Synopsis
An inside look at the impact women are having on the movie and television industries. Script consultant and author Linda Seger has interviewed many of the key players in the emerging power of women in television and film, including, Sherry Lansing, Dawn Steel, Gillian Armstrong, Marlo Thomas, Lynda La Plante, Norah Ephron, Liv Ullman, and Jane Wyman.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1997-12-01 | | Edition Description: | Reprint |
| Size | | Height: | 9.0 in | | Width: | 5.8 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 15.2 oz |
Publisher's Note
Women are working in all areas of film and TV and are clearly beginning to reshape the entertainment industry. Through interviews with such key players as Meg Ryan, Marlo Thomas, Richard and Lili Zanuck, and many others, internationally known script consultant and seminar leader Linda Seger shows just what the feminine touch means in what we see and will increasingly see in movie theaters and on our TV screens.
Industry Reviews
This is an exceptionally well-organized, broadly stimulating discussion of a topic that might interest almost anyone. Seger (From Script to Screen, LJ 2/1/94) incorporates interviews with women from many countries as well as some working outside the U.S. mainstream in avant-garde, documentary, independent, and even academic arenas. An impressive interviewer, Seger is undaunted in taking advantage of contacts in Mexico, Australia, Eastern Europe, and Asia, while keeping Hollywood production as the common reference point. Her background as a scriptwriter gives the interviews a strong focus on narrative problems, which is easily extended to the stories of the women and their work environments. Her enthusiasm and generosity toward what some might see as marginal participants gives the book unexpected depth. The book concludes with a discovery: "Women all over the world were asking for more diversity and balance in the films we see, teamwork and partnership with men, and more authentic female characters." Recommended for all libraries with an interest in contemporary culture. Jane E. Sloan, Rutgers Univ. Libs., New Brunswick, N.J.
Ives
The pedestrian title is unfortunately apt for this book by a script consultant who has also written texts on scriptwriting. Seger has interviewed key women working in TV and film today, including Dawn Steel, Sherry Lansing, Nora Ephron and Liv Ullman. Most of them say the dutiful, expectable things: that women have to work harder than men to succeed, need to develop mentoring strategies, can't lose sight of the need to entertain even when trying to create socially significant work and so on. The general effect is rather dull and repetitious. The layout of the book, in short bites that resemble paragraphs in a long magazine article, does not help, and Seger uncritically accepts anything her interviewees say (Sharon Stone: "I try to find pictures that support my soul... I have a pro-woman agenda."). The not very surprising conclusion: women have more power in the visual media than they used to, but still not nearly enough and too many movies that demean them still get made. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)
Lopate
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