Charitini

changetheratio: “Afternoon Delight” just won Best Director at...

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 13:24:51 -0500

“Afternoon Delight” just won Best Director at Sundance for writer/director Jill Soloway. It was her first feature. The film stars Kathryn Hahn as a hipster-suburban wife and mother struggling with what she’s supposed to do with her life. After she goes to a strip club with her husband and gets a lap dance, she decides that she’s supposed to save the stripper - so she brings her home to live with her family as the new nanny. Supporting cast includes Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), Michaela Watkins (Wanderlust), Jessica St. Clair (Bridesmaids), Annie Mumolo (Bridesmaids) and Michael Keegan-Key (Key & Peele) and Jane Lynch (Glee).

Notable in this film is its Bechdel-busting lineup: there are seven named female characters, all of whom talk to each other, about things other than men. (The Bechdel Test is really simple, and yet it’s amazing how many movies fail it spectacularly.)

From “The Feminist Delights of Afternoon Delight“ which I wrote for BitchMedia:

Marriages need spicing up. Romance fades in the face of diapers. Familiarity breeds contempt. Strippers are agents of downfall, redemption, or both. And perfect suburban life has its dark side. Is it different this time, in the hands of a female writer/director? And should that matter?
Yes and yes. Damned straight yes.

More:

Filmmaking is about storytelling from a specific perspective. When that perspective is dominated by one type of person—generally white men—then storytelling as a whole suffers. This is definitely a film that men will watch and enjoy… But in the evolving subgenre of film where former twentysomething romantic leads suddenly find themselves grappling with a new kind of hipster malaise, it’s nice to have a woman’s perspective in there, along with Judd Apatow’s.

And:

It’s no secret that there are way more roadblocks for woman making movies. At Sundance, where Afternoon Delight premiered earlier this week, a comprehensive study called “Exploring the Barriers and Opportunities for Independent Women Filmmakers” also had its debut, finding a ratio between male and female directors of 15.24 to 1. The reasons for this disparity included significantly less access to funding; fewer women as prestige and pay scale increase; and being cockblocked in Hollywood’s world of “male-dominated industry networking.”
The study also found that films directed by women involve more women across the board—a female director means an average of 21 percent more women working on narrative film and 24 percent more women working on documentaries. This means more roles for women on-camera and off, more opportunities for experience and advancement.

Amazing to see “Afternoon Delight” get recognition as a smart, complex and provocative film. Its success will pave the way for other Bechel Test-smashing filmmakers - and honestly, that’s good for everyone.

(Also, I love Kathryn Hahn. So there’s that.)

What she said.

"[T]he business is run by men. Although the interesting thing is, so many studio heads are women. So..."

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 13:23:46 -0500

“

[T]he business is run by men. Although the interesting thing is, so many studio heads are women. So many of these women have bought into the male mindset. They don’t care about whether they think women are funny, it’s like the John Maynard Keynes thing, it’s about the beauty pageant. You pick not who you think is the most beautiful, but who you think most people will think is most beautiful. So that’s what they are doing… I think we are getting to a winter of disconte. When they notice something authentic, that is starting to pay off.

That’s why when six years ago Judd Apatow made the 40 Year Old Virgin, it felt different. Now it doesn’t feel different. But with this, it’s women doing what he did six years ago in a way. It’s like, holy crap, it’s weird, it’s different and I love it. And I think what has to happen is that we need to go see that movie. We need to make it make a hundred million dollars.

Now they’ll take away the wrong lesson — just put chicks in there talking about vaginas, instead of funny, really funny smart chicks doing it, working as hard as they did to make a great movie.

But it’s a systemic change from the bottom up, where you vote for a movie for going to see it.

”

- Stuart Blumberg, co-writer of “The Kids Are All Right” with Lisa Cholodhenko on “The Female Funny: Is It Different For Girls?” panel at SXSW 2011. The movie he was referring to was Bridesmaids. I’ve been thinking about his comments a lot during this year’s Sundance, with half the directors represented by films in the festival being women. Will that translate when it comes time for acquisition and distribution? (via changetheratio)

IMG_9131 on Flickr.Atop a Koko Head Crater in Oahu, Hawaii. Feb....

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 15:33:23 -0400

IMG_9131 on Flickr.

