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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

Cross Post: Uppity Women: How Maya and Kathryn Bigelow Continue to Threaten the Status Quo

Features
“A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.”  -- Eleanor Roosevelt
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  • By Sasha Stone
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  • January 31, 2013 11:00 AM
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  • 2 Comments
More: Zero Dark Thirty, Sexism, The Help, Kathryn Bigelow, Jessica Chastain, Lincoln, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Brave Scores $66 Million Opening Weekend

Box Office
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  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • June 25, 2012 11:15 AM
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  • 3 Comments
More: Brave, Brenda Chapman, Women Directors, Box Office, Bridesmaids, The Help, The Hunger Games, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Octavia Spencer's Golden Globe Speech

Video
I was co-hosting (they did all the work) a Golden Globe watching party last night with the National Domestic Worker's Alliance and when Octavia won the place went nuts.
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  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • January 16, 2012 10:43 AM
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  • 1 Comment
More: Octavia Spencer, The Help, Golden Globes

Women and Hollywood Joins the National Domestic Workers Alliance #BeTheHelp Campaign

I have always believed that culture can help make change.  I believe that you can use film and TV to move people about issues -- if you do it right.  The smart folks with the National Domestic Workers Aliiance are using a cultural opportunity with the film The Help and have created the #BeTheHelp campaign to raise awareness of the real situations for domestic workers. These mostly women are part of an underground economy many times paid in cash and not given the same rights as other workers.  Yet they are the life blood of families enabling parents to go to work each and every day knowing that their children are being cared for my people they trust.  
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  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • January 12, 2012 11:45 AM
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  • 0 Comments
More: Feminism, The Help, Advocacy

The Year That Was

Happy new year everyone.  Thanks so much for the great support over the last year.

As we start the new year, I thought it would be interesting to look at the narratives that dominated the conversation over the past year.   Would love to hear if you have any thoughts on other topics that dominated the conversations.

Here is what I came up with:

The success of Bridesmaids and the realization that women can be funny. (duh)

Winter's Bone and The Kids are All Right get best picture nominations for 2011.

Women directors not being in the conversation for the 2012 Oscar.

The breakout success of Jessica Chastain

The Help polarizes yet still succeeds at the box office.

Patty Jenkins gets hired and fired from Marvel's Thor 2.

Women make up only 33% of speaking parts in films and less than 10% of writers and directors.

Jennifer Yuh Nelson becomes the highest grossing women director with King Fu Panda 2.

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  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • January 3, 2012 9:27 AM
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  • 0 Comments
More: Bridesmaids, Jennifer Yuh, Young Adult, Diablo Cody, The Help, Abi Morgan, Patty Jenkins

Women's Film Critics Circle Award Winners

I love the diversity of categories.  But where is the best woman director? UPDATE- the best womena director is the director of the best movie by women.  I think we name the women because people need to know their names in the same way that guys names are known.

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN: TIE*
   The Iron Lady - Phyllida Lloyd
   We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lynne Ramsay

   BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN:
   The Help

BEST STORYTELLER:
   The Iron Lady: Abi Morgan

   BEST ACTRESS:
   Viola Davis: The Help
 
  

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  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • December 21, 2011 10:30 AM
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  • 4 Comments
More: Glenn Close, The Whistleblower, Melissa McCarthy, Viola Davis, The Help, The Iron Lady

The Help and Bridesmaids Score Screen Actors Guild Nominations

Brigitte Lacombe
Yesterday, the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced.  Both The Help and Bridesmaids scored best ensembles nominations (which is their top award) which could be an indicator of potential Oscar love because the actors (a percentage of the SAG members pick these nominees) are the largest voting branch in the Academy.  The Help actually scored the most nominations with four including both Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain in the supporting category. 

Maybe being a movie about women won't hurt The Help, and the Bridesmaids nod along with the rising Melissa McCarthy makes me think it could potentially sneak in with a best picture nod because both men and women really love this movie. (As they should.)

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  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • December 15, 2011 9:29 AM
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  • 0 Comments
More: Jessica Lange, Emily Watson, Kate Winslet, Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Tilda Swinton, Viola Davis, Michelle Williams, Bridesmaids, The Help, Melissa McCarthy

AFI Picks Top TV Shows and Films of the Year

Awards
This list reminds me that even though they have been upteen articles about how women are making great strides, there is still such a long way to go, because as I look at the lists I notice that there are very few female directors and creators. 
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  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • December 12, 2011 10:29 AM
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  • 0 Comments
More: The Help, Bridesmaids, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, The Good Wife

Talking Oscars and Feminism with Scott Feinberg of the Hollywood Reporter

Blogs
Check out this audio interview I did with Scott Feinberg - Oscar analyst at the Hollywood Reporter.  We talked about the Oscar race with a feminist slant.  I really enjoyed the conversation.
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  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • December 9, 2011 11:56 AM
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  • 0 Comments
More: Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Rooney Mara, Jessica Chastain, The Help, Larysa Kondracki, Dee Rees, Lynne Ramsay

Take a Look at the Busiest Woman in Movies This Year: Jessica Chastain

Video
If you haven't seen Jessica Chastain in a movie this year, you haven't been to the movies because she has been in five, some big and some small.  Most actors would be lucky to have one role that gets some notice, but this 30 year old woman has proved herself in all these films.  Her biggest problem this year is that she is competing with herself for an Oscar. 
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  • By Melissa Silverstein
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  • December 8, 2011 10:58 AM
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  • 1 Comment
More: Jessica Chastain, The Help

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