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I took a deeper look at Dr. Martha Lauzen of the Center for Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State recent study, Thumbs Down: The Representation of Women Film Critics in The Top 100 U.S. Daily Newspapers. Here are some questions I posed to Dr. Lauzen

Women & Hollywood: You tried to analyze whether women reviewers were more likely than men to review film directed by women and films about women but the pool of those films was so low that you could not get reliable statistics. What does that say about the film business?

Dr. Martha Lauzen: The low numbers of women directors and protagonists confirm that the film business remains largely a male pursuit. Films are made primarily by men featuring mostly men intended for a largely male audience.

W&H: Women whether by interest or assignment are more likely to review romantic comedies and romantic dramas. This seems to me evidence that the chick flick mentality extends into the mindset of the reviewers and editors as well as the audience. What does this mean to you?

ML: The reviewers and editors are part of our culture and so it's not surprising that some of them would express gendered preferences.

W&H: Women edit half the sections that employ so few women as writers. Why do you think the numbers are so low when women have decision making in these areas?

ML: The number of women working as editors was a happy surprise. However, these women are part of larger corporate cultures. I suspect they are aware of expectations regarding assignments to reporters. Those organizational expectations may differ from their own preferences.

W&H: Your conclusion states: "In short, men dominate the reviewing process of films primarily made by men featuring mostly males intended for a largely male audience. The under-employment of women film reviewers, actors, and filmmakers perpetuates the nearly seamless dialogue among men in U.S. cinema." As a person who thinks about this what do you think we can do to get some more women's voices?

ML: Of course you recognize that this is a huge question. Women are very well-represented in journalism programs around the country. Unfortunately, the pool of film and television criticism jobs at traditional media organizations is shrinking. I think the voices that remain become even more important. When Ebert and Roeper were recently replaced with two younger guys, I wonder if any women were even considered as replacements.

W&H: The blogosphere is taking over some of the void left with the consolidation of newspapers especially in the areas of entertainment. From my experience most of the film bloggers and reviewers are also male and that even in its infancy most of the bloggers of status in the business are men supporting the male films. Did you look at bloggers at all in your study and how can we get some more women's voices writing about film and other areas of entertainment?

ML: We did not consider bloggers in the study. Perhaps a place to start would be to conduct a public information campaign targeting journalism and film schools around the country, outlining the problem and asking them to encourage their female students to speak up on this issue.

Check out the full study here: Thumbs Down: The Representation of Women Film Critics in The Top 100 U.S. Daily Newspapers and my earlier piece: Missing Female Reviewers

The date might read September 5 on the calendar but it still feels like summer in a variety of ways. It's been hotter in NY this week than it was all through August, and at the box office, there is one last gasp of mindless summer flicks before we get to more serious fall fare. None of the new releases this weekend look worthy of anyone's money.

In thinking forward towards fall, for those interested in seeing women on screen, the rest of September and October look good with releases like: The Women; Hounddog; The Duchess; The Family That Preys; The Secret Life of Bees; Rachel Getting Married; Towelhead; Happy-Go-Lucky; I've Loved You So Long and Changeling. It slows down in November and December with Twilight; Doubt; Wendy and Lucy and Nothing But the Truth. Other films like The Reader and The Time Traveler's Wife are still jockeying for dates. I'll keep you informed as best as I can. Please let me know if I am missing any releases.

Women-Centric Films in Theatres
Trouble the Water - SEE THIS FILM!
Frozen River
A Girl Cut in Two (LA)
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Mamma Mia! - sing along version is playing in a variety of cities
The Longshots
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
Sex and the City
American Teen

Also
Women & Hollywood friend Judith Light stars in Save Me.

Coming Next Week
The Women - will have interview with Diane English
Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys - starring Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates
Towelhead

I spent a lot of time with Judith Light when I was growing up. It seems that Who's the Boss was always on in my house. Do you remember that awesome show? Tony Danza took care of the house while Judith Light worked? Loved that show. Pondering...do you think a show like that would be on TV today?

Ms. Light now plays Claire Meade on Ugly Betty. She's also a prominent outspoken advocate on HIV/AIDS issues. She's put her money where her mouth is and appears (and produces) a new film Save Me about the crazies in the ex-gay movement. The film opens in NY today. (It will roll out in other cities over the next few weeks.)

She answered some questions about her new film and the upcoming season of Ugly Betty which premieres on September 25th on ABC.

Women & Hollywood: Your new film Save Me about the controversial ex-gay movement opens in limited release this weekend. Why was being a part of this film so important to you.

Judith Light: As actors, we feel blessed when a project comes along that is actually "about something important." This one was important to me (and also why I am a producer on the film) because I see how much suffering is created in the GLBT community by religious bigotry and prejudice. We all also saw it as an opportunity to tell a story in which no one, or no "side", is demonized or caricatured. We want to start a conversation about this issue and that is very important to me. As a side note, at our premiere at Sundance, the Christian bloggers were very generous toward us and really understood what we were trying to do. It was very validating.

W&H: What is the message of Save Me?