Atop a Koko Head Crater in Oahu, Hawaii. Feb. 2012. It used to be a military outpost with over a thousand steps/railway ties to the top. You may notice a stray bit of feminine-themed graffiti below my feet - not sure if it has anything to do with the lore behind the mountain:

“Koko Crater is also known as Kohelepelepe, which means “labia minor” in the Hawaiian language. It got this name from an ancient legend, which tells of one of the sisters of the volcano goddess Pele named Kapo, who had a magical “flying vagina” that she could send anywhere. When Kamapua’a, the pig god, tried to rape Pele, Kapo came to help her. She distracted Kamapua’a by throwing her vagina to Koko Head, where it made the crater.”

http://www.to-hawaii.com/oahu/attractions/kokoheadcrater.php

~hpa0027 on Flickr.Lawyer Rachel, about a week after moving to...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 10:06:39 -0400

~hpa0027 on Flickr.

Lawyer Rachel, about a week after moving to NY, taking a headshot for the White & Case law firm facebook. Note shortness of skirt. My businesswear fashion sense had been wholly informed by Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place. I was 25 and still had the sunkissed streaks I’d put in right after graduating law school that had been further lightened by a month in Europe. September 1998. Oh Lordy this kid had no idea. Still doesn’t, actually.

~hpa0026 on Flickr.In St. Petersburg during the World Cup of...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 10:03:49 -0400

~hpa0026 on Flickr.

In St. Petersburg during the World Cup of Hockey, May 2000, at the tail end of my time in Stockholm. My break-in moment in journalism - front-page of the sports section of the National Post (Canada). Here with my great friend Sandra from Stockholm (pink jacket), my law school friend Steph Bolt (working at the time as a lawyer in Moscow), Tatiana Yashin, mother of NHL player Alexei, and Carol Alt, then Alexei’s girlfriend and still together, I believe. That was a funny day.

~hpa0025 on Flickr.A favorite shot from Malta, June 2002. (I was...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 09:58:14 -0400

~hpa0025 on Flickr.

A favorite shot from Malta, June 2002. (I was covering the World Cup of Lawyers. Yes, that is a thing.)

Cuppla Mugs on Flickr.This is me and my then-boyfriend Chris...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 09:54:45 -0400

Cuppla Mugs on Flickr.

This is me and my then-boyfriend Chris Burnside modeling the CuppleRobe for a photo that would run by my story in Glamour. We legit road-tested that thing and it was a sweaty and hilarious mess. The actual one we used was burgundy and I still have it and use it as an extra bedspread in winter and in that respect it is awesome. May actually be the best piece of swag I ever received.

Greek Pleasure Pie on Flickr.I forgot for three years that I...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 09:52:33 -0400

Greek Pleasure Pie on Flickr.

I forgot for three years that I could send Flickr pics to Tumblr. Uh oh. This is trouble.

Here’s a story I wrote for Glamour in late 2003 that was picked up by Greek Glamour. It was something about increasing your slice of the pleasure pie. And there you go.

tomato_good on Flickr.Sometimes, the tomato chooses you.

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 09:48:05 -0400

tomato_good on Flickr.

Sometimes, the tomato chooses you.

"Women: Your Secret ROI Engine" @ BenchmarkNY, May 9, 2012

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:21:59 -0400

"Women: Your Secret ROI Engine" @ BenchmarkNY, May 9, 2012:

changetheratio:

Very excited for BenchmarkNYC next week - inaugural conference addressing social media ROI with some great speakers including Jon Steinberg from BuzzFeed, Steve Krakauer from CNN Digital, Curtis Hougland from Attention - and Megan Berry from LiftFive, Cindy Gallop from IfWeRanTheWorld, Kristin Maverick from the Barbarian Group, Erin Newkirk from RedStamp and Lisa Joy Rosner from NetBase avec moi in this killer panel:

Pinterest, Groupon, Facebook, Zynga- it’s no accident that where huge engagement is to be found, so too will you find a majority of women. Women are hyper-networkers and message magnifiers, and are often the first to discover trends (and create them). This isn’t just about adding pink to a button (please, don’t), it’s about the power of women drivers, from beginning to end, at every level of strategy (including the people making it!). There are powerful magnifying effects of leveraging hidden constituencies (if you doubt, consider “The Hunger Games” and its $500 million box office). The Barbarian Group’s Kristin Maverick, LiftFive’s Megan Berry, IfWeRanTheWorld’s Cindy Gallop, NetBase’s Lisa Joy Rosner, and Change The Ratio’s Rachel Sklar, will explain how women are your secret engine of ROI. Men, this is for you, too.

