
Teeth
27 Dresses
Atonement
Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour
Untraceable
P.S. I Love You
The Golden Compass
August Rush
How She Move

Also, the Oscar nominated shorts are playing in limited release around the country. Several are by and about women.

Live Action Shorts
AT NIGHT
TANGHI ARGENTINI

Animated Shorts
PETER & THE WOLF

For more details: http://www.magpictures.com.

Opening Next Weekend
Penelope
The Other Boleyn Girl

Gotta say that this has been a petty lackluster Oscar season (some blame goes to the writers strike) but some of the blame has got to go to the types of films that are nominated. Violent, boy-centric and self-indulgent.

Here's to a better slate of films next year.

Some quotes from around the web on the Oscars:
from Kim Masters at Slate:

I'm amazed that Sarah Polley isn't the human-interest story of these Oscars: She's a 29-year-old knockout who just made an astonishingly mature, critically lauded debut as a writer/director. Is it because Away From Her's subject matter is so depressing (as opposed to the nonstop merriment of, say, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)? Is it a woman thing? A Canadian thing? Or is Polley just less savvy at self-packaging than, say, Diablo Cody?

I really think that it's interesting to talk about Sarah Polley and Diablo Cody. Both to me are strong female role models in very different ways. Sarah Polley is an artist who let's her work speak for herself. She comes off as shy and not interested in the publicity machine. Cody is just the opposite, very interested in milking the system (saying some great feminist bits) and riding her wave as far as it goes. She seems to have very few inhibitions (kind of makes sense since she worked the pole for a while).

But really, it just seems that Hollywood can't tell more than one "women's" story at a time. God forbid we should have read anything about Nancy Oliver nominated for Lars and the Real Girl. Come on, we must have read 400 stories about No Country for Old Men and There Will be Blood.

The Oscars this year reflect an ongoing trend in the business -- women just don't matter.

from the Guardian:

Intelligent contemporary Hollywood has become very macho: a quality that I think is under-reported and under-analysed by the media, which arguably has just as much of a male bias as cinema. The Coens' No Country for Old Men and Anderson's There Will Be Blood are, I believe, superb: benchmarks for American movie-making. But, goodness, how that testosterone positively drips off the screen. These are movies about the sweat, the thrust, the growl, the facial hair - and the guns and the violence. No Country for Old Men might as well be called No Country for Women of Any Age, although it does have two excellent contributions from Kelly Macdonald and Tess Harper. As for There Will Be Blood, there are hardly any women at all.

That is why I think the remarkable young Canadian director Sarah Polley should have been given a director's nomination for her film Away from Her, starring Julie Christie. Hollywood has only just finished congratulating itself on finally giving acting awards to African-Americans. But it has an inbuilt assumption that the director's role is a man's job - and this assumption goes unchallenged with incredible regularity.

from David Carr aka the Carpetbagger at the NY Times:

Three women are in this category, which should tell Hollywood a story it needs to hear. The conventional wisdom wants Diablo Cody. Juno what? (Yes, the Bagger is a bit punchy by now, but bear with him.) Sometimes the conventional wisdom is right. She nailed something fresh, which even Hollywood can’t resist.

from Gold Derby at the LA Times:

When Oscar is not comforting the long-suffering wife, he can often be found in the arms of a young beauty.

Last year's best actress winner, Helen Mirren ("The Queen") was the first leading woman older than 40 to take home an Oscar in a decade. Up until then, the list of recent winners looked like the lineup at a beauty pageant: Reese Witherspoon, Hilary Swank, Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow. Personally, I think Mirren was able to overcome that trend by embracing it. At age 62, she's still quite sexy (remember her nude scene in "Calendar Girls"?) and she was brazenly frisky while out on the Oscar campaign trail last year, even appearing on the cover of Los Angeles magazine tugging at her bra.

Granted, the younger screen lovelies would often win acclaim and awards by deglamourizing themselves to show Hollywood that they were more than just pretty faces. But during Oscar campaign season, off came the false noses, boxing gloves and trailer-trash outfits, to be replaced by designer gowns and comely coifs.

This year, classic Gallic beauty Marion Cotillard turns from ugly duckling to swan and back playing tragic chanteuse Edith Piaf. With her head shaved and her eyebrows plucked, the French actress, 32, is transformed into the "little sparrow" at the end of her troubled life.

