NYWIFT Blog

Terry’s Picks: WIFV Wins, Stuntwomen, Notorious R.B.G.

Congrats, WIFV: Our sister chapter, Women in Film & Video of Washington, DC, won the Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts at last week’s 30th Annual Mayor’s Arts Awards organized by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities! Listen up: Novelist, screenwriter and film producer Mollie Gregory speaks to NPR’s Rachel Martin about...

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First Shoot Day

5 TIPS TO SAVE SANITY AND TIME ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRODUCTION – by Claudine Marrotte Your actors, crew, schedule and locations are locked and now it’s time to actually shoot. From my experience the most exciting part of filmmaking is being on set making the script come to life. The first day of...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP:SUPER! STATS! & SCARY!!

CBS’ Supergirl has both rising ratings and a rising star in Melissa Benoist. The stats don’t lie, movies about women sell! And, women hire women! Chicago Med’s S. Epatha Merkerson discusses her nonstop, award winning career. “Don’t tell your age” and other bad/good advice actors hear over and over and over… Here’s 10 horror movies directed by women...

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Terry’s Picks: Suffragette, Effie Brown, Jeremy Renner

Go see Suffragette, if you haven’t already. It is well made with really good performances by Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter and is a part of women’s history that I didn’t know. But what was most eye-opening was the crawl at the end of the film showing in which years that women got the...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP: BOARDROOMS, PINTEREST & WRITING BANKABLE SCRIPTS

Photo via TED Conference/Flickr We really need more women HERE in Hollywood. Women In Animation wants “50-50 by 2025.″ I think they’ll succeed. Transparent & Mad Men screenwriter Bridget Bedard got lucky–after LOTS of hard work. Next time you’re on Pinterest, check out this board & this one. What’s another 3 hours? Hmmm…, this “sell your screenplay” claim may actually...

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Terry’s Picks: Jennifer Lawrence, Writing Room, Women Calling the Shots

Raising Hell: Jennifer Lawrence’s scathing take-down of the Hollywood gender pay gap is just what we need – high profile women who can command serious media attention need to bring this outrageous inequity to light. By the way, she wrote it for Lena Dunham’s new Lenny Letter e-newsletter. You should subscribe – only a few...

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NYWIFT Member Spotlight

Behind-the-scenes with Costume Designer Ornella Chiossone  – by Margarita Cortes   Through the power of social media, I was contacted by an up and coming costume designer, Ornella Chiossone, who was working on a film project in Brooklyn. She met me on the first day of production inside the trailer, nestled between the wardrobe she...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP: BELIEF, SEXISM & ARE YOU BUSY?

Photo via Harpo, Inc Oprah discusses “Belief” her new show, her new focus. (VIDEO) Issa Rae turned Insecure into a good thing with HBO & Effie Brown puts Matt Damon in her rearview and keeps climbing. Even starlets get dissed. (Jennifer Lawrence) speaks out on sexism in Hollywood. Chill with Netflix’s list of strong female leads this weekend. Linda Boff...

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Terry’s Picks: Gun Control, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ashley Judd

Loved it: Watch out for NYWIFT member Abigail Disney’s amazing film The Armor Of Light, which I saw at the Hamptons International Film Festival. It brings the issue of gun control to a whole other level. Congrats, Gina: Gina Prince-Bythewood, one of the mentors from our Writers Lab, will write and executive produce an event...

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NYWIFT ON MOVING FORWARD: Focus on TV Directors

Recently, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) made a call to action to hire more new women and minority TV directors in an effort to level the playing field within the industry. This call subsequently came weeks after the DGA revealed their latest Six-Year Study which showed 82% out of 611 new TV directors were...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP: WATCH #52FILMS & NIX FREE LABOR

Photo via WomenInFilm.org In a viewing slump? Pledge to watch #52FilmsByWomen. That should tide you over. Winona Ryder’s looks almost kept her from being cast in Heathers. The horror! A+E CEO Nancy Dubuc discusses the lack of new television creators. (VIDEO) CBS is bringing back our favorite female sleuths (that aren’t Jessica Fletcher). A short piece on why...

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Terry’s Picks: Sara Bareilles, Male Privilege, Julie Schumacher

Sing it: The Sara Bareilles musical Waitress, based on the 2007 Adrienne Shelly indie film, will open on Broadway April 24th. NYWIFT partners with the Adrienne Shelly Foundation on grants for women filmmakers. It features the gorgeous and heartbreaking song “She Used to Be Mine”– give it a listen! Living proof: Yet another man with zero directing experience is helming a big...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP: THAT BIRTHDAY SONG, NEW EVENTS & HANGING WITH LUPITA.

Photo via Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times Jennifer Nelson just gave other filmmakers the best on screen birthday present since 1935.  The MacArthur Genius Grant winners are diverse and deserving. Produced By: New York a conference “by Producers for Producers” is 10/24. (NYWIFT members received an email for a 40% discount) Job hunting? The #HashtagToHired seminar explores how...

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Terry’s Picks: Women Rule the Emmys, The Golden Age…Again, Reed Morano

Go, ladies!: Congratulations to Jill Soloway and Lisa Cholodenko, who won Emmy Awards for directing a Comedy Series and a Limited Series respectively! Despite being grossly outnumbered in nominations, exceptional women are still  taking home top trophies. History Lesson: Nell Scovell wrote about another golden age for women in TV – 1990 – in The...

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Cine Qua Non Lab – Creative Paradise for Screenwriters

Imagine two full weeks where creativity is your only priority. Then, picture yourself in a majestic location, surrounded by writers from around the world, where you are supported by a generous staff and brilliant mentors to help you tell the best version of your story possible. And… you’re eating epically delicious food. The view from...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP: EMMY RECAP, CAREER ADVICE & MISSING: FEMALE DPs

Photo via Filmmagic Viola, Uzo, Julia, Jill, Allison, Amy, Bessie, Olive–the Emmy’s were a blast! Fortune released the 2015 list of Most Powerful Women. ((Applause)) ladies. Why following your “passion” may not be the best career option. If it is… consider finding a mentor. An Amazon is the perfect place to find projects from strong, talented...

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Terry’s Picks: Uzo Aduba, Smart Girls, Wielding Your Media Power

Congrats, Uzo: Uzo Aduba, one of the presenters at this year’s NYWIFT Designing Women Awards, won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama the Emmy Awards this weekend. She thanked all those in her life who, she said, “let me be me.” Thanks, Amy: Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls asked thoughtful, hard-hitting questions on the Emmy’s red...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP: BEE MAKES A BUZZ & BEWARE THE GLASS CLIFF!

Photo via @iamsambee Samantha Bee responds perfectly to that Vanity Fair cover and we agree with Trevor Noah, women ARE ruling comedy now! “Yes, Charlie!” Elizabeth Banks may direct those “Angels.”   Have women broken through the glass ceiling only to fall off the glass cliff? R.I.P. May Boss, Stuntwoman extraordinaire.

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