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Tag: women in hollywood

  • Jessica Chastain Helps Launch Nonprofit Promoting Empowerment of Women in Film Industry

    Jessica Chastain, in conjunction with Queen Latifah, Frieda Pinto, and more, have launched a nonprofit designed to empower women in the film industry.

    “We Do It Together” is served by an advisory board comprised of Juliette Binoche, Ziyi Zhang, and Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke–in addition to Jessica Chastain and Queen Latifa. The organization aims to financially support and produce films, documentaries, and TV shows designed to empower women.

    In October, Jessica Chastain spoke with Variety about gender discrimination in Hollywood.

    “There’s no excuse,” she said at the time

    “There’s not reason why [an actress such as Jennifer Lawrence] should be doing a film with other actors and get paid less than her male co-stars,” Chastain added. “It’s completely unfair. It’s not right. It’s been happening for years and years. I think it’s brave to about it. I think everyone should talk about it.”

    It certainly sounds like Queen Latifah, Jessica Chastain, and many other women are done talking about this issue. They’ve stepped up to the plate to do something about it.

    It will certainly be interesting to see the good” We Do It Together” fosters with regard to empowering women in Hollywood.

  • Salma Hayek Wows In Skintight Dress At ELLE Women In Hollywood Event

    Salma Hayek Wows In Skintight Dress At ELLE Women In Hollywood Event

    Latina movie star Salma Hayek proved once again that she still got what it takes to stun a crowd.

    After gracing the cover of Elle Magazine’s November issue, Hayek went on to attend the 22nd Annual Elle Women in Hollywood Awards, which was held at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons.

    The much-anticipated event, which features some of the biggest names in Hollywood, was created to celebrate women who are influencing the world’s most well-known entertainment industry.

    Hayek was joined by other prominent female figures like Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Carey Mulligan, Zoë Saldana, and Amy Schumer to name a few.

    Before giving her speech, Hayek was introduced by fellow Latina Zoë Saldana. The 49-year-old star, whose career in Hollywood was jump-started by her early roles in the 1995 film Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn in 1996.

    Hayek’s speech appealed for diversity and equality in Hollywood and declared that the current generation of women have the ability to make huge changes in the industry.

    In her gorgeous Elle spread, Hayek donned a sexy black strapless dress by Stella McCartney complemented by smoky eye make-up and a wet-look hairstyle.

    At the Women in Hollywood event, however, Hayek went for an edgier look with a shiny, metallic number by Yves Saint Laurent. The dress did wonders to her already fabulous figure, and was complemented by dramatic eyes and a bright red lip.

    Aside from being a celebrated actress, Hayek has also been successful as a businesswoman. In 2000, she put up her own production company called Ventanarosa, through which she produced films like Frida, In the Time of the Butterflies, and The Maldonado Miracle, as well as the hit TV series Ugly Betty.

    Hayek’s Frida co-star Alfred Molina commended her acting and business savvy. He also compared her to Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein, saying that she would have been bigger than Weinstein had she been “white and male.”

  • Maggie Gyllenhaal Discusses Hardships In Getting Movie Roles

    In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Maggie Gyllenhaal talked about her rejections for casting roles in the past. Gyllenhaal shared all the negative criticisms casting agents had told her.

    During a roundtable, the 37-year-old actress was sarcastically asked if she ever considered quitting acting. The actress recalled that she received plenty of ‘NOs’ during casting calls. Gyllenhall admitted that even today, she still gets that answer despite her success in Hollywood.

    “When I was starting out, I used to hear ‘no’ a lot and still do,” said Gyllenhaal.

    The worst lines that Gyllenhaal has admitted to hearing were ‘you’re not sexy enough’ and ‘you’re not pretty enough’.

    “When I was really young, I auditioned for this really bad movie with vampires. I wore a dress to the audition that I thought was really hot. Then I was told I wasn’t hot enough,” added Gyllenhaal.

    One person on the roundtable panel, Empire’s Taraji P. Henson, seconded the actress’s statement saying that she too had been told the same things before.

    Gyllenhaal said she tried even harder to appear sexy at auditions after being told by her manager to “sex it up a little bit.” The actress then wore leather pants and a pink leopard top during another audition but she still failed to get the role.

    “After that, I was like, OK, f*ck this!,” she exasperated.

    Apart from being rejected due to her looks, Gyllenhaal has also been denied roles due to her age. She revealed that at age 37, she was rejected as being too old to play the love interest of a 55-year-old man.

    The actress justified that she never bought and will never buy into the plastic surgery tradition in Hollywood.

    “I wanted to show what a woman my age really looks like. I am much more turned on when I see people’s bodies that look like bodies I recognize,” said Gyllenhaal.