JL: Be courageous, be who you are, honor that, own that because it is your truth. Being who you are creates a powerful, creative, joyful society. As religion teaches, love is the answer, but it has to experienced and lived not lectured about or used as a basis for judgment or condemnation. Also, there is nothing more important than love. Love is not to be dictated by one group of people dictating to another group of people who they can love. Let no one define you but you!

W&H: You've done a lot of work in the HIV/AIDS community. Women are the largest growing segment of people affected with HIV/AIDS. Why is working on this issue so close to your heart?

JL: We are still dealing with this pandemic here and abroad after all these years. It is time to take a stand with passion to end it and to educate the society that AIDS, even though it is not on the front page of our newspapers everyday, has not gone away. As we have all said from the very beginning, we are all "people living with HIV/AIDS". Truly, I think there is an enormous need for literally everyone to be working on this issue.

It is devastating that women are the largest growing segment of people being affected, however, women are so powerful that when women are educated and take a stand on this issue, HIV/AIDS will most definitely transform. I do believe it is the women who can make this change.

One of the rather mind-boggling and strange things about this disease is how often it seems to have some of what I call "metaphorical aspects." At the outset, it was allowed to grow worse and worse until we started to respond to the underlying homophobia that had been previously denied. Women (and African-Americans particularly) tend often to pay a price for the choices made by the men in their lives. AIDS will continue to increase in these groups until they stand up and claim their own self worth and their own control over their individual destiny. It is our job to support them in that process.

W&H: You've played some strong women on TV including the recurring role as the head DA of the sex crimes unit on Law & Order SVU. What draws you to these roles?

JL: I like to portray characters that make a difference in the world in some way, or that people can understand, empathize with or use the information being expressed about that woman, to affect change in their own lives.

I believe the true nature of women is powerful. It may be a quiet power, it may take different forms, different jobs and different expression but we are powerful, nonetheless. These women I portray know, understand and use their power well to affect change in their world or the world at large.

W&H: Your character on Ugly Betty, Claire Meade is a complicated woman struggling with issues like aging which we are beginning to see more of on TV but not in film. Why do you think that TV is more welcoming to fully realized female characters while film seems to struggle with this issue?

JL: You have defined Claire very well. Through television you reach a huge population of people who are interested in seeing this issue. Television has always led the way in breaking ground with any issue. The powers that be recognize that people want to see other folks like themselves, so they are responding to the desire of their viewers. They also know that it is the baby boomers who are dealing with this issue now that have money! So if they are liking what they are watching, this supports the advertisers.

The truth is that television has always had a tendency to lead the culture as opposed to film. Television already has an audience so, with skill and courage, it is possible to push the boundaries. To do that in film, in something like Brokeback Mountain, is a huge risk and therefore an equally enormous achievement. So if you want to change the culture, bring up an issue on television. Magically, all of a sudden, it will be all the talk around the water cooler!

I couldn't be more psyched to see her new film The Burning Plain that is now in competition at the Venice Film Festival which stars Theron and Kim Basinger. She produced the film and in a press conference stuck up for the pathetic lack of opportunities for actresses as the age.

Theron recommended Basinger for The Burning Plain and explained: "Right from the beginning we had a discussion about who we thought would play this role. There was a list, because there are only nominal actresses of that age. They are great actresses.

"Kim is amazing. There is a strength about Kim now, at her age, more than when she was working in her 30s. She has a left-over vulnerability from her 20s that you can really see."

Venice Film Festival 2008: Charlize Theron salutes film actresses over fifty (The Telegraph)
Theron embraces producing role (BBC)
photo: Albert L. Ortega PR/Photos

Vanity Fair loves its lists. Next month's issue covers the "new establishment" those mostly men folk who are the "leaders of the information age" and are reaping in the bucks while most of us plebs struggle. Out of 100 entries (there are a bunch of entries that include more than one person) there are only 9 women on the list and several of them are listed with husbands. Can't they do any better and why are most of the women on the list in fashion?

9- Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
18- Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg
30- Miuccia Prada
43- Oprah Winfrey
50- Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
57- Oscar and Annette de la Renta
64- Anna Wintour
75- Donatella Versace
90- Arianna Huffington

New Establishment

Congrats to Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith on getting their new movie The House Bunny made. But really, The House Bunny? These are the women who gave us Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You and Ella Enchanted and now we get The House Bunny? I haven't seen it, but a story about an aging playboy bunny who gets kicked out of the mansion because she's oh my god, aging, really doesn't interest me.

The good news is that they are quite busy, and their upcoming films look to be better than their current one -- The Ugly Truth starring Katherine Heigl, and Smith is producing the new Drew Barrymore directed roller derby film Whip It.

Even though I don't have a bit of interest in The House Bunny I'm interested in their future projects. Here's quote from a recent NY Times profile on the writing team:

Their mission, “to make movies we want to see,” as Ms. Smith put it, resonates with their current star. “I don’t always want to be the straight girl to the zany guy,” Ms. Faris said. “It’s unfortunate that studios shy away from female-centered movies because there’s a huge audience for them. And what Kirsten and Karen are doing is part of our solution, I guess.”

Ms. Faris laughed. “I’d love to continue this, be a part of what they’re doing. The boys are doing it. Why not us?”

I agree, why not us?

Women (Real and Fictional) Defying Expectations (NY Times)