The rest of the schedule is here. If you’re interested in coming go here and use this discount code: Benchmark7224. And if you want to know more ping me here.

Knight News Challenge: CTR & TheLi.st

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:57:34 -0400

Knight News Challenge: CTR & TheLi.st:

changetheratio:

So! CTR is on the move. We love how far we’ve come (seriously, that #changetheratio hashtag is like the best batsignal ever, flashing to us from far and wide) but we know that more can be done. We need to scale. Enter TheLi.st - and, hopefully, the Knight Foundation News Challenge. The blueprint for what we plan to do is below.

newschallenge:

1. What do you propose to do? [20 words]

Scale the private listserv I run for female leaders in technology/media into an open network of and for women.

2. Is anyone doing something like this now and how is your project different? [30 words]

No. This segment is vastly underserved. There are massive information asymmetries between men and women that broaden over time. This network will correct them through curation, crowdsourcing and social connection.

3. Describe the network with which you intend to build or work. [50 words]

I plan to formalize The List (at www.TheLi.st) as an email newsletter featuring curated news, original features and key resources for entrepreneurs. I plan to build an associated social network with profiles featuring members and, where germane, their rates. This will vastly improve visibility, access and opportunies for women.

4. Why will it work? [100 words]

I have already seen it work - incredibly well, and incredibly fast - within the context of the private, ad-hoc listserv for women that I currently run. Women sharing information, contacts, opportunities, war stories, giving each other props and encouragement, using each other’s wisdom, networks and resources to pull each other upward - it has been incredible to watch. There is huge demand for this, one I can’t fill alone, on the side. It’s not just for women - The List will be a key resource for anyone - and, as a portal to amazing women, for VCs as well.

5. Who is working on it? [100 words]

Right now it is just me. I have an extensive network of terrific women involved, whose incredible contributions power the listserv with multiple postings (and incredibly high repeat viewership) per day, but I run and moderate the listserv, organize events and make connections among members and provide offline connection that I am desperate to automate. I have concepted a shared-equity model of 20 advisers, mostly women, each with 0.5% of The List, helping it grow and develop. Thus far, eight are on board.

6. What part of the project have you already built? [100 words]

I come to this table with a listserv of almost 300 women, and a deep bench of nominations and requests to join. I also come with an extensive network across media, tech, business and entertainment that I have been working with consistently in the process of building Change The Ratio, the not-for-profit organization/movement I co-founded in spring 2010 to elevate and de-invisibilize awesome women through increasing visibility, leading to increased access and increased opportunities. Almost two years later, Change The Ratio is a well-known brand ready to be taken to the next level.

7. How would you sustain the project after the funding expires? [50 words]

Sponsors, advertisers and premium events - on one hand, creating incredible learning and networking opportunities for our high-level membership, and on the other, providing sponsors and advertisers access to their brain and market power via targeted campaigns and visibility opportunities. This network is already amazing - wait ‘til it scales.
Requested amount from Knight News Challenge: $250,000
Expected amount of time required to complete project: 12 months (4 to build the infrastructure, 8 more to become self-sustaining)

Total Project Cost: $500,000

Name: Rachel Sklar

Twitter: @rachelsklar

Organization: Change The Ratio

Country: USA (via Canada)

changetheratio: Hey Girl, Ryan Gosling thinks you should earn a...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:56:24 -0400

changetheratio:

Hey Girl, Ryan Gosling thinks you should earn a helluva lot more than 77 cents on the dollar.

Introducing: Equal Pay Day Ryan Gosling [The Daily Muse]

Fact. Come!.

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:37:49 -0400

Fact.

Come!.

Change The Ratio: The XX Voting Bloc

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:16:00 -0500

Change The Ratio: The XX Voting Bloc:

changetheratio:

It’s barely two months old, but 2012 has already been incredibly interesting - and specifically, interesting for women. From an instant bestseller focusing on the Obama presidency as a partnership with the First Lady to the massive Komen backlash to the sudden and furious contraception debate, the power and influence and voice of women have suddenly been impossible to ignore.