    Sadly, other actresses at the same roundtable, such as Jessica Lange and Ruth Wilson, related to Gyllenhaal’s experiences.

  • Jennifer Garner Talks Sexism And Double Standards In The Film Industry

    On Monday, Oct. 20, Jennifer Garner was honored by Elle magazine at the “Women in Hollywood” celebration in Beverly Hills.

    Although the famed Dallas Buyers Club actress was appreciative of the honor, she also took the opportunity to share her sentiments of double standards and sexism in the film industry, reports Yahoo! News.

    During her acceptance speech, she expressed how a Women in Hollywood event personally makes her feel.

    “The fact that there even needs to be a Women in Hollywood event is a little bit sad,” the 42-year-old actress said. “I mean, the men in Hollywood event is every day — it’s called Hollywood,” Garner explained.

    “Fifty-one percent of the population should not have to have to schedule a special event to celebrate the fact that in an art that tells the story of what it means to be human and alive, we get to play a part.”

    She went on to give an example by shedding light on how differently she and her husband, Ben Affleck, are treated. “So for example, my husband and I do kind of the same job, a little bit,” she said.

    “Not long ago we both had one of those magical days, we call it a junket, where we both attended these lovely events where people come in every four minutes, they ask the same questions over and over again, you know the drill.”

    She also recalled another comparison that obviously irks her. She’s always asked about balancing her career and having a family.

    “We got home at night and we compared notes,” she continued. “And I told him every single person who interviewed me, I mean every single one, and this is true of the red carpet here tonight at Elle, asked me, ‘How do you balance work and family?’

    However, her husband is reportedly never questioned about the more personal aspects of his life.

    “As for work-life balance, he said no one asked him about it that day. As a matter of fact, no one had ever asked him about it. And we do share the same family. Isn’t it time to kinda change that conversation?”

    She concluded by asking Elle to focus on progression where women are concerned. “So, while we’re at it, while we’re changing the world Elle, you have some say in this, can we just stop pretending that skinny jeans are flattering?” Garner quipped. “Can we just band together and go for a boot-cut…please?”

  • Fay Kanin Dies; Screenwriter Was 95

    Famed Hollywood screenwriter and producer Fay Kanin has died. She was 95.

    Kanin gained fame along with her husband, Michael Kanin, in the 1940s and 1950s while writing screenplays for classic movies such as Sunday Punch, My Pal Gus, and The Opposite Sex. She and her husband were nominated for a best original screenplay Academy Award for the 1958 movie Teacher’s Pet, which starred Clark Gable and Doris Day.

    Kanin went on to produce movies and stage productions, including a 1959 adaptation of Akira Kurasawa’s Rashomon. In 1979 she became the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a title she held until 1983.

    Though the details of her death have not been released, the Academy has released a statement regarding Kanin’s death:

    The Academy is deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved former president and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Fay Kanin.

    She was committed to the Academy’s preservation work and instrumental in expanding our public programming. A tireless mentor and inspiration to countless filmmakers, Fay’s passion for film continues to inspire us daily.

    Our prayers and condolences go out to her loved ones.

    (Image courtesy the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)

  • Meryl Streep Wants Hollywood To Give Women A Chance

    Meryl Streep Wants Hollywood To Give Women A Chance

    With the huge-budgeted flop of “John Carter” on every movie exec’s mind, most are probably trying to think up ways to pack in audiences this summer, and Meryl Streep says she has the answer: women.

    The business of film, like so many other things, is mostly dominated by males. A shockingly low number of women work behind the cameras, and that’s what Streep is calling on Hollywood to change; she even has the numbers to back it up. And in a time when huge box-office dominators are hit-or-miss–take “Battleship” vs. “The Avengers” for instance–one can look at several female-oriented films that have been released in the past few years which did amazingly well and see that the movie industry is missing out on some good opportunities.

    While speaking at the 2012 Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards last week, Streep implored the people with the power to stop and take a second glance at what women are capable of.

    “In this room, we are very familiar with these dreadful statistics that detail the shocking under-representation of women in our business,” she said. “[Women make up] 7-10% of directors, producers, writers, and cinematographers in any given year. This in spite of the fact that in the last five years, five little movies aimed at women have earned over $1.6bn: The Help, The Iron Lady (believe it or not), Bridesmaids, Mamma Mia! and The Devil Wears Prada. The Iron Lady…cost $14m to make it and brought in $114m. Pure profit! So why? Why? Don’t they want the money?”

    Streep, who has been one of the most respected and sought-after actresses in the country for many years, may just be the one person who could get studio bigwigs to listen. She’s already gotten their attention after being quoted in the Hollywood Reporter and Vanity Fair; this could well be the preamble to women dominating the coming years in film .