NYWIFT Blog

Notes from a Screenreader: Breaking Hearts for Fun & Profit

Photo via Go Into the Story. Statistically speaking, you do not have a serious antisocial personality disorder. It’s difficult for you to choose to hurt people intentionally, to throw the only copy of their manuscript into the fire, seduce their massive crush, or cut up the one dress they have to wear to the ball....

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Terry’s Picks: Barbara Kopple, Robin Wright and Women Can Direct Superhero Movies

Barbara Kopple (with headphones) directing Running from Crazy Congratulating: Barbara Kopple on her Primetime Emmy nomination for her documentary Running From Crazy. Admiring: NWWIFT Muse honoree Robin Wright’s performance in A Most Wanted Man. Phillip Seymour Hoffman also gives a stunning last performance in the film. Agreeing; with Melissa Silverstein’s Open Letter to Sony Chief Amy...

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Fey-Seagal Scale: The Truth About Sexism in Film Production

Tina Fey, who New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) honored at its 2005 Muse Awards, is in the news again. This time it’s not a brand-new project or further mention of her nonexistent sequel to Hocus Pocus. Instead, Fey has had a grading scale named after her: the Fey-Seagal Scale. Producer and writer Stephen...

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Weekly Roundup: Octavia Spencer Post-Oscar, Achieving Writing Calm

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/452695256?et=x9YQuZPYTT5raMTSH5CCLQ&sig=rPk7n1SEA0Kx8glVOzhGsulMk1ZDftZNYGjVK5YeZNM= “Thank God for television.” Get On Up’s Octavia Spencer on life after her Oscar win. It’s still a tough road, but women prevail in Hollywood nonetheless. Lisa McNulty named Artistic Director of Women’s Project Theater. “I can’t wait to come back to an organization that feels like home…” Screenwriters, be confident and stop overthinking. Courtney Kemp Agboh, a female showrunner...

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Flix Not to Miss: ‘Mansfield Park’

Particia Rozema is a wonderfully subtle director who’s made some terrific films. I recently re-watched one of my favorites, Mansfield Park. It’s a wonderful adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, with a slightly modern treatment of some of the more shocking events. Frances O’Connor is a delightfully sly Fanny Brice, and Jonny Lee Miller is smoldering...

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Notes from a Screenreader: Rethinking Dialogue

Photo via Go Into the Story. Dialogue is a necessary evil, according to legendary director Fred Zinnemann, and writers of spec scripts should print that out and tack it up over their monitors. It is the polar opposite of telling your story visually. So why do you need it at all? As director Kelly Reichardt...

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NYWIFT Announces 2014 Women’s Film Preservation Fund Grantees

Alice Guy-Blaché (image: Wikipedia Commons). New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) has announced the grantees of this year’s Women’s Film Preservation Fund (WFPF). Founded in 1995 by NYWIFT in conjunction with The Museum of Modern Art, the fund is the only program dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of women in the industry....

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Weekly Roundup: Sarandon Dishes, Fox Sports Disses

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/451533912?et=Dg3p-JU7QZlnIhlsO7EK9w&sig=0UXch5e9ci2GOwWGC50rFQDQQZA7aOEBZdpITrITJx4=   The Last of Robin Hood star Susan Sarandon discusses, well…everything. The percentage of women on film crews is only 23% (in 2013, less than 2% of directors were women!), but thank you again, Tina Fey. Terry Press named President of CBS Films. Did Fox Sports demote reporter Pam Oliver because of female ageism? Suggestions...

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Social Media for Film & TV: To Tweet or Not to Tweet

Image by Paola Peralta, via Wikimedia Commons. It was by default that I played the role of social media manager for the weekly PBS program I produced. I was the youngest person in a very small production office, after all. But as someone who loves new apps and technology, I enjoyed posting regular updates and...

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Notes from a Screenreader: Penn & Tellering

Photo via Go Into the Story. Here’s a great magic trick. A magician carries a dollhouse onstage and places it on a table. He says it’s a haunted dollhouse. Every time he takes the cloth away after barely an instant, the haunted dollhouse has produced a fire in the fireplace or a bloody doll massacre or...

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Weekly Roundup: Remembering Elaine Stritch

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/102985787?et=6cnWZ-PnQu5OIM7TOxqwWA&sig=taLVNk7TC4HoT0B3eYBlMy7Ak7uhI0Z82sW0okc3hS0= The spectacular Broadway singer and actress Elaine Stritch. Patricia Arquette really enjoyed her 12 years of Boyhood. Marvel Comics addresses superhero gender disparity. Thor will be female! Leighton Meester is not a “tart” in Broadway’s Of Mice & Men. ABC will address diversity with Cristela, and NBC will showcase more women in next season’s lineup. Robin Wright portrays her most revealing role yet...

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Flix Not to Miss: ‘Top of the Lake’

Oscar winner Jane Campion is one of the most talented contemporary, female directors who sadly hasn’t come out with a new film in awhile. That she decided to make a detective miniseries is fascinating. But don’t expect the typical crime procedural. Top of the Lake is an interesting, moody character study of  life in the outback, anchored...

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Notes from a Screenreader: Dialogorrhea

Photo via Go Into the Story. There are scripts about people doing things and there are scripts about people talking about things. One of them has a much better chance of making it past the first round of readers in a competition. Visualize the beat. What is the visual information in the scene? Do your...

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Terry’s Picks: Primetime Emmy Nominations, ‘Danger Mouse’ & #LikeAGirl

Seeing: that not much has changed: Women make up only 26% of the Primetime Emmy nominees, the same number as last year. Glad to hear: that the new version of BBC’s Danger Mouse will be have more female characters. Really like: Lauren Greenfield’s video, Always #LikeAGirl, for Always brand. It challenges the sexist expression which...

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Acting Up: Soul Inspiration

This past month I had the opportunity to travel to Machu Picchu. Wow! Did that trip turn my vibration, my reality, my thoughts on their head. As time slows down for a bit this summer, I encourage you to inspire your soul. Do something extraordinarily out of the ordinary that will make this summer one to remember....

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Weekly Roundup: Emmy Fever & a New ‘View’

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/452006704?et=w-RuV0lIQX1QAJbad3H0SQ&sig=_CPqTlcGvLm6w0XkS71vYALBLi7vWoXJGMWw_yBMLso=   It. Is. Emmy. Season! The full list of female nominees—plus, snubs and surprises. Amanda de Cadenet announces her new talk show Undone on Lifetime. It’s official: Everything at The View is coming up Rosie (O’Donnell) and they’re looking for new producers. Love or hate ‘em, script notes are invaluable for screenwriting success. New Oscar...

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Advice from an Indie Producer: Locations

Locations are an important part of your prep as a filmmaker. The places you choose can either enhance or potentially harm the production value of your project. The process to find locations can be daunting especially on a full-length feature film, so it’s imperative that you have a plan. BreakdownsBreaking down the script is the...

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Terry’s Picks: Vanessa Williams, ‘Thelma & Louise’ & Diversity in UK Films

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/450845374?et=-vV7r2ttTk9c1dgD4Iqw6g&sig=8_KsWASeBMfZH44qTkUlXUZRxUi8LnI84S-UJKNQ1Cg= Looking forward to watching: Oprah’s Master Class: Vanessa Williams, directed by NYWIFT board member Annetta Marion. Premieres this Sunday, July 13, 10 pm on OWN TV. Glad to see: that Thelma & Louise was included in THR’s top 100 films of all time, one of only a handful of female-centric films on the list. No films directed by women...

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