Check out this awesome video by Melissa Silverstein who blogs about Women and Hollywood for IndieWire. I should be excited about the Oscars - I make films, I'm a fan of films, I love talking about them, debating the merits of each film, and even just getting lost in them. Yet I'm never excited to watch the Oscars. I'm never particularly thrilled by the nominees (except for the year that I knew people who had worked on the winning short "God of Love" by Luke Matheny.) And now Melissa has expressed why so eloquently in her video "For Your Consideration"
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
"I Don't Know How She Does It"
I finally saw "I Don't Know How She Does It." I was excited to watch it, because I loved the book by Alison Pearson, except for the ending where (SPOILER ALERT) she gives up everything to move to the country and be a SAHM (stay-at-home-Mom, in case you're unfamiliar with Mommy-lingo.) I was curious to see how they would handle the ending in the movie. I won't spoil it for you, but although it was satisfying in a movie-world kind of way, it wasn't real and completely skirted the issues raised by the story.
If you don't know the premise, the story is about a working-mom who loves her job and her kids and is constantly stressed-out by juggling the two. And it's funny. You can see why it would appeal to me. I love what I do. Who wouldn't? It has it all: low pay, long hours, constant rejection and humiliating pleas for money. (Click here to witness my own humiliating plea.) But at the end of it, if you're lucky, you have a movie. Something that, hopefully, will live on past you. Or at least until the next new innovation in technology renders your film/tape/USB drive obsolete. But I digress.
"I Don't Know How She Does It" spoke to me, in a way that a lot of films don't. I related to the main character's struggle - I live by my lists. I thought I lost my Droid yesterday and almost went into cardiac arrest because I couldn't figure out how I'd manage even 10 minutes without it. And there were funny send-ups of female stereotypes: the SAHM who has made her kids her career, the ambitious single woman who lives for her work and swears never to have children, and the male boss who doesn't want to hear about your kids, or that you have a life, and gets all tongue-tied at the mere mention of a mammogram. But there were some things the film got really wrong. For instance, Sarah Jessica Parker ends up working on a project with Pierce Brosnon and they start to really connect. So much so that (SPOILER ALERT), he asks her to run away with him to Aruba and she doesn't even blink before saying no. Really? I mean, I love my husband, but if Pierce Brosnan asked me to run away to Aruba, I'd be in Bloomie's buying a new bathing suit before you could say "Binge & Purge!" Maybe I'd come to my senses once ensconced on the plane and hearing the dulcet tones of a newborn crying right before take-off. (Or maybe not.) And, like a lot of popular present-day myths, the movie capitalizes on the perceived sharp-divide between working moms and stay-at-home moms. Yes, there are those who pursue child-rearing like an extreme sport and look down on those of us who don't, but most of us feel like there aren't enough hours in the day, no matter what choices we've made. Finally, there is the ending. The same boss who got tongue-tied at the mention of a mammogram takes a stand that is completely out of character. Yes, it was nice and made me feel good, but what I really wanted was a "Nine to Five" stringing up of the chauvinistic boss type of ending. (Now there's a funny, angry feminist comedy!) Still, despite it's flaws, I recommend the film. Especially if you're having one of those "too-tired-to-clean-the-puke/spaghetti sauce/chocolate-off-my-shirt" days.
If you don't know the premise, the story is about a working-mom who loves her job and her kids and is constantly stressed-out by juggling the two. And it's funny. You can see why it would appeal to me. I love what I do. Who wouldn't? It has it all: low pay, long hours, constant rejection and humiliating pleas for money. (Click here to witness my own humiliating plea.) But at the end of it, if you're lucky, you have a movie. Something that, hopefully, will live on past you. Or at least until the next new innovation in technology renders your film/tape/USB drive obsolete. But I digress.