While 1960s siren Julie Christie, star of "Away From Her," still sizzles in real-life, like Mirren, for this 66-year-old to win would be to buck the trend. Though this age bias is less blatant in the category for supporting actresses, older gals still triumph there only now and then: Judi Dench once, Dianne Wiest twice in recent years, for example.

Pace University proved the obvious a few years ago when it conducted an Oscar study spanning the 25 years before 2000 and discovered that best actor winners were, on average, five years older than their female equivalents. And seven years separated male and female nominees.

In the last 15 years only two actresses older than 50 have won an Oscar in the lead or supporting races: Dames Mirren and Dench. Meantime, consider all of these chaps north of the half-century mark who've triumphed during the same years: lead actors Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and Anthony Hopkins as well as supporting Alan Arkin , Morgan Freeman, Chris Cooper, Jim Broadbent, Michael Caine, James Coburn, Martin Landau, Gene Hackman, Jack Palance.

Here are all the nominees and Women & Hollywood's predictions (in the categories I have a clue about):

Best motion picture of the year
"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Winner: No Country for Old Men

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis- no one else has gotten any traction in this category. Hollywood is in awe of Day-Lewis.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War" (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Winner: Javier Bardem

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in "Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production)

Winner: Julie Christie- I think that while Ellen Page is getting lots of traction lately, she is going to have a career and will see her time come later. I'm betting that not enough people have seem La Vie en Rose so that hurt Cotillard's chances. Christie is a mythical character, she transcends film and has become an icon. She doesn't give a shit about the pomp and circumstance and her performance in Away from Her was transcendent.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster" (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Winner- Ruby Dee. I'm not sure about this one. Amy Ryan had the early momentum as did Cate Blanchett, but Blanchett recently won and Ryan has faded as Swinton and Dee have gained. I just don't think that this will be the role Swinton will win for and Oscar always likes to honor a body of work and Dee has been around and is deserving.

Best animated feature film of the year
"Persepolis" (Sony Pictures Classics): Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
"Surf's Up" (Sony Pictures Releasing): Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Winner: It pains me to say that Ratatouille will be about the magnificent Persepolis.

Achievement in directing
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Jason Reitman
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas Anderson

Winner: Joel and Ethan Coen- whatever

Best documentary feature
"No End in Sight" (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" (The Documentary Group) A Documentary Group Production: Richard E. Robbins
"Sicko" (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company) A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
"War/Dance" (THINKFilm) A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Winner: No End in Sight- great doc

Best documentary short subject
"Freeheld" A Lieutenant Films Production: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
"La Corona (The Crown)" A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production: Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
"Salim Baba" A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
"Sari's Mother" (Cinema Guild) A Daylight Factory Production: James Longley

Winner: Haven't seen any but I'm pulling for Freeheld

Achievement in film editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Juliette Welfling
"Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment): Jay Cassidy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Dylan Tichenor

Winner: Roderick Jaynes (he'll ride of the No Country like sweep)

Best foreign language film of the year
"Beaufort" Israel
"The Counterfeiters" Austria
"Katyn" Poland
"Mongol" Kazakhstan
"12" Russia

Winner: Since they didn't nominate 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days or Perspepolis, I could care less about this category.

Adapted screenplay
"Atonement" (Focus Features), Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
"Away from Her" (Lionsgate), Written by Sarah Polley
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Winner: Joel & Ethan Coen, but wouldn't it be great if Sarah Polley won?

Original screenplay
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Written by Diablo Cody
"Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM), Written by Nancy Oliver
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Written by Tony Gilroy
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
"The Savages" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Tamara Jenkins

Winner- Diablo Cody. This will be Juno's award.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner" (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics): Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Winner: Dario Marianelli

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush" (Warner Bros.): Music and Lyric by Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas
"So Close" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Winner: Since hardly anyone in the Academy will have seen August Rush or Once (both those songs are great), I'll give it to Enchanted- don't know which one, don't really care.

