THE MUSE #108
In this edition: A director’s chair with a mission, award-worthy watching recommendations, and a throwback short film starring Bryce Dallas Howard.
Newsworthy & Opinions
Writing and directing a short film is not an uncommon passageway toward creating a full-length feature film. As a proof of concept, shorts can win festivals, be picked up by investors, and lead to larger projects. Check out Deadline’s selection of feature films that began as inspiring short films.
Visionary director Julie Taymor answers the Proust Questionnaire, sharing her thoughts on the 25th anniversary of The Lion King, the power of travel, and her fear of hippos.
The most compelling story in publishing this fall isn’t the latest literary sensation or a gossipy memoir. It’s 250 employees at HarperCollins, the second-largest book publisher in the country, going on strike to demand a fair contract.
The FREE THE WORK x Saffron + Poe Director’s Chair is Here!
According to the latest UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, underrepresentation continues for directors, despite some important gains. 3 out of 10 directors are people of color and 2 out of 10 directors were female-identifying in 2021. We still have to ask: “Who’s sitting in the director’s chair?”
In response, directors Bryce Dallas Howard and Claire Thomas designed a capsule collection of director’s chairs with woman-owned and ethical/sustainable home goods shop Saffron + Poe to support FREE THE WORK, a nonprofit global initiative and talent discovery platform for underrepresented creators.
“As a director and teacher who works with emerging artists, I’ve seen how access — in terms of visibility, opportunity, and connections — is the greatest hurdle for artists today,” says Bryce Dallas Howard. “Luckily, organizations like FREE THE WORK are actually moving the needle forward when it comes to lowering those barriers for directors and creators. Its initiatives are the actionable solutions that our entertainment industry desperately needs right now.”
Celebrate FREE THE WORK today with a FREE THE WORK Director’s Chair!
November is the Season — the Preamble to Awards Season
by Saralyn Armer, Nine Muses Production Executive
Welcome back to Production Muse, a space for getting creative about the business of entertainment. Every month, Nine Muses Production Executive Saralyn Armer shares practical advice for “making it” as a multi-hyphenate artist in the industry and essentials for navigating a career in the arts.
This is the time of year when studios are positioning their top movies and TV shows for Academy and Guild members alike to fall in love with their stories… and vote for them. Screeners are sent out and screenings with Filmmaker Q&As really pick up; there’s just an energy in the air as we move through the holiday season to talk about who’s seen what and what to watch next.
There’s also an uptick in movies and shows outside of those vying for the award season trophies. So as the film industry awaits in anticipation for the first screeners to arrive on their doorsteps, here are the Top 5 films and shows I’m most excited about.
Top 5 to Watch in November
Enola Holmes 2 (Netflix, November 4). Enola Holmes takes on her first case as a detective, but to unravel the mystery of a missing girl, she'll need some help from friends — and brother Sherlock.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (In Theaters, November 11). The leaders of Wakanda fight to protect their nation in the wake of King T'Challa's death. The heroes must band together to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.
The English (Amazon Prime, November 11). An aristocratic Englishwoman and a Pawnee ex-cavalry scout go on an epic Western chase, crossing a violent landscape of middle America in 1980. They have a clear sense of their destiny, but neither is aware that it is rooted in a shared past.
She Said (In Theaters, November 18). The shocking story surrounding the New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor who broke the bombshell Harvey Weinstein sex scandal shattering decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault and harassment.
Willow (Disney+, November 30). The magic returns in a new original series about an unlikely group of heroes who set off on a dangerous quest far beyond their home where they must face their inner demons and come together to save their world.
From the Howard Archives
Bryce Dallas Howard in Despair by Alex Prager
The setting: 1960s Los Angeles. Inside a phone booth stands a beautiful woman wearing the portentous femme fatale uniform of red lipstick and high heels. Bright and eerie, it’s picture-perfection.
In her first short film, LA-based photographer Alex Prager is going for pure, cinematic melodrama, hoping to catch just one emotion—despair—through her chilling juxtaposition of dreamy Americana aesthetics and back-story brimming with overstated tragedy. Watch this cinematic chiller, starring Bryce Dallas Howard above.
“To a historian, libraries are food, shelter, and even muse.”
Newsletter run by Nia Farrell, Director of Development & Production at Nine Muses Entertainment
