debor009

I have to tell you that all this talk lately about reaching out to women in film, creating special programs, help, etc rankles a bit. Maybe because it sounds just a bit patronizing and self-congratulatory....like helping disadvantaged children. (Or maybe I'm just having one of those mornings) In any case, women have been heavily involved in producing, directing, writing, and editing films since films were first invented as an art form. Every week their work hits the theaters; it just doesn't get the marketing it deserves typically. Kind of like The Hurt Locker (6 Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Editing, Sound/mixing and editing) vs. Avatar (3 Oscars: Cinematography, Visual Effects, Art Direction). Here's what women filmmakers have opening this week in theaters: The Red Pill , directed and co-produced by Cassie Jaye ; 13th , directed and co-written by Ava DuVernay ; Newtown , directed by Kim A. Snyder and produced by Maria Cuomo Cole ; and 37 , written and direct...

What a year for great movies! And what a feast for actors to watch and learn. Saw #Birdman with my husband yesterday. Wow. That…was…different. Wow. My husband (he's the literary one) pointed out that it draws on the School of Magic (or Magical) Realism that was popular in Latin American literature in the 1940s and 1950s. Think Jorge Luis Borges or Gabriel Garcia Marquez .  Events occur as normal, then people begin to fly. Yes, it's that different. Birdman defines "tour de force" on so many levels, right down to the titles. I can't even imagine what it took to light those tracking shots. And Michael Keaton , Edward Norton , Naomi Watts (This after her turn in St. Vincent . Fabulous!) The Brits have dominated acting for decades. Now the Americans are showing them how it's done.

Cinemas full of loud, dumb, crash-bang movies is why my husband and I are spending Saturday nights this summer staring at each other instead of gobbling up popcorn. The Atlantic just weighed in on why thoughtful film buffs can expect more of this schlock....it's all economics and a foreign market that has developed a taste for it. (The French loved Jerry Lewis films, remember?) See the full article here . Let's hope that Netflix makes a ton of money with brilliant programming like House of Cards . (More please! And not just because I got a few lines.)