Achievement in makeup
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
"Norbit" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount): Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Winner: La Vie en Rose

Achievement in visual effects
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Winner: The Golden Compass

Achievement in cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.): Roger Deakins
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Seamus McGarvey
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Janusz Kaminski
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert Elswit

Winner: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Achievement in costume design
"Across the Universe" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Winner: Elizabeth: The Golden Age- bad movie, great costumes

Some tidbits I picked up over the week:

• The great Christine Ebersole will star in a Lifetime pilot Libertyville, written and executive produced by Tom Saunders. Show is set in Libertyville, Ohio, and centers on Susie (Ebersole), a divorced mother fearful of dating whose life is complicated by her lazy 22-year-old daughter and cantankerous father who live with her.

• Sarah Polley will receive the Claude Jutra Award (an award for a first-time feature director) at the Genies, the Canadian version of the Oscars on March 3.

• Mandate Pictures has acquired an untitled romantic comedy from "The Devil Wears Prada" scribe Aline Brosh McKenna. Story centers on Maya, a young and highly successful businesswoman who has devoted her life to working for her legendary businessman father. But when Mr. Right enters her life and proposes to her, her father's disapproval of her new fiance leads Maya to devise a mischievous ploy to change Dad's mind. Debra Martin Chase ("The Princess Diaries," "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants") will produce.
  

• Helen Hunt will receive the breakthrough director of the year award at ShoWest on April 25th.

• Edie Falco will star in a Showtime comedy about a New York nurse juggling the frenzied grind of an urban hospital and an equally challenging personal life. Pilot was written by Liz Brixius, Linda Wallem and Evan Dunsky. Wallem and Brixius will serve as executive producers.
  
  

There has been much conversation about Juno and the reality (or lack of reality) it shows about teenage pregnancy. Many experts on the issue have criticized the ending of the film where Juno is playing guitar and hanging out with her boyfriend as if nothing happened. The reality is that an unwanted teenage pregnancy is most often a devastating experience for a young woman and that the film really glosses that over.

I am still impressed that Diablo Cody still speaks out about women's roles in Hollywood. Here is a short interview from January 2008's Glamour.

Q: You write great female roles. Do you feel like a spokesperson for actresses?

A: I feel like I am one of them. There are women who've played girlfriends for years, and it's unjust.

Q: Yeah, they either play the girlfriend or the bitch. Which is most annoying?

A: The girlfriend! It says women are secondary. At least the bitch gets to be an attorney or in the CIA.

Q: Unlike other teen girls in film, Juno's smart.

A: I've met so many girls who are articulate. It's infuriating when they are portrayed as airhears.

Q: Who got it right?

A: My So-Called Life, and Clueless's Cher is saavy. I'm doing what I can to unravel the dumb-girl stereotype.

Amen, Diablo.

For those of you who are familiar with the blog, you know that I am constantly harping on the lack of roles for women in Hollywood. Let's face it women are missing not only from the big mainstream big budget films (unless you are the young girlfriend who likes to scream in peril) as well as smaller movies that get the most recognition this time of year in anticipation of the Oscars.

There have been a couple of articles this season about how the top Oscar nominees (No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood) are devoid of women except in minor roles (No Country).

The Telegraph had a great piece on this over last weekend. My question is, why don't we think this is a problem? There are so many good lines in the piece that I've wound up copying most of it.

Casting your eyes over this year's roster of film award contenders, you'd be forgiven for wondering why women, more than ever, have been relegated to the margins. The stories Hollywood wanted to tell last year were about fathers and sons, the American west, and machismo run amok.

Where are this year's The Queen, Erin Brockovich, Far From Heaven, The Hours? Even this year's Chicago? Oscar-watchers can only point to the best picture nominees Atonement and Juno as examples of female-led cinema, and neither of these will quite do.

The marginalisation pattern rears its head again in best supporting actress. Ruby Dee gets nominated for a single scene slapping Denzel Washington in the entirely phallocentric American Gangster. Blanchett is in for playing a man - but more on that in a minute. And Tilda Swinton, superb in Michael Clayton, makes a virtue of being the only gal in her own otherwise male-dominated ensemble. Her performance as the morally decentred opposition lawyer Karen Crowder is a brilliant reproach to a frankly wretched part: the role is tinged with misogyny, but Swinton makes Karen, with all her neurosis and terror, seem like the stricken victim of a man's world.

