Six Team Faves – Inspiring Women in Film and TV

It’s International Womens’ Day, and to mark the occasion we decided to big up some of the brilliant women in film and TV who inspire, entertain and amaze us. We asked some of the members of team Fireworks to pick their top inspirational women from the film world. Here are our top five.

Diablo Cody

Chosen by Hannah Robinson, Fireworks Director and Co-writer. Hannah says:

I’ve chosen Diablo Cody because she’s written some of the most witty, moving and irreverent movies, with the coolest, funniest flawed female screen characters, particularly Mavis Gary in Young Adult and Juno in, er, Juno. Her pen name is  Diablo Cody because she was listening to a song called Diablo whilst driving through a town called Cody. Also, she worked as a stripper who incorporated ninja kicks and screaming into her routines.

Lena Denham

Chosen by Jonathan Hall, Fireworks Co-writer. Jonathan says:

I’m going to choose Lena Dunham (of Tiny Furniture movie and HBO’s Girls TV series fame) – not just because I, myself, am a fearless, ferociously perceptive, young woman (inside a burly man body, obviously), but because she makes me properly laugh and gasp out loud while showing me something brand new. Kind of what we were trying to do with Fireworks.

Jodie Foster

Chosen by Claire Burns, Fireworks Executive Producer.

Since her debut at the age of three, Jodie Foster has had a staggering career as an actor, delivering acclaimed and memorable performances in Taxi Driver, The Accused, and Silence of the Lambs, and graduating from successful child star to A-list adult actor. Always convincing, always authentic, and generally brilliant in every role, she has now turned her talents to directing and producing. A woman with a genuine passion and understanding for film.

Ida Lupino

Chosen by Wendy Griffin, Fireworks Producer. Wendy says:

Ida Lupino (born in 1918) has always intrigued me as a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her forty-eight year career, she appeared in fifty-nine films as an actress and directed seven others. She co-wrote and co-produced some of her own films as well.

Jane Campion

Chosen by Simone Pereira-Hind, Fireworks Casting Director. Simone says:

I’m going to be really predictable and go for Jane Campion for sharing her astonishing vision with us, particularly for Top of the Lake, In the Cut, The Piano and An Angel at my Table. She writes incredible roles for women, gets staggering performances from her actors, shoots sexy but not exploitative scenes and knows how to point the camera and capture those stunning landscapes. Genius! LOVE her!

Sofia Coppola

Chosen by Rebecca Thompson, Fireworks Digital Producer. Rebecca says:

Sofia has been in the movies since she played a male baby in The Godfather, but it’s as a writer and director (a bit like our Hannah!) that she really shines. She’s the brains behind one of the most genuine and moving love stories in recent cinema history, Lost in Translation, as well as capturing the zeitgeist with The Bling Ring and The Virgin Suicides. Coppola has a bit of a thing for casting previous child actors in leading roles, so maybe our Kat will end up in one of her films one day?

 

Over to you

Who are your icons of women in film? Tell us who inspires you.

7 Good Reasons to Support Fireworks

With only 6 days to go until our campaign ends, we really need your support. Lots of you have already contributed, tweeted and shared about our film. Some of you, though, may still be dithering, and others may have no intention of supporting us. Yet! We want you with us on this. Here are seven reasons why you should get on board.

1. All The Best People Say So

Yes, we hang with some of the coolest people on Twitter. The brilliant Stephen Fry has put out a tweet telling people to support our film, and we’ve been retweeted by lovely people like Rebecca Front, Rory Bremner, Billie Myers and Gail Porter.

2. We Have Ewen Bremner

Ewen is a brilliant actor and we are thrilled to be able to create a role for him in his home town. Poor Ewen has been stuck out in Hollywood too long – give the poor chap a trip home.

3. You Might be in it Too!

Looking for our new teen star

We’re running an open online casting call for the role of Kat, a headstrong, sparky teenage girl. Tons of young women have already submitted their auditions. Will you be the chosen Kat to play the lead role?

4. It’s Made By Women

Not many films are made by women. Most don’t even have a lot of women in them! And when they do, these women don’t have much to say. With Fireworks the Exec Producer, Producer, Co-writer, Director and even the web guy are all women! Let’s show what they can do.

5. It Sorts Out Your Christmas Shopping

Don’t just do it for us – do it for that tricky international auntie who loves knitting, or that guy in the office who’s a bit of a smunt. Our campaign is one big Christmas shopping market. Check it out.

6. We Want to Destigmatise Mental Disorder

Fireworks is inspired by Director and Co-writer Hannah’s experience of growing up with a father who suffered from bipolar disorder, or manic depression. Hannah wants the film to help get people talking openly about mental illness, to help reduce the stigma that sufferers already face.

7. It’s Going to be Good

This is (arguably) the most important point on the list. Fireworks is going to be a cracking good film. It’s funny, it’s got a great actor confirmed and others potentially in the wings. The script has won a ton of awards, and the team behind it are celebrated film-makers and writers. You do not want to miss out on this film!

It’s not easy to get a film off the ground that bucks the box office trends and tries to do something a bit different, but with a bit of help we think we can create something really special. Please support our film, and help spread the word on twitter and Facebook. Thank you!

Why we all Need to Support Films by Women

Do you know how many women produce, direct or even star in films? You would be shocked by some of the statistics. According to The Celluloid Screen Report, Women make up just a small proportion of film-making professionals. They found the following:

• 9% of directors are women
• 15% of writers are women
• 25% of producers are women
• 17% of executive producers are women

… and according to a study released by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism:

• 28% speaking roles are for women

Pretty shocking. And no it’s not because women are rubbish at film-making, and not because people don’t want to see films about women. When women do appear as lead characters (Pretty in Pink, Devil Wears Prada, Thelma and Louise, Bridget Jones…) these films are box office hits. Partly because women buy 50% of the cinema tickets.

Here at Fireworks, we didn’t set out to make a female film, or to give on or off screen opportunities to women. We just set out to make a great film. It just so happened that our Director, Producer, Exec Producer, Digital Developer, and one of our two Co-writers, are all female. They’re all just great at their jobs.

You want more films to be by women, right? You want to see more bright, strong, funny women playing leading roles in feature films? You want talented female film-makers to inspire the next generation of young women to do just whatever the smunt they want, yes? Any you want some choice when you go to the cinema?

Please show your support for women in film by helping make one film (largely) by, and about, women. We really need your support to make this happen, so pledge a few pounds or pennies, share our IndieGoGo page on Facebook and Twitter, and leave us a nice comment. Thank you!

Fireworks on IndieGoGo: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fireworks–4/x/351097