"I Don't Know How She Does It" spoke to me, in a way that a lot of films don't. I related to the main character's struggle - I live by my lists. I thought I lost my Droid yesterday and almost went into cardiac arrest because I couldn't figure out how I'd manage even 10 minutes without it. And there were funny send-ups of female stereotypes: the SAHM who has made her kids her career, the ambitious single woman who lives for her work and swears never to have children, and the male boss who doesn't want to hear about your kids, or that you have a life, and gets all tongue-tied at the mere mention of a mammogram. But there were some things the film got really wrong. For instance, Sarah Jessica Parker ends up working on a project with Pierce Brosnon and they start to really connect. So much so that (SPOILER ALERT), he asks her to run away with him to Aruba and she doesn't even blink before saying no. Really? I mean, I love my husband, but if Pierce Brosnan asked me to run away to Aruba, I'd be in Bloomie's buying a new bathing suit before you could say "Binge & Purge!" Maybe I'd come to my senses once ensconced on the plane and hearing the dulcet tones of a newborn crying right before take-off. (Or maybe not.) And, like a lot of popular present-day myths, the movie capitalizes on the perceived sharp-divide between working moms and stay-at-home moms. Yes, there are those who pursue child-rearing like an extreme sport and look down on those of us who don't, but most of us feel like there aren't enough hours in the day, no matter what choices we've made. Finally, there is the ending. The same boss who got tongue-tied at the mention of a mammogram takes a stand that is completely out of character. Yes, it was nice and made me feel good, but what I really wanted was a "Nine to Five" stringing up of the chauvinistic boss type of ending. (Now there's a funny, angry feminist comedy!) Still, despite it's flaws, I recommend the film. Especially if you're having one of those "too-tired-to-clean-the-puke/spaghetti sauce/chocolate-off-my-shirt" days.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Being Thankful
In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd list all of the things that I'm thankful for this holiday. I'm thankful that I have a loving, supportive husband who takes days off work so I can film, who does the nightly routine so I can get a little more work in, who happily takes care of the kids while I'm out at networking events/film seminars/random things that come up, who, on my darkest days tells me I have to keep going. I'm thankful for my family, who whenever I have a shoot or an event or a fund-raiser are the first to help out, kick in and contribute. I'm thankful for my friends who understand that I still love them even when I'm in the midst of production and haven't had time to speak with them, who show up to all my screenings and events in spades and who are there to cheer me on in good times and shore me up in bad. I'm thankful for my children, who even as they complain that they don't see me enough (despite my being their primary care-giver), brag about me to their friends and beg me to help them make their own films and watch as I work on mine. I'm thankful for those of you reading this (and commenting), which makes me feel like I'm not alone in my insanity!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
My Top 10 Tips for Losing Weight
As almost anyone who's met me can probably tell you, I've been trying to lose that extra 20-30 pounds of baby weight ever since I had my twins almost 10 years ago. I've been up as much as 30 pounds and down to 6 pounds over. (I swear! There was a period of about 2 days where my former weight was within spitting distance.) However, I believe I have finally found a successful program and I'm writing it down in hopes that it can help you, too. WARNING: this diet is not for everyone. I would not recommend consulting your doctor, however, as he/she is sure to be against it.
1) Stop eating real food. Eat pre-packaged diet food, preferably on the run, with the occasional bag of Fritos or small sorbet thrown in for good measure. Try to eat a vegetable or two, or just eat whatever your kids leave over on their plates, as I'm sure you're feeding them healthy meals. If you don't have kids, see #2 below.
2) Be in possession of 2 9-year-old children who are just starting middle school, where they will be expected to change classes, organize books for about 8 different classes, keep a schedule of all homework due, and have 3-4 hours of homework per night. The running back and forth to school to get forgotten books, back & forth between kitchen and dining room to help with said homework, and the sheer stress of trying to remember what expanded number form is will burn myriads of calories. If you don't have children of your own, borrow some. I'm sure any parent will be happy to lend them for an extended period of time. One will do, but two is better.
3) Be in the final stages of post-production on a film and submit your film to a festival before it's completely finished. If you are on vacation when you do this, all the better. The extra texting and phone calls required will give your calorie burn an extra push. If you are not a filmmaker, then make sure to find a huge project that starts right as school is beginning and is due in mid to late October. If you don't have a job, volunteer work will do just as well. (E.g. Volunteer to run your school's Halloween Party, be very ambitious, and don't take too many volunteers to help you. If you don't have kids, see #2 above.)
4) Make sure said festival does not send out notifications until just a week or two before the festival starts to promote maximum anxiety. Anxiety (which can induce pacing, a real boon if you don't have time to exercise) and obsessively checking indieWire, Facebook, Twitter and the festival's website all contribute to calorie burn. Make sure you have a smartPhone so that this checking can go throughout the day and during soccer/ballet/music lesson, etc.
5) Initiate post-production with cash-flow difficulties. Begin the process after you have written a grant to cover the expenses (for which you've been led to believe you have a chance), but before the grant awards are announced. More chances to check all forms of social media for an answer with the added bonus of trying to scroll through an hours-long saved-webcast of public meetings for which said grant awards may or may not be announced. For calories burned, see #4. (Note to all my post-production people: you will be paid. I'm obsessive about paying my bills. If I don't have the money, I will scrimp on food. See #1 above.)
6) Get sick. Make sure your children are sick as well. This shouldn't be too difficult, as schools are teaming with infection and wild changes in weather should help. If possible, make sure that your spouse or partner gets sick as well. This will ensure that you will be too tired from taking care of everyone to eat, save for the middle-of-the-night raids on the pistachio jar, which doesn't count, in my opinion.
7) Drink lots of tea. With milk or (preferably) half-and-half. I know, half-and-half has fat, but it will keep you sustained as you forego food. (See #1.) And make sure to add your choice of milk to every tea, even lovely, smoky, Japanese tea. Bonus points for adding the milk in secret to avoid offending tea purists the world over.
8) When most stressful period has passed, continue to create new obstacles which will keep you at this heightened state of stress. One suggestion, make sure you partner with someone of a different faith so that you have double the amount of holidays to celebrate, double the meals to cook (but not eat!) and double the amount of clean-up afterward. If you can convince your partner to sit on the couch and do nothing while this is happening, all the better. (I can't. Mine insists on doing most of the work for these gatherings.) If you have an annoyingly helpful partner, stressing about getting all of the children's clutter out of the common areas and cleaning it should give you sufficient caloric burn.