It does seem that Hollywood has been overwhelmingly working out maleness issues, rather than feminine ones - whether it's rampant capitalism (There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton) or essays on violence (No Country For Old Men, Jesse James) or paeans to male solitude (Into the Wild).

Even in traditionally female-targeted genres, such as the romantic comedy, there has been a shift in focus: the rise of producer-director Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad) has seen date movies go out of their way to attract a more male demographic. Noticeably, women in Apatow's films don't get to have much fun - they're dealing with the responsibilities of childbirth while the men are off getting wasted.

I'm also tired of women getting pegged only as people interested in watching romantic comedies. Women are way more diverse than that.

I don't deplore this as an ongoing trend so much as call attention to it as a curious blip.

I deplore it and believe it is an ongoing trend and not a curious blip!

But why is Hollywood so scared of women's stories right now? Even a Devil Wears Prada has its place, but we didn't get one last year. We had to console ourselves with Hairspray.

Really, what is so scary about women?

The odds so often seem stacked against women's pictures at the multiplexes, not to mention the careers of any number of female directors, who manage to have one breakout success (Boys Don't Cry, Girlfight, Monster) and then struggle for years to get their next film funded.

This guy gets it. How come the powers in Hollywood don't?

Full Story:Why Is Hollywood Going for Bloke?

On vacation I read that Reese Witherspoon will be speaking at UNIFEM's Global Summit for a Better Tomorrow next month to coincide with International Women's Month. She is also acting as Avon's Global Ambassador and will be talking about many issues affecting women including domestic violence in this role.

Penelope, the film she produced through her Type A Films company finally opens opens on February 29th. (I will see it next week). If I was more conspiratorially minded I would think that the folks in Hollywood really want women's films not to succeed because for some bizarre reason Penelope is opening on the same day as The Other Boleyn Girl. (This also happened last month with Mad Money and 27 Dresses.) So there has basically been no movies targeted at women all month and now at the end of the month there are two. What's up with that?

Here is a great exchange from Reese about Penelope from the February issue of Marie Claire:

MC: What drew you most to the zany story of Penelope?

Reese Witherspoon: The ability of this young woman to supersede social expectations of what she should look like and learn to love herself for who she is- including her pig nose. This is a film that lets people know it's ok to be unique. It's ok to be different- it's actually better! I felt I could really speak to people, particularly young women, about self-acceptance.

The Business of Being Born, the new documentary produced by Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein has been playing in limited release in several cities across the country. For information on where the film is playing: The Business of Being Born

Here is my review: Review of The Business of Being Born

Women & Hollywood: How did you become involved with this film?

Abby Epstein: Ricki Lake and I became friendly when I directed her in "The Vagina Monologues" Off-Broadway. We stayed in touch and I knew that she was planning a homebirth for her second child, although at the time I thought she was completely nuts! A few years later, Ricki had finished her talk show and relocated to LA so I stopped by to see her new house and have a visit. I had just completed my first doc "Until the Violence Stops" about the worldwide V-Day movement and Ricki was looking to start a "dream" project about midwives and birthing. I was completely ignorant on the topic but intrigued by Ricki's passion, so I asked her for some reading material and she gave me a book called "Spiritual Midwifery" by Ina May Gaskin. Then Ricki showed me the home video footage of her homebirth (which we use in the film) and I was completely blown away. We began from there.

W&H: How did your involvement with the film effect your own birth experience?

AE: On the one hand, I was very fortunate having spent 2 years researching birthing options in NYC before I became pregnant. I was not only a highly informed customer, but I had attended several births and did not have any more fear about the birth process. So, I felt like I had all these amazing people to choose from when it came time to selecting a provider (of course not all of them took my HMO, so that limited me a bit) But on the other hand, I was put in a position where there became pressure to include my birth in the film - which I resisted. I had no interest in turning the cameras on myself and was unsure whether we were in fact going to document my birth until the very last moment.

W&H: Explain why you chose the title The Business of Being Born.

AE: Truthfully, we couldn't think of anything short and catchy. None of us really loved the title but it seemed to encompass the broad range of aspects we were looking at in the birthing "business."

W&H: It seems that you and Ricki are both on a type of crusade here - using the film to help educate and organize women to take back their own bodies and their births. Did you ever expect the film would morph into this type of movement?

