Quote of the Week - Soloway

"Guys are holding on so tightly to male protaganism because it perpetuates male privilege. From their subject seats they can POINT—”She’s old, SHE’S hot, she’s not, she’s old, she’s fat, she’s someone I want to bone, she’s past her prime, that person’s black, queer, fat.” (I’m not pointing to you guys.) That pointer is a powerful thing. That white cis male gaze is like a lifeguard chair, it’s a watchtower—”I’m way up here naming things.” And they are NOT GIVING UP THOSE LOOKOUT SPOTS EASILY. In fact, they won’t even cop to the fact that they have that privilege." 

~Jill Soloway

I love this quote and this whole address from Jill Soloway. Sadly, though, I cannot report good results from bringing my pussy to work on set. I think we still have a long way to go on that.

Quote of the Week - White

"If I have a male protagonist, it’s a studio movie, and if it’s a female protagonist, it’s an indie movie...Women are interested in men and women, and men aren’t interested in the woman’s story."

- Mike White

I think we can give Mike White the Joss Whedon Male Feminist of the Week Award for this quote from this interview about his HBO series Enlightened.  It's a pretty brave and true thing to say.  Then again, he's a pretty brave and true writer.

Women's History Month was too short!


p.s.  This is NOT an April Fool's.  But I hope this news is.

The Other 50% - Good news!

"...there is no denying the anecdotal evidence that a major generational transition is under way."

This article in The Hollywood Reporter details the recent surge in female showrunners, and that a continuation is inevitable.  I'm always wary of that sentiment - there have been downturns before - but it's comforting that Cynthia Littleton and AJ Marechal are willing to report it as such in the Women's Impact Report.

The Other 50% - More Numbers on Women Writers

Courtesy of  the Women and Hollywood blog.

And no, the numbers are not encouraging.

The Other 50% - Zero Presence in Cannes

As a reaction to the fact that NO FILMS AT THE 2012 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL WERE DIRECTED BY WOMEN, a group of women, headed by Melissa Silverstein of Women and Hollywood have created a petition.

I would love to ask you to read and consider what the petition puts forth, and sign if you agree.

I'm not much of a signer myself, and I'm certainly not interested in filling quotas, but I have signed it.

There is a deep need to uncover the ingrained misogyny in the industry, and I think this begins to address that without asking for unreasonable actions.  Mainstream entertainment's often subliminal anti-female messaging influences society at large.  Changing what we create and who creates it, has the ability to change our world.

The Other 50% - New Developments

The latest figures on percentages of women working in features are out.  Women make up 5% of the directors of the top 250 box office grossing films of 2011 - up 2% from 2012, but down 4% from 1998 numbers.

And Sundance announces a new partnership with Women in Film to track the progress of women directors.   The headline on that one is a bit misleading.

Is Bridesmaids the reason for the sudden interest?  Or is this just (another) watershed moment?

The 50% - Unexpected Follow Up

Well, had I realized, I could have held yesterday's post for today's news!

Here's The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment 2011:  The Top 100.  This is not a sexy list per se - this list is tracking the money, power, initiative and results, and is therefore executive-heavy.  So there are women in Hollywood, after all - just wearing suits and behind closed doors.