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82 women walk the red carpet in Cannes film fest protest
Eighty-two women climbed the steps of the Palais des Festivals at the Cannes Film Festival in an unprecedented red carpet protest to press for improved gender equality in the film industry.
The number of stars, filmmakers and film industry professionals ascending the steps represented the number of female filmmakers who have been selected to compete at Cannes during the festival’s seven-decade history.
In contrast to their 82, 1,866 films directed by men have been picked for the prestigious festival lineup.
Organizers said the event was orchestrated by the Time’s Up movement and the French movement known as 5020×2020 to show “how hard it is still to climb the social and professional ladder” for women.
It brought an array of film industry professionals to the Cannes red carpet, including actresses Salma Hayek and Jane Fonda, “Wonder Woman” filmmaker Patty Jenkins and French director Agnes Varda, a recipient of an honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Also joining were the five female members of this year’s Cannes jury: Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Ava DuVernay, Lea Seydoux and Burundian singer Khadja Nin. Blanchett read a statement atop the Palais steps in English; Varda read it in French.
“Women are not a minority in the world, yet the current state of the industry says otherwise,” Blanchett said. “We stand together on these steps today as a symbol of our determination to change and progress.”
“The stairs of our industry must be accessible to all,” she concluded. “Let’s climb.”
The protest was held ahead of the premiere of French filmmaker Eva Husson’s “Girls of the Sun,” which is about a Kurdish battalion of women soldiers. Husson is one of three female filmmakers out of the 21 movies in competition for the Palme d’Or this year.
The other two — Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum,” and Alice Rohrwacher’s “Happy as Lazzaro” — are to premiere next week.
Cannes has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years over the number of female directors selected into its main slate, considered one of the most esteemed achievements in cinema. Jane Campion is the only female filmmaker to ever win the Palme.
The festival supported Saturday’s protest. Festival director Thierry Fremaux earlier this week hailed Saturday’s event as a way for women “to affirm their presence.”
Fremaux has repeatedly insisted that the festival chooses its films purely based on quality. But he’s also signaled that the festival is reanalyzing its procedures and making its selection committees gender-balanced.
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Author Burt Kearns (“Shemp: The Biography of the Three Stooges’ Shemp Howard: The Face of Film Comedy”) Guests On Harvey Brownstone Interviews
Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth Interview with Burt Kearns, Author, “SHEMP! The Biography of the Three Stooges’ Shemp Howard”.
Burt Kearns is an award-winning producer, director, writer, journalist and author who is renowned for his work in nonfiction television and film, in TV shows like “Breaking the Ice”, “Legsville Oral History”, “Guinness World Records Unleashed”, “Joe Rogan Questions Everything”, “The Secret History of Rock ‘n’ Roll” with Gene Simmons, “All The Presidents’ Movies”, and many more. He produced the excellent 2001 documentary, “Death of A Beatle”, about the death of John Lennon, and he co-wrote and produced the 2006 movie, “Cloud 9”, starring Burt Reynolds. He’s an Emmy Award winning newswriter, and he served as managing editor and producer of the highly popular TV shows, “A Current Affair” and “Hard Copy”.
But beyond all of that, Burt Kearns is also a highly acclaimed author. He wrote, “Tabloid Baby”, which traces the evolution of the tabloid television genre. He then co-wrote “The Show Won’t Go On: The Most Shocking, Bizarre, and Historic Deaths of Performers Onstage”, followed by “Lawrence Tierney: Hollywood’s Real-Life Tough Guy”.
Last year, he appeared on Harvey Brownstone Interviews to discuss his brilliant bestselling book entitled, “Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel”.
And now, he’s back to talk about his brand new book entitled, “Shemp: The Biography of the Three Stooges’ Shemp Howard: The Face of Film Comedy.” The Three Stooges are widely considered to be the greatest, most successful and most influential slapstick comedy group in modern history, and if you’re a fan of The Three Stooges – and who isn’t? – this extremely well-researched book is an absolute must-read, because the author enlightens us on the incredibly impressive – but until now, largely unexplored – life and body of work of the most misunderstood and the most underrated member of The Three Stooges, Shemp Howard, who was actually a highly accomplished, influential and respected comic actor in his own right.
Along with his brother Moe and vaudeville comedian Larry Fine, Shemp was an original member of the Three Stooges, but in 1932 he quit the group to pursue a solo acting career. He appeared in over a hundred movies alongside the biggest Hollywood stars, including W.C. Fields, John Wayne, James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, William Powell, Lon Chaney Jr., Myrna Loy, and the team of Abbott & Costello. But in 1946, when Curly became too ill to continue working, Shemp gave up a successful film career to help his brothers out by returning to The Three Stooges.
What’s really fascinating and compelling about this book, is that, because of his meticulous research, Burt Kearns challenges and debunks the “official” version of Three Stooges history, largely promoted by Moe, that’s been repeated for decades. The book shatters many myths and uncovers the surprising and often troubling facts behind the scenes surrounding Shemp’s departure from and return to The Three Stooges, and the circumstances surrounding his untimely death. But more than anything, the book confirms Shemp Howard’s well-deserved place in cinematic history.
Harvey Brownstone is a retired judge of the Ontario Court of Justice and was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He is also the bestselling author of “Tug of War: A Judge’s Verdict on Separation, Custody Battles and the Bitter Realities of Family Court” and hosted “Family Matters with Justice Harvey Brownstone,” a television talk show on matters involving the family justice system.
After a distinguished legal career, Harvey was appointed a judge at the age of 38 in 1995. He has presided in family and criminal courts. He has been a trailblazer in several ways. He was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He was the first sitting judge in the world to write a national best seller and to host a TV talk show.
Harvey has been a role model and icon in the LGBTQ community. When same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2003, he was the only judge to make himself publicly available to officiate at weddings for lesbian and gay couples travelling to Toronto from all over the world to get married. In 2007, he officiated at the wedding of Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, the American couple whose marriage triggered the 2013 United States Supreme Court decision overturning the definition of “spouse” in the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
In February 2021, Harvey launched his online talk show “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” on his own YouTube channel. He saw this as an interesting hobby. Within several months, the show attracted hundreds of thousands – and then eventually, millions – of viewers. Because of the overwhelming success of the show, Harvey decided to retire from the judiciary on December 31, 2021 after having presided as a full-time judge for 26 1/2 years. Free from the constraints imposed upon judges regarding the expression of opinions and the endorsement of private enterprise, Harvey now happily devotes his full-time attention to hosting “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” as a regular member of the public – albeit one with a rather illustrious and unique career history.
Watch Burt Kearns on Harvey Brownstone Interviews on Youtube here:
The official website for Harvey Brownstone Interviews may be found at https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com
Get “The Talk Show Blend” – Coffee For The Modern Day Trailblazer! By Harvey Brownstone from Breakfast At Dominique’s available at https://www.HollywoodBlends.com
For more information about Harvey Brownstone, here’s his Wikipedia page:
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