NYWIFT Blog

#Muse40for40: Tina Fey (2005)

In 1999, Tina Fey became the first head writer on Saturday Night Live. She created and starred in the Emmy award-winning comedy 30 Rock. Her portrayal of Sarah Palin during the 2008 election was an instant classic.

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#SummerHours Summer Reading: Tina Fey

In her 2011 book Bossypants, Tina Fey recounts stories of her childhood, her rise to head writer on SNL, her experiences on 30 Rock, and what she learned along the way.

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Terry’s Picks: Changing Times, Tiffany Haddish, Agnès Varda

Changing Times: Every day brings another story of sexual harassment (and worse) in Hollywood, from Louis C.K., to Kevin Spacey to Supergirl’s Andrew Kreisberg. Kudos to all the women and men who continue to speak out and support one another. Tiffany Haddish: Tiffany Haddish made Saturday Night Live history on Saturday by becoming the first...

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Weekly Roundup: SAG Awards, Hollywood’s Problems & Procrastination

[getty src=”462314188″ width=”594″ height=”481″] The SAG Awards was a great time for winners, nominees, and viewers. Ghostbusters new all-women cast includes new SNL “it girl” Leslie Jones.   An actual writer debunks the myth of writing workshops. What’s wrong with Hollywood?! Both Robert Redford and Nina Jacobson have strong opinions. Tina Fey’s new comedy will most probably be...

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Weekly Roundup: Dinners, Movies, Podcasts & ‘Wonder Woman’!

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/455781430?et=uSJjXvrKQ9JuzXhIyl-DSA&flyout=off&sig=VXRfNEizB7-TEJyIus89qal9YlvXTc9lQ0cKb-EtsDw= SNL member Cecily Strong chosen to host the White House Correspondents Dinner. Beyond The Lights star Gugu Mbatha-Raw discusses the film’s important empowerment messages. Women and Hollywood launches a podcast. Spread the word! Michelle MacLaren will probably direct Wonder Woman. Lexi Alexander said “no way” to the opportunity. Women are funny but being a woman in comedy is...

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Weekly Roundup: Cristela Alonzo, Tyra Banks & Leslie Jones Have People Talking This Week

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/456851866?et=2Yj7CzyBTWR_MdOKDO0w7g&similar=off&sig=ap9Tm_aCjnrHt-kIKqoRA8CNc2OVtaVLel4rIggNKNc=   Cristela Alonzo’s new show is great; her personality is even better! Tickets are still available for the Women’s Media Awards on Oct. 29. Tyra Banks has a “Fab” new talk show coming next fall. Actors, these simple tips will help TV/film crews not hate you. SNL has a new cast member—meet Leslie Jones! Deborah Norville,...

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Weekly Roundup: NYWIFT Exec Director on Lack of Women in Hollywood

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/167353543?et=WxkncLmSTPJFGW2FE2fifg&similar=off&sig=BxRWIPRE0OUtBt4qRWCy15LpqzDfGJl7SxdKSG9pagE= Terry Lawler, Executive Director of New York Women in Film & Television. BBC New asks, Where are the women in Hollywood? NYWIFT Executive Director Terry Lawler answers. Tribeca Film Festival official entry deadline is coming up soon! The Broad City season finale shows why Comedy Central renewed it. (Video) Five questions with CNN International anchor Robyn Curnow. What are...

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Weekly Roundup: Barbara Walters Dishes, Film Pioneer Gets Recognition

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/456815746?et=oHqgCGHeRnBlzoY6P7Lnjg&sig=01tSmdC_zytDn2_EVKKelUxs6Tts2i4HhTSAhQz1zvE= Barbara Walters returned to Harvard and revealed what she deplores about current news programming. Insightful Q&A with Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn. (Spoiler alert!) Learn more about film pioneer Alice Guy, the first woman to own a film studio. #SaveAlice Red Band Society,The Good Lie—what’s next for creator Margaret Nagle? Sarah Silverman‘s SNL appearance is worth watching (again)....