AE: We never expected that the film would have such an impact on mainstream birth culture. I think we suspected that it would hit a nerve, but we honestly just wanted to put the information out there in a bold way - not watered down. It all stemmed from Ricki's personal experience and grew organically from there. But we have definitely started a movement along with other writers and activists - Jennifer Block's book PUSHED was published at the same time we premiered, which was amazing. I think we are on a crusade to inform, but not to convince women to have natural births or homebirths. The modern woman wants information and options - but no one should feel pressured or regretful about their choices.

W&H: There seems to be a lot of women directing documentaries these days. Why do you think that is?

AE: I think that documentaries often have more substance than features and women are attracted to material that is potent and meaningful rather than commercially viable. Of course, there is also the fact that docs are low-budget and don't pay well (if at all!) so there is less competition.

But mostly I think that docs are usually self-generated passion projects where a director can have total control and women are organized, not afraid of hard work and always like a bit of control!

W&H: What's next for you?

AE: We are still opening the film in major cities (Chicago, Seattle, Boston, DC) so I am busy with that until April. Then, I am planning some vacation time with my family! Ricki and I are in the midst of writing a book based on the movie which will come out in April 2009 and a follow-up DVD that will accompany the book. We are also hard at work on our website - turning it into a resource for birth information and options. So, I will still be busy with all things BOBB for a while and then I plan to direct an independent feature film. I'd like to get back to working with actors and writers, which is truly what I love.

Film is available on netflix now

Just saw this description of the movie I am most excited about this year, The Women directed and adapted by Murphy Brown creator Diane English. Check out the most awesome cast. Mark your calendars!

Starring Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Candice Bergen, Bette Midler, Cloris Leachman, Carrie Fisher, Lynn Whittfield, Joanna Gleason, Ana Gasteyer and Debi Mazar.

“The Women” directed by Diane English from her screen adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce’s play of the same name, first made famous by director George Cukor’s iconic 1939 film.

Set in New York City’s modern whirl of fashion and publishing, “The Women” tells the story of Mary Haines (Meg Ryan), a clothing designer who seems to have it all – a beautiful country home, a rich financier husband, an adorable 11-year-old daughter and a part-time career creating designs for her father’s venerable clothing company. Her best friend, Sylvie Fowler (Annette Bening), leads another enviable life – a happily single editor of a prominent fashion magazine, a possessor of a huge closet of designer clothes and a revered arbiter of taste and style poised on New York’s cutting edge. But when Mary’s husband enters into an affair with Crystal Allen (Eva Mendes), a sultry ‘spritzer girl’ lurking behind the Saks Fifth Avenue perfume counter, all hell breaks loose. Mary and Sylvie’s relationship is tested to the breaking point while their tight-knit circle of friends, including mega-mommy Edie Cohen (Debra Messing) and author Alex Fisher (Jada Pinkett-Smith), all start to question their own friendships and romantic relationships as well.

This sounds fantastic. Can't wait.

One of the things that I have been concerned about for some time is the "tabloidization of the media" and its detrimental effect on women.

This whole celebrity obsession seems to have started almost a decade ago and one episode that stands out in my mind as to the double standard - even back then- between male and female stars was the short relationship of Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe. They met and supposedly feel in love on the set of Proof of Life. Once they were spotted together, the world turned against her for cheating on Dennis Quaid (of course, no one knows the state of their marriage at the time.) Meg who had been so popular in the 90s (Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, Courage Under Fire) seemed to almost disappear after the flop of Proof of Life and Kate and Leopold (with Hugh Jackman) that also did not do well (which I still think is adorable). According to IMDB she didn't make a movie from 2004-2007. It also didn't help that she hit 40 which is the kiss of death for women in Hollywood. (I am so looking forward to Meg's next role in the Diane English remake of The Women.)

But Russell Crowe passed through that incident, and many others (he actually is violent, remember the phone throwing incident), but he always bounces back and gets the next starring role making $20 million. Meg Ryan was judged more harshly because of the types of roles she played -- the good girl -- and the world couldn't handle the good girl with the bad boy.