I say “suddenly” because, well, it hasn’t been so impossible in the past. Even in 2008, in a historic race with the first-ever viable female presidential candidate and a (sometimes scarily viable) female vice-presidential candidate, the race was less about issues relating to women as a whole than these women, and what they represented and how they challenged us and the national paradigm. But we didn’t see the raw flexing of collective muscle that much - except in the case of the PUMAs, older women and Hillary supporters who felt they’d been rendered invisible, and were mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. Suddenly this demographic group came together, and swung around a pretty hefty political chip: their vote.

That chip, mostly ignored over the ramp-up to 2012 (hi, GOP race!), has now come sharply into focus. Women as a raw demographic unit exercise incredible power across every element of American life. They control the lion’s share of household spending, drive product, move merch, and unleash markets. They are the engine of the online social explosion - and they put their money there, too. So it only makes sense that in 2012, that raw demographic power would bring its heft to electoral politics.

In 2012, far more than in 2008, there is social media - an amped-up, globe-spanning Facebook and Twitter; the incredible instant window of Instagram; even a budding political tool in Pinterest. In 2012, our social networks are so far developed as to regularly supplant the distribution tools we relied upon in 2008. And in 2012, those social networks are making the difference for women, flexing political might with a fist that swings larger, comes faster and hits harder than ever before.

There’s more.

How I Got From The Superbowl To Showtunes In 5 Easy Steps

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:22:47 -0500

…and this was BEFORE “Brotherhood of Man!” Since I have oft-emphasized the secret link between sports and showtunes, I found this amusing. It all started by clicking a link on the SportsGrid newsletter…

1. Here’s How To Fake It Through Your Super Bowl Party - SportsGrid. On the top of the page I noticed something more apropos to my interests…

2. This Super Bowl Ad Is Already Facing Sexism Accusations - SportsGrid. It linked to a few other accounts, one which I duly clicked upon, like so…

3. Watch Telaflora’s Super Sexist Super Bowl Ad - Jezebel, which had as a link on the side that caught my attention…

4. Octavia Spencer Fires Back Against the Media Who Won’t Shut Up About Her Weight - turns out this was a collection of news nuggets, which I faithfully read down through bits on Blake Lively, Brad Pitt, Katherine Heigel (OH I’M HUMAN CUT ME SOME SLACK), Michael Fassbender (see? To get to Fassbender, you must weather the Heigl), Demi Moore, Jami Lynn Spears until…until…

5. Taylor Swift Out As Eponine - Crazy Days & Nights, which was linked to in Jezebel’s roundup. They suggested I watch new-movie-Eponined Samantha Banks’ version for the 25th anniversary concert, which I happily did. Kid can sing.

Just wanted to memorialize this before I forgot. Smash reminded me. That was one helluva baseball number. Wow.

“It’s like Pandora for cats.” So many gems....

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:06:09 -0500

“It’s like Pandora for cats.”

So many gems. Awesome from husbo-wife team Kate Imbach & Tom Conrad.

fauxlaroids: Rachel Sklar at Key Foods. Just saw this! Wow...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:52:40 -0500

fauxlaroids:

Rachel Sklar at Key Foods.

Just saw this! Wow this was ages ago. Hi Nikola!

maura: Liza. Pet Shop Boys. Follies. Aaaaaaaaaaaa Um WOW

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:47:21 -0500

maura:

Liza. Pet Shop Boys. Follies.

Aaaaaaaaaaaa

Um WOW

"What is real? What is fake? What is Kardashian? I think 2012 will demand that we say so up front."

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:11:27 -0500

"What is real? What is fake? What is Kardashian? I think 2012 will demand that we say so up front.":

Predictin’.

Filter bubbles burst, blind spots shrunk, curation over SEO: Rachel Sklar’s predictions for 2012 [Nieman Lab]

changetheratio: Last-minute charity top-off? 115 donors helped...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:51:34 -0500

changetheratio:

Last-minute charity top-off? 115 donors helped 2,856 kids - now that’s a ratio I can get behind! BONUS: Used the old-skool Gotham filter, for kicks. Pretty please & THANKS: bit.ly/LizzieRach

(Taken with instagram)

2011 end-of-year karma!