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I missed my own blog anniversary. I thought it was in October but when I looked back I realized that it was on September 19th, smack dab in the middle of my trip to Blog World Expo (more on that later). So I took the opportunity, and looked back at where I started and where the site is now. I am happy to report (and hope you have noticed) that the site, and my writing has come quite far in one year.

I started blogging for a variety of reasons but one of the most important reasons was that as a huge movie fan who spent time and money at the movies, I began to realize as I got older, there were fewer and fewer movies I wanted to see. I figured that others probably felt the same way.

So in another remake of my life (at 40), I decided to join this brave new world as a way to write about my passion and maybe make some money at it.

Boy was I wrong.

From my experience, it's really hard to make money on the web. Granted there are some serious web stars and sites that get tons of traffic and have great followings. Traffic is key and using social media is one of the way to build that traffic. But you need to spend some serious time working the social media world (and it is it's own world), do upkeep on your site and also write the posts.

From my experience, blogging is a more than a full time job except you don't get a paycheck.

But here's what I've gotten (and I wouldn't change this for anything)

I've challenged myself as a writer and thinker. In the early days, I used to get so nervous pushing the publish button that my stomach would be in knots. I kept thinking, what do I have to say that could lend to the debate? A year later, Women & Hollywood has not only been a part of the debate, but it has helped led parts of the debate especially about building a women's film market. I want to thank all the people who read that site and especially the people who take time to comment. I apologize for not interacting more on the comments (I'm going to work on that).

So as we move into year two here's what I'm thinking about:

1. Refocusing on why I started blogging. I like the writing and while the tech stuff is vitally important to the blogging process they are two different skill sets. While all bloggers write, not all bloggers are good writers. I want to write better and more meaningful posts which of late has been hard to do.
   
2. Continue to dig in and learn more about using social media to build traffic. Most of the people I met at Blog World Expo are techies who have embraced blogging, not necessarily the writers who have embraced blogging. People who have become leaders in the blogosphere have such an advanced grasp of how to do affiliate sales, ad sales, build traffic etc. that at times I feel like a complete idiot.
   
3. Building community and spreading the word. I am so thrilled with the start we made, but there is a lot of work to be done for women to achieve parity in the entertainment fields. I need to get more diverse voices on the blog and continue to spread the word and challenge the status quo.
   
4. Embracing blogism. Figuiring out a way to take a blog and use it to create social change. We need to continue to build the women's film market. This was a good year for women at the box office but we need to make sure there is no backtracking and we need to support films by and about women on opening weekend.

Other things in the works

• Blog Talk Radio: For year two we're going to add audio interviews with amazing creative women working in the business.
  

• Publishing an e-book: Women & Hollywood - The First Year Interviews- I'm going to compile all the interviews done in the first year and make them available for a small fee that will help support the site.
  

• Upgrading the site- we need to get more serious and move to another blogging platform that will give more flexibility.

Lastly, I again want to thank everyone who has been a part of this community and has spread the word about the site to their friends and colleagues. I feel we are building a movement and I am excited to see where it goes.

For teaming with UNICEF and Pampers to eradicate maternal and neo-natal tetanus

In our own small way, this is an opportunity for moms like me here in the U.S. to help other mothers on a global level. I'm honored to work with Pampers and UNICEF to help raise awareness of this important program.

Salma Hayek Pampers Unicef (Hollyscoop)
photo: Albert L Ortega/ PR Photos

Wow, now I officially feel really old. Free to Be You and Me which I listened to when I was a kid has turned 35 and is coming out with a new edition.

Make sure to get it for all your kids and nieces and nephews and neighbors. We still live in a world where this is needed.

Thank you Marlo Thomas and friends!
Free to Be for You and Me, 35 Years Later (USA Today)

Rachel Getting Married has a great script by Jenny Lumet, a wonderful leading actress -- Anne Hathaway as Kym -- a great supporting actress -- Rosemarie DeWitt as Rachel -- but the bad news is they are all stuck in a self indulgent loooong drawn out film by Jonathan Demme.

Demme has spent the last couple of years making documentaries and he pushed his realistic camera techniques onto this film making it at times very hard to watch. I felt that I had to fight to focus to what was happening onscreen. I'm guessing that was part of Demme's technique to show us Kym's jarred and dysfunctional world, but by the end it was self-defeating. I was angry and had a whopping bad headache.

The premise is, as you can probably surmise is the wedding gathering of Rachel where the dark secrets of a seemingly normal looking suburban family are exposed for all to see. This family is wrecked by drugs, lies and most especially by guilt. Kym, played by Hathaway, is a recovering drug addict let out of rehab for the wedding and she returns to reeks havoc, but also to confront deeply buried wounds.

The best scenes in the film were when Demme let the camera be still, especially at the AA meetings. The emotions of the actors at those meetings was extraordinary. There is also an amazing confrontation scene with Debra Winger who plays her mother that was very strong.

Anne Hathaway's self loathing is palpable in her most mature performance to date. This is clearly the mark of an actress on the rise. She allows herself to be raw and exposed in ways she has never done before. I was very impressed. She pretty is much guaranteed a best actress nomination, and I really wished the film had lived up to her performance and to Jenny Lumet's script.

Film opens today in NY and LA and will roll out throughout the country in the coming weeks.

Other Women-Centric Films in Theatres
Hounddog: Concerned Women for America is working to boycott Hounddog. It's important not to let the right-wing efforts shut down giving people the ability to judge the film for themselves. To counteract the right, the distributor is offering free tickets for the NY engagement this weekend. Director Deborah Kampmeier will be doing a Q&A following the 5:15pm show Saturday at the Cinema Village. The film is also still playing at the Roxy in Philadelphia. Please check out my piece on Hounddog (disclaimer, I am consultant to the film) Keeping Hold of Your Vision

Nights at Rodanthe
The Duchess
The Women
Frozen River
Trouble the Water
The Family That Preys
Towelhead
The Longshots
Mamma Mia!

For standing up against domestic violence.

“I think it’s an issue that everyone can take part in because it applies to everyone...You can be a victim or someone you love can be a victim. The more people are aware, the more it can be prevented.” Meester said as a woman, she has a special interest in the issue. “No matter who is affected by domestic violence, I take it personally, so I think it’s partly my responsibility to talk about it.”

Leighton Meester Walks the Runway to Battle Domestic Violence (People)
photo credit: Sylvain Gaboury/ PR Photos

• Hilary Swank to star in Betty Anne Waters, about a single mother who worked her way through law school in order to free her brother, who was wrongfully convicted of murder. Script by Pamela Gray, and Swank will be executive producer.

• Helen Mirren will play Mossad agent, Rachel Singer, who lied about killing a Nazi in The Debt (BBC)

• Keira Knightley is in negotiations to play Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald in The Beautiful and the Damned. from a script by Hanna Weg.

• Anne Hathaway has been cast as a commitment-phobic attorney who finds her well-constructed life coming apart in The Opposite of Love. Film is based on the bestselling debut novel by Julie Buxbaum and will be adapted by Kara Holden. (Variety)

• Claire Danes is in negotiations to star in HBO's biopic of Temple Grandin, a leading speaker on autism, animal expert and author.

Here's some notes from last weekend:

Nights in Rodanthe did better than expectation with a gross of $13.4 million. 75% of the audience was women, and 78% of the was over 30.

Studio said that movie did better in big cities in the West and Northeast didn't do so much business in the middle of the country.

Overseas, Mamma Mia! continues to kick ass with another $15.1 million last weekend. International gross is now $356.6 million. US gross is $142.2. Film will hit $500 million this week. Holy crap.