My main concern is that we, as women, seem to be obsessed with the drama of these young women's lives. I am just as guilty with my subscription to Us Magazine (I am seriously thinking of canceling it- I am tired of seeing Britney Spears or Nicole Richie or those girls from Laguna Beach on every cover). We need to stop consuming this crap and then maybe the harassment of these young women will subside. Cause really folks, it is harassment. They can't drive anywhere, they can't eat anywhere. It's enough. Things are out of control.

The NY Times ran a piece in the Sunday style section on Sunday that illuminated this issue. Here are some quotes:

Yes, women are hardly the only targets of harsh news media scrutiny — just ask Mel Gibson. But months of parallel incidents like these seem to demonstrate disparate standards of coverage. Men who fall from grace are treated with gravity and distance, while women in similar circumstances are objects of derision, titillation and black comedy.

Mel did something illegal so let's not put his indiscretion in the same category as poor Britney who clearly has some psychological problems.

Some celebrities and their handlers are now saying straight out that the news media have a double standard. “Without a doubt, women get rougher treatment, less sensitive treatment, more outrageous treatment,” said Ken Sunshine, a publicist whose clients include Ben Affleck and Barbra Streisand. “I represent some pretty good-looking guys, and I complain constantly about the way they’re treated and covered. But it’s absolutely harder for the women I represent.”

Liz Rosenberg, a publicist at Warner Bros./Reprise Records who represents Madonna, among others, also thinks sexism is at work. “Do you see them following Owen Wilson morning, noon and night?” she asked.

Go Liz!

Some editors confirm that they handle female celebrities differently. But the reason, they say, is rooted not in sexism, but in the demographics of their audience.

The readership of US Weekly, for example, is 70 percent female; for People, it’s more than 90 percent, according to the editors of these magazines.

We are our own worst enemy! What are the kids learning when we are obsessed with Britney or Lindsay Lohan?

“Almost no female magazines will put a solo male on the cover,” said Janice Min, the editor in chief of US Weekly. “You just don’t. It’s cover death. Women don’t want to read about men unless it’s through another woman: a marriage, a baby, a breakup.”

Ms. Min acknowledged that her magazine played down its coverage of Owen Wilson and Heath Ledger. Part of the reason, she said, was that female readers tend to be sympathetic toward young men in crisis.

Why are women (cause women are the readers of the magazines) more sympathetic towards young men in crisis vs. young women in crisis? Why do we coddle the boys and hang the girls out to dry?

“There is certainly an argument for it being incredibly sexist, the attention that’s given to women and the hounding of them,” the actor Colin Farrell said at a recent party for his new film, “In Bruges.”

So now Colin Farrell is the spokesperson for women being hounded in Hollywood. Where are the women standing up for themselves and each other? Did the NY Times not bother to try and talk to one of the women who gets hounded so relentlessly?

Boys Will Be Boys, Girls Will Be Hounded by the Media

It's Oscar week and I'm going to try and highlight the women nominees as much as possible on the road to Sunday's telecast. Here is an interview from Filmmaker Magazine with writer/director Tamara Jenkins. It's a very interesting pieces about the writing (Jenkins was nominated for best screenplay)

Quotes of note:

Filmmaker: Why did it take so long to make The Savages?

Jenkins: I feel like I know so many people who have made movies and then struggle so hard to get their next movie happening. This almost didn’t happen like 100 times. Just getting the financing…. [First] it was at Focus Features, and they really liked it, they financed the writing of the script, but then they were dissatisfied with the casting, which was crazy. And then we were out. They gave it [back] to us so we could shop it around, which took forever. We couldn’t get anyone to finance it, even with Laura and Phil.

I am floored that with Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman committed that this film almost didn't get made.

A great quote on writing

Writing is weird and lonely and makes you grumpy and strange, and it’s nice when somebody understands that. I also have a dog. That helps. Makes you go out into the world. Then your dog’s like, “Okay, I have to walk you.” There’s something about moving and thinking. A treadmill, working out, and your brain just kind of makes connections. Moving — being in cars, trains, being on treadmills, they’re all really good for the writing brain. But I haven’t written in a long time; I have to start writing. To write you really should be writing every single day to keep the muscle going. But then if you write and make a movie, the year of working on the movie goes by and then you’re supposed to start writing again and you have kind of forgotten how. So I have to start writing. I have to buy a new journal; I have to get some nice pens.

Read full story: Senior Moments