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Weekly Roundup: Emmy Wins & a ‘World News’ Loss

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/454184348?et=RqGBiht9TChLSo26NFbjTw&sig=cARkM_aeV3Mb3BNO_V-6n6l0wbrp0gEwsf5JsThv7HY= Moira Walley-Beckett was the first solo woman to win in her category SINCE 1994! Congratulations to her and the other female Emmy winners. AFI announced a major expansion to its Directing Workshop for Women. Working on your “scriptment” this weekend? (Yeah, I’d never heard the term either.) After five years, Diane Sawyer leaves World News. True Blood author Charlaine Harris...

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Weekly Roundup: #HireTheseWomen, Diane Sawyer & Comedy Central Prez Michele Ganeless

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/490666791?et=AqxxNyZmSdRdtT-0nJDY6Q&sig=RkIHT67TihPj-cMXJXZfd9526qa-vBF0rxZHRApi9m0= Diane Sawyer steps down from World News and up to bigger projects. Inspired by Women and Hollywood’s directors infographic, film critic Miriam Bale launches the hashtag #HireTheseWomen. Director Kelly Reichardt may be the most successful indie “one trick pony” in the business. Michele Ganeless runs Comedy Central, not Stephen Colbert. Chicken & Egg pictures is accepting grant applications for women...

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Weekly Roundup: Jane Pauley, Chelsea Clinton & Women’s Media Status

Jane Pauley, 2012. Photo credit: David Shankbone. Journalist Jane Pauley leaves NBC to join CBS News. New SNL writer Katie Rich has witty insight on male comedians’ success. Women’s Media Center updates its Status of Women in the U.S. Media report. Pam Dawber, TV’s original “Mindy,” to reunite with Robin Williams. Persistence pays off for Shaun of The Dead and Hot Fuzz producer Nira...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Kristin Scott Thomas at the premiere of Only God Forgives in Cannes. Photo via MSN Movies.  Kristin Scott Thomas is fed up with film — so she’s quitting. Lorne Michaels speaks about the women of SNL. Fox Business News adds a new show. Congratulations, Maria Bartiromo! Reality star Lauren Conrad’s appropriate response to an inappropriate question. The Drama League...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey will be hosting the 2014 Golden Globe Awards. Photo via NBC.   And the Golden Globe and BAFTA nominees are… First Sasheer Zamata and now this?! New Year, new SNL (finally). Has 27-year-old producer Megan Ellison dethroned Harvey Weinstein? My love for Tig Notaro and her new EW talk show is boundless. Downton Abbey costume designer Caroline McCall explains the absence of...

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Terry’s Picks: January 7, 2014

Photo via sasheer.com. Rooting For: Sasheer Zamata, who recently joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. Zamata will be the first black female cast member since Maya Rudolph, and will appear in the episode airing January 18. Loving the Variety of Formats In: Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, which screens at the MoMA’s Roy and Niuta Titus Theater on...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Illustration by Luci Gutierrez.  Top 100 power women in entertainment and how they succeed. SNL is doing what?! This is really happening? An impressive list of the Most Iconic Feminist Moments of 2013. Roger Ebert’s widow Chaz Ebert dedicates a week to female content. Two thumbs up! It’s the most wonderful (not perfect) time of the year! Meet Tiffani Shlain, writer, director…creator of the Webby...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Still from Lucky. I got goosebumps from the trailer for NYC filmmaker Laura Checkoway’s Lucky. The WGA or Fashion Police writers—whose side is Joan Rivers really on? Conservative commentator and author Monica Crowley discusses her career, Nixon, and the hypocrisies woman journalists still face. (video) Guinevere Turner’s new project is called Creeps. I’m sold! Here are the best women in...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Photo Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Variety Will this quiet the masses (for a bit) over SNL’s hiring practices? Diablo Cody lists 7 things about being a Hollywood screenwriter. I love #6. Ready to distribute your film? Consider these 3 questions. “Be smart & don’t be annoying” advises TV director Jamie Babbit. The ONE person (kinda) raining on...

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Flix Not To Miss: The To-Do List

The film summer isn’t complete without the teenage sex romp film. Running the spectrum from crude (Sex Drive and American Pie) to dramedy (The Sure Thing and Losin’ It ), rarely do these genre movies portray teenage girls eager to lose it with as much gusto and determination as teenage boys; that has now changed with...

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