Women and Hollywood


Melissa Silverstein is the founder and editor of Women and Hollywood, one of the most respected sites for issues related to women and film as well as other areas of pop culture. Women and Hollywood educates, advocates, and agitates for gender parity across the entertainment industry.

She is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of The Athena Film Festival. The 4th annual festival will take place from February 6-9, 2014 at Barnard College in NYC.

Melissa recently published the first book from Women and Hollywood, In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing, which is a compilation of over 40 interviews that have appeared on the site.

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Women and Hollywood

Don't Forget: Kristen Wiig to Host SNL This Weekend

You know you're excited.  We sure are.  Might be a good live tweet occasion.
  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • May 8, 2013 11:07 AM
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  • 0 Comments

Cross Post: Some Depressing Stats about Female Comedy Directors

Last week, I wrote about how rare it is to be a female director especially a female comedy director. Well, we decided to do some research and find out exactly how rare it is - here are the results.
  • By Diana Wright
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  • April 17, 2013 11:30 AM
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  • 3 Comments

Melissa McCarthy on SNL

Melissa McCarthy hosted SNL for the second time this past weekend.  While I don't think that this show was as strong as her first hosting gig, it was far better than so many of the other hosts in recent memory.
  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • April 8, 2013 10:25 AM
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  • 1 Comment

Watch This: Amy Poehler Interviews Irma Kalish - Pioneer Comedy Writer

For her super smart web series for girls, Smart Girls at the Party, Amy Poehler interviews Irma Kalish, a pioneer female comedy writer, who wrote for iconic shows such as Good Times, All in the Family, Maude and I Dream of Jeannie.  It's a trip down memory lane for any sitcom loving kid who grew up in the 70s and 80s and watched lots of reruns.
  • By Kerensa Cadenas
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  • April 1, 2013 10:00 AM
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  • 0 Comments

Lily Tomlin on Feminism, Humor and Girls

With the release of Admission, the awesome Lily Tomlin has been popping up in the media.  Seeing Tomlin reminds us of what a pioneer she has been in Hollywood ranging from her career as a comedic actress, to being an outspoken feminist, to the casual acknowledgement of her sexuality and long term relationship with Jane Wagner.  Interesting tidbit.  She was offered the cover of Time in 1975 if she would come out.  She said no, and still got it for her work.
  • By Melissa Silverstein and Kerensa Cadenas
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  • March 28, 2013 12:30 PM
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  • 1 Comment

Oscar Commentary Round Up

With everything surrounding this year’s Oscars there has been a wealth of really great commentary out there.
  • By Kerensa Cadenas
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  • February 26, 2013 3:46 PM
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  • 3 Comments

Our Favorite Super Bowl Ad Starring Amy Poehler

One of Women and Hollywood's favorite ladies, Amy Poehler, starred in a Best Buy ad during the Super Bowl as an extremely difficult customer, automatically winning our favorite Super Bowl ad of this year. Poehler's ad also proves that you don't need sexist garbage to make something hilarious and entertaining. Keep that in mind next year, Go Daddy.
  • By Kerensa Cadenas
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  • February 6, 2013 9:56 AM
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  • 1 Comment

The Sun Sets on 30 Rock

As we wrote last week two female written sitcoms were shut down last week, Ben and Kate and Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23.  We also said goodbye to Private Practice which did not get much attention since Shonda Rhimes still has two shows on the air.  But that show was important because it was one place that consistently dealt with realistic medical situations women face like abortion. 
  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • January 30, 2013 2:00 PM
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  • 0 Comments

Women-Created, Sitcom Voices Silenced: Apartment 23 and Ben and Kate Pulled From Line Up

This was a sad week in television for me. Two of my favorite sitcoms, Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 and Ben and Kate were pulled from ABC and Fox’s schedules effective immediately. As of now there are no plans to air any remaining episodes and while both networks have yet to confirm cancellation, Twitter buzz from both creators and stars of both shows indicates the inevitable.
  • By Kerensa Cadenas
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  • January 25, 2013 11:00 AM
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  • 2 Comments

Thoughts on the Golden Globes - Girls Literally Ruled

Last night, I ended up watching the Golden Globes in real time (with the commercials too.) The reason why that was possible was because of twitter and because I was having such a good time watching the show.  It felt lighter than in years past.  I am guessing a lot of that had to do with the tone that Amy Poehler and Tina Fey in their terrific opening monologue (which you can see below and is worth another watch.)  They told some really funny jokes and the one I enjoyed most was their statement of support for Kathryn Bigelow.  "When it comes to torture I trust the lady that spent 3 years married to James Cameron."  Awesome.
  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • January 14, 2013 11:00 AM
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  • 1 Comment

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