9) Ensure that the birthdays in your household all fall within a 45-day window. If they don't, I suggest moving them. Throw incredibly creative (and separate) parties for the children which require hunting through stores for just the right thing for goody bags as well as materials for craft activities. The messier the better, as it will involve much more clean-up. You lose points for giving candy, especially so close to Halloween. Plus, all the extra candy around the house is just too tempting. Especially those mini Three Muskateers.
10) Whenever there are occasions where your children receive candy (and there are lots of them right about now), feed them as much of it as you can in the fastest possible time. If they won't eat enough of it to keep out of your reach, hide it. If that fails, when they've gotten tired of candy or forgotten they have it because it's been hidden for so long, send it to work with your partner. His/her co-workers will love you for it.
That's it! Your weight may fluctuate due to the occasional binge, but if you can keep to this schedule, the weight is sure to come off!
1) Stop eating real food. Eat pre-packaged diet food, preferably on the run, with the occasional bag of Fritos or small sorbet thrown in for good measure. Try to eat a vegetable or two, or just eat whatever your kids leave over on their plates, as I'm sure you're feeding them healthy meals. If you don't have kids, see #2 below.
2) Be in possession of 2 9-year-old children who are just starting middle school, where they will be expected to change classes, organize books for about 8 different classes, keep a schedule of all homework due, and have 3-4 hours of homework per night. The running back and forth to school to get forgotten books, back & forth between kitchen and dining room to help with said homework, and the sheer stress of trying to remember what expanded number form is will burn myriads of calories. If you don't have children of your own, borrow some. I'm sure any parent will be happy to lend them for an extended period of time. One will do, but two is better.
3) Be in the final stages of post-production on a film and submit your film to a festival before it's completely finished. If you are on vacation when you do this, all the better. The extra texting and phone calls required will give your calorie burn an extra push. If you are not a filmmaker, then make sure to find a huge project that starts right as school is beginning and is due in mid to late October. If you don't have a job, volunteer work will do just as well. (E.g. Volunteer to run your school's Halloween Party, be very ambitious, and don't take too many volunteers to help you. If you don't have kids, see #2 above.)
4) Make sure said festival does not send out notifications until just a week or two before the festival starts to promote maximum anxiety. Anxiety (which can induce pacing, a real boon if you don't have time to exercise) and obsessively checking indieWire, Facebook, Twitter and the festival's website all contribute to calorie burn. Make sure you have a smartPhone so that this checking can go throughout the day and during soccer/ballet/music lesson, etc.
5) Initiate post-production with cash-flow difficulties. Begin the process after you have written a grant to cover the expenses (for which you've been led to believe you have a chance), but before the grant awards are announced. More chances to check all forms of social media for an answer with the added bonus of trying to scroll through an hours-long saved-webcast of public meetings for which said grant awards may or may not be announced. For calories burned, see #4. (Note to all my post-production people: you will be paid. I'm obsessive about paying my bills. If I don't have the money, I will scrimp on food. See #1 above.)
6) Get sick. Make sure your children are sick as well. This shouldn't be too difficult, as schools are teaming with infection and wild changes in weather should help. If possible, make sure that your spouse or partner gets sick as well. This will ensure that you will be too tired from taking care of everyone to eat, save for the middle-of-the-night raids on the pistachio jar, which doesn't count, in my opinion.
7) Drink lots of tea. With milk or (preferably) half-and-half. I know, half-and-half has fat, but it will keep you sustained as you forego food. (See #1.) And make sure to add your choice of milk to every tea, even lovely, smoky, Japanese tea. Bonus points for adding the milk in secret to avoid offending tea purists the world over.
8) When most stressful period has passed, continue to create new obstacles which will keep you at this heightened state of stress. One suggestion, make sure you partner with someone of a different faith so that you have double the amount of holidays to celebrate, double the meals to cook (but not eat!) and double the amount of clean-up afterward. If you can convince your partner to sit on the couch and do nothing while this is happening, all the better. (I can't. Mine insists on doing most of the work for these gatherings.) If you have an annoyingly helpful partner, stressing about getting all of the children's clutter out of the common areas and cleaning it should give you sufficient caloric burn.
9) Ensure that the birthdays in your household all fall within a 45-day window. If they don't, I suggest moving them. Throw incredibly creative (and separate) parties for the children which require hunting through stores for just the right thing for goody bags as well as materials for craft activities. The messier the better, as it will involve much more clean-up. You lose points for giving candy, especially so close to Halloween. Plus, all the extra candy around the house is just too tempting. Especially those mini Three Muskateers.
10) Whenever there are occasions where your children receive candy (and there are lots of them right about now), feed them as much of it as you can in the fastest possible time. If they won't eat enough of it to keep out of your reach, hide it. If that fails, when they've gotten tired of candy or forgotten they have it because it's been hidden for so long, send it to work with your partner. His/her co-workers will love you for it.
That's it! Your weight may fluctuate due to the occasional binge, but if you can keep to this schedule, the weight is sure to come off!
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