QUEUE THIS!

Every week I do this post I usually put at least one documentary in the mix, but it's always so hard to pick just one because women directors are responsible for making SO many great docs.  For those who don't know, it is the one area of film where the number of women directors is encouraging, instead of depressing.  As pointed out in the executive summary of the 2012 Sundance Institute and Women In Film-commissioned study Exploring the Barriers and Opportunities for Independent Women Filmmakers: 

Documentary filmmaking is an arena where women directors thrive. From 2002 to 2012, 41.1% of Documentary Competition directors were female. Six years of the 11-year sample demonstrated that females comprised 40-50% or more of Competition directors. Even the lowest percentage of female Competition directors (25%) is still higher than the Festival norm for narrative competition films (22.2%).

Although the study only looks at Sundace films, it is still a significant gauge of what is happening in the larger marketplace.  So, in celebration of all the talented women directors making docs, I have decided that this week's post will be an all-doc extravaganza!  

Even though I've seen all five of these films, and think they're great, I have refrained from commenting after each one because I'm pretty sure those comments would quickly become redundant in the best possible way- as all these stories are fascinating, heartbreaking, brave, and at least 3 out of five made me cry. 

Girl Model (dir Ashley Sabin & David Redmon, 2011)  Netflix says: "An unflinching look at the modeling industry, focusing on a conflicted American scout -- herself a former model -- who recruits poverty-stricken adolescent girls from Russia to work in Japan." 

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (dir Constance Marks, 2011)  Netflix says: "Beloved by millions of children, Elmo is an international icon. But few people know the soft-spoken man behind the furry red monster: Kevin Clash. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary follows Clash's remarkable career as a puppeteer."

Top 10 Episodes of Mary Tyler Moore

With the recent announcement of a reunion of all the ladies of Mary Tyler Moore on Hot in Cleveland, I decided there's no better time to do a Mary-themed Top 10 list. So, here it is: the Top 10 Episodes of Mary Tyler Moore.

10) WJM Tries Harder (Season 4, Episode 16) When Mary visits the Channel 8 newsroom, she sees WJM in a different light.

9) Feeb (Season 2, Episode 16) The best part is the end of the episode, when Mary explains the variations of the word "feeb" to Murray.

8) Ted's Wedding (Season 6, Episode 9) Good ol' Ted Baxter finally makes an honest woman of Georgette.

7) Lou and That Woman (Season 5, Episode 4) The conversation between Lou and Mary about what makes a woman "that sort of woman" is fantastic.

6) Two Wrongs Don't Make a Writer (Season 4, Episode 23) Oh, Ted.

Karen Croner on Screenwriting

Read a great interview with screenwriter Karen Croner on the Women and Hollywood blog on IndieWire. She was talking about her latest film, Admission, a truly wonderful piece of mature and comedic writing with great emotional depth.  

Two things she said really struck me as valuable for screenwriters at all stages.

"Everything in this business is impossible. So you just have to completely ignore it and then reach for what you want for more than anything."

"The other thing I would say, don't be a screenwriter to be a screenwriter. You need to be a screenwriter because you have something you want to say. "

 There's more to the article. Check it out.

Crowdfunding

Hello everyone! This post is coming directly from Brazil as I visit family and wait for the release of my second feature film, Open Road. I’m also in the middle of crowd funding a short film and just launched the campaign, so I figured this might be a good time to talk to you about different sites available for crowd funding, the differences and even whether or not you should do it. I have to confess my producing partner Sarah Lynn Dawson and I considered not even going that route with this project. We all get bombarded with requests to donate, don’t we? We’d love to help others, but money is tight, right? We have other projects in the works, bigger projects, that also need funds, lots of funds... so why bother with a few thousand for a short?

QUEUE THIS!

I'm still recovering from my spring break with the kiddos, so this is going to be another quick intro. Also, my post this week has the very special distinction of being the first one where I have not actually seen any of the films.  But have no fear my lovely readers, I've heard a ton of chatter about these babies, so I think you'll be just fine.  These are all very recent Netflix arrivals that have enjoyed healthy festival runs (and theatrical distribution in many cases), so they're hot, hot, hot!  I can't wait to watch them!  QUEUE THIS:

Bachelorette (dir Leslye Headland, 2012)  Netflix says:  "When a single overachiever learns, to her horror, that an overweight girl she teased in high school is getting married before her, she swallows her pride and serves as maid of honor, enlisting her old clique to help through an evening of mishaps. With Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, Rebel Wilson, James Marsden and Adam Scott."  From what I gather, it's a pretty dark comedy. I need to see it!

L!fe Happens (dir Kat Coiro, 2011)  Netflix says: "Hipsters from the trendy Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles contend with adulthood in this woman-powered comedy. When one of them gives birth to a baby, her roomie resolves to not let this new responsibility hamper their lifestyle. With Krysten Ritter, Kate Bosworth and Rachel Bilson" I live in the trendy Silver Lake area (yes, it's two words) so maybe if I watch this I'll learn a little something about how I should really be living...

WGA Staffing Brief Shows TV Is A Man's World. Ug.

I wish I had better news for all the women TV writers out there, but unfortunately, the picture looks pretty darn bleak. Over the past decade, women have made some gains in TV staffing, but according to the WGA’s latest analysis of the state of diversity in writing staffs, it’s still a white man’s world.

According to The Wrap, the study analyzed employment patterns for 1,722 writers working on 190 broadcast and cable TV shows during the 2011-2012 season, highlighting three specific groups who have traditionally been underemployed in the TV industry: women, minority, and older writers.

Between the 1999-2000 and 2011-12 TV seasons, women writers’ share of TV staff employment increased approximately 5 percentage points, from 25 percent to 30.5 percent. That’s improvement. True. But to put that in perspective, at that rate of increase it will be another 42 years before women reach proportionate representation to men.

It’s no surprise that writing staffs remain dominated by white males. But you might be surprised to learn that roughly 10 percent of TV shows in the 2011-12 season had no female writers on staff at all. Zippo!

I share this information not to depress everybody, (even though it is a bummer) but to put a fire under our rears. Things can change. I think one step towards that change is the Broad Humor Festival. It provides an opportunity for talented, like-minded women to meet and showcase their abundant talent. It’s obvious to me and, through this type of exposure, will become obvious to others that women deserve seats (many seats!) at the writers’ table.

To see the WGA study, visit http://www.wga.org/subpage_whoweare.aspx?id=922

Top 10 Reasons You Should Submit to the 2013 Broad Humor Film Festival

The 2013 Broad Humor Film Festival submissions open TODAY! For more information on this year's festival, check the website here. (Submitting to this year's short film invitational and screenplay challenge is free for alumnae, so check out the blog post on that here.)

In 2012, my pilot, Empty Nest, won "Best Teleplay," and the festival was a wonderful experience. This year, I'm submitting again (a different project, obviously) and I hope to be able to participate in the festival again!

So, why should you enter your film or script to the Broad Humor Film Festival this year? There are tons of reasons! Here are the top 10:

10) You want a reason to spend a few days in beautiful Venice, CA this September.

9) You're reading this blog, so you're probably aware of the festival already. Why not try to be a part of it?

8) You are trying to make it in the film industry. Getting your work into festivals can't hurt that effort (I'm pretty sure it helps).

7) You are an alumna of the festival (check out the Legacy Project).

6) You've made a film (feature or short) or written a script (feature, short or television) and you're ready to submit it to festivals.