NYWIFT Blog

WEEKLY ROUNDUP: SISSY SPACEK, NETWORKING MYTHS & NO-BUDGET MARKETING TIPS

A “fearless” Sissy Spacek headlines the highly anticipated series Bloodline. Congratulations to Kirsten Schaffer, new Executive Director of Women In Film, Los Angeles! Glass ceilings exist in more movies than in reality and networking can backfire for women. How The Nightly Show writer Robin Thede turned her bleak childhood into career success. Latina media mogul Nely Galan has essential advice...

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Weekly Roundup: The Awards, the Scripts, the Possibilities…

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/461567942?et=HYbpAcvhQQ97gzNg0s1DHw&sig=eHwZlkhMcXKcGx5bKxYYA-gujHYdYPUDhvh1APThdp8=&caption=true A full range of Oscar nominees, shockers and snubs. In other awards news…women ruled The Golden Globes! Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez is America’s new sweetheart. Still haven’t seen the movie? Read the award-nominated scripts instead. From Arrested Development to Archer, actress Jessica Walter keeps us laughing. Perhaps your film doesn’t need a screenplay? – KELLY GLOVER

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NYWIFT Members at Sundance Film Festival

From the documentary The Hunting Ground. Members of New York Women in Film and Television have films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, which runs from January 22 to February 1 in Park City, Utah. Here’s a sneak peek: ADVANTAGEOUS Section: U.S. Dramatic Competition Director: Jennifer Phang Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang Production Designers: Dara Wishingrad (NYWIFT Member), Aiyana...

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Flix Not to Miss: ‘Making Mr. Right’ (1987) by Susan Seidelman

I always enjoy a good romantic comedy, and Susan Seidelman provides a quirky, offbeat example of the genre with a touch of sci-fi in Making Mr. Right. Comedian Ann Magnuson is terrific as a high-powered image consultant who’s tasked with creating a more human android, played by a young John Malkovich. Unfortunately, she succeeds a little too...

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Road to Muse: Honorees Dawn Ostroff, Mary Bailey & Abigail Disney

Dawn Ostroff, president of Condé Nast Entertainment.   Tomorrow afternoon, New York Women in Film & Television will celebrate the achievements of Condé Nast Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff, script supervisor Mary Bailey, and actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Wanda Sykes at the nonprofit’s annual Muse Awards, held at the New York Hilton. Filmmaker, philanthropist, and activist Abigail Disney will be honored with...

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Road to Muse: #ThrowbackThursday Videos

We hope you have your 2014 Muse Awards ticket in hand! If not, buy one now. You don’t want to miss the sure to be jaw-dropping, laughter-inducing Wanda Sykes’ acceptance speech, the industry insights from the stunning and talented Maggie Gyllenhaal, the thought-provoking, global-minded Abigail Disney’s Changemaker Award acceptance speech, or further wise words from industry...

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Top 10 Reasons to Join NYWIFT

Discounts to High-profile Special Events Celebrating Women Calling the Shots in Television, Film & Digital Media: Attend our well-loved annual tributes to women working in the industry at the right industry insider price! Designing Women: A celebration of the achievements and influence of costume designers, make-up artists, and hair stylists in film, television, and digital...

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Join Now! 50% Off Initiation Fee Until 12/5

Join New York Women in Film & Television by December 5, 2014, and get 50% off the initiation fee! NYWIFT membership creates business and networking opportunities—where you can build your career, hone your skills, stay in the job market, preserve your cultural legacy, and make a difference. Learn more about NYWIFT member benefits and how to apply for membership. 

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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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#TBT Flix Not to Miss: ‘The Gleaners & I’ (2000) by Agnes Varda

The Gleaners, an oil painting by Jean-François Millet. In her documentary The Gleaners & I (2000), Agnes Varda’s point-of-departure is a 1857 painting by Jean-Francois Millet portraying three women gleaning the fields. The painting, hanging in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, is captured in the film through crowds of onlookers. While in his painting Millet sought to give a voice to...

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Road to Muse: NYWIFT to Honor Maggie Gyllenhaal, Wanda Sykes, Dawn Ostroff, Mary Bailey & Abigail Disney

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/458178782?et=lnqRodaISTRmsT2OR69EjA&sig=TZ5R8AZ-BTJXFK7fsRp1kIEQ1Pm2mZEAE7FZyLgG55c= Maggie Gyllenhaal opening night of The Real Thing on Broadway. Variety has announced the honorees of New York Women in Film & Television’s 2014 Muse Awards. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Wanda Sykes, Condé Nast Entertainment president Dawn Ostroff, and script supervisor Mary Bailey (The Bling Ring, A League of Their Own) will be honored for “Vision and Achievement” at...

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Terry’s Picks: ‘Rare Birds of Fashion,’ Women and Hollywood Gets a Podcast & Made In NY Awards

Fundraising video for Rare Birds of Fashion. Supporting: Lily Hayes Kaufman’s Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for Rare Birds of Fashion, a new comedy web series about two funny and smart entrepreneurs who launch a plus-size fashion line. Check out: the newly launched podcast by NYWIFT member Melissa Silverstein’s Women and Hollywood. Congratulating: NYWIFT members Lydia Dean Pilcher and Rachel Watanabe-Batton, along with Mary Jo Winkler, for...

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Lee Grant: From Blacklisted Actress to Hollywood Trailblazer

 Lee Grant with Sidney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night. I have been a huge fan of Academy Award winner Lee Grant for years. I’ve always enjoyed seeing her perform as an actress—her choices always seemed intelligent, interesting and different. Grant’s off-camera story of being Hollywood blacklisted for 12 years and her struggle to return to the industry is...

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Terry’s Picks: Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award, Patricia Highsmith & Glass Ceilings

Still image of Caryn Waechter’s The Sisterhood of Night. Congratulations: to director Caryn Waechter for receiving the Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award for The Sisterhood of the Night, produced by NYWIFT member Lydia Dean Pilcher, at the Woodstock International Film Festival. Happy: to see that another Patricia Highsmith novel has been made into a movie. The Two Faces of January is...

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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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Women’s Film Preservation Fund & Alice Guy-Blaché

Still from Alice Guy-Blaché’s Mixed Pets (1911). New York Women in Film & Television and Alice Guy-Blaché make a perfect pair. The organization’s Women’s Film Preservation Fund (WFPF) helped to preserve two of her shorts, Matrimony’s Speed Limit (1913) and A House Divided (1913), as part of its inaugural project. Mixed Pets (1911), Guy-Blaché’s earliest extant film from her studio Solax, was preserved through a WFPF grant...

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Terry’s Picks: Gloria Steinem on ‘The Good Wife,’ DGA Report on Diversity & ‘She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry’

http://can.cbs.com/thunder/player/chrome/canplayer.swf?pid=y_5KPwXjuz2Z&partner=cbs&gen=1 Loved: Gloria Steinem’s turn on The Good Wife last Sunday. Check it out if you didn’t see it. She continues to inspire. Enough already! The DGA reports that there has been no progress for inclusion of women and people of color in episodic television. Can’t wait to see: She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, a film...

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Sign Up for NYWIFT’s October Events: HIFF, Pitch Fest, VintAge & More

Reaching the “Right” People in Your Creative Career with Joanne Zippel Thursday, October 9, 6:30 pm It can be hard to find and connect with the “right” people to move your career forward. At this hands-on seminar, career coach Joanne Zippel will share powerful techniques that will connect you to the people who are right...

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