News Archive
Taryn Southern, Yulin Kuang and Clara Chung Join Geena Davis Institute’s #ShesGotDrive Campaign
Last night at the YouTube Space in Los Angeles, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, in partnership with YouTube and Ford, launched a brand new campaign called #ShesGotDRIVE, bringing together some of YouTube’s most popular and powerful female voices to promote a vision of female empowerment and equality. The #ShesGotDrive campaign has enlisted the help of YouTube powerhouses Taryn Southern, Yulin Kuang and Clara Chung (A.K.A. “Clara C.“) to make videos that both tell the stories of their own inspirations, path, and drive, as well as emphasize the fact that girls and women need to see more women like themselves in media in order for things to change in the real world. Read More…
#shesgotDRIVE on YouTube
Watch #shesgotDRIVE stories on our YouTube channel and share your stories of of the inspirational women in your life who have drive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with #shesgotDRIVE. Watch Now…
This Disheartening Fact About Women Over 40 In Hollywood Is Exactly Why Geena Davis Is Fighting So Hard For Equality
To be an older woman working in Hollywood — and by older, I mean, sadly, anyone over the age of 30 or so — requires something of a Herculean effort. Women of any age have a hard time finding quality roles on-screen, but those whom the industry considers past their prime have an even more difficult time getting roles and staying relevant. A 2016 analysis by Clemson economists Robert Fleck and Andrew Hanssen found that after age 40, male actors get 80 percent of the leading roles available, leaving women with just 20 percent, according to The Washington Post — a fact that, while sadly not surprising, is disturbing enough to motivate activists and actors like Geena Davis to get involved in the fight for female equality on-screen. Read More…
#shesgotDRIVE Campaign
#shesgotDRIVE is a new campaign by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Ford Motor Company, aimed at raising awareness about the need to improve gender equality both in front of, and behind the camera. Join Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis and leading Youtube Creators, Taryn Southern, Yulin Kuang and Clara Chung, to celebrate the launch. Read More…
Christus LiveWell Women’s Conference
Acclaimed, award-winning actress Geena Davis will keynote the 10th annual Christus LiveWell Women’s Conference, an all-day event showcasing the latest in health and wellness on Thursday, May 11, at Ford Park in Beaumont. “Geena Davis epitomizes in her roles and in her daily life the grace, beauty, creativity, compassion and power of a woman,” says Becky Howard, Christus Southeast Texas Health System conference lead. “We are honored that she will help us celebrate 10 years of discovering, reviving and shining all of the qualities that make us the women we are.” Read More…
One of the best films at Sundance is a VR experience
The Sundance Film Festival is all about the shared experience of the theater, so imagine the surprise of realizing that one of the most moving films at this year’s fest most moving films is something that can only be seen inside of an Oculus Rift headset. “Dear Angelica ” is a 12-minute illustrated story about memory, movies and grief that premiered at the Festival last Friday. In the film, a girl, voiced by Mae Whitman, lies in bed writing a letter to Angelica (Geena Davis), a famous movie star who we also discover was her mother. We swirl around in her memories of Angelica, shifting between real life and images from movies she’s been in and back again. It’s the first animated experience created entirely in VR. Read More…
Here’s Why Geena Davis Doesn’t Want ‘Thelma & Louise’ Reboot
The industry is in the age of reboots, where it seems nearly every pop culture phenomenon is being developed into a new television series or film. But, if it’s up to Geena Davis, “Thelma & Louise” won’t be joining the growing list of remakes. “I would be against somebody doing, let’s say, ‘Thelma & Louise’ without it being Susan and me,” Davis said, speaking of her co-star Susan Sarandon, on Monday at the Variety Studio at the Sundance Film Festival. “I wouldn’t like it. Maybe they’ll do it someday, but I wouldn’t like it.” Read More…
Inside ‘Dear Angelica’: How Oculus Reinvented VR Animation, With a Little Help From Geena Davis
Geena Davis will never forget the first time she tried virtual reality, because it literally brought her to tears. “I was crying, and so moved by it,” she recently recalled. “I was just a mess by the end.” Davis’ tear-inducing introduction to virtual reality (VR) came when she first watched a draft of “Dear Angelica,” a new 12-minute cinematic virtual experience from Oculus Story Studio that is premiering at Sundance and on the Oculus Rift headset Friday. “I felt bad about it,” Oculus Story Studio Creative Director Saschka Unseld recently told Variety. “We made Geena Davis cry! She completely teared up.” Davis nonetheless signed on to the project and voiced one of the main characters, which is roughly based on her life and career. Read More…
Actress, activist Geena Davis named keynote speaker for Christus LiveWell Women’s Conference
Acclaimed, award-winning actress Geena Davis will keynote the 10th annual CHRISTUS LiveWell Women’s Conference, an all-day event showcasing the latest in health and wellness on Thursday, May 11 at Ford Park in Beaumont. “Geena Davis epitomizes in her roles and in her daily life the grace, beauty, creativity, compassion, and power of a woman,” Becky Howard, CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System conference lead, said. “We are honored that she will help us celebrate 10 years of discovering, reviving and shining all of the qualities that make us the women we are.” Read More…
Geena Davis Hopes 2017 Brings Greater Gender Equality In All Media
The air was crisp and wintery in mid-December, its cool breeze adding to the jubilant mood as production professionals walked through the grounds at the William Turner Gallery at Bergamot Station. The holiday party this diverse group of professionals, from writers to producers, actors to agents, was attending at the art complex went beyond the typical networking mixer. It was a special fundraising event for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, held to support the continued research and activities the non-profit is engaged in. In between the cocktail hour and a live music performance, Golden Globe and Oscar winning actress Geena Davis addressed the crowd with her hopes for 2017. “The entertainment industry is the one sector in society with a big imbalance that really can be changed overnight,” said Davis. “When you go back to your studio or the project you are working on, change some male names to female names. Make sure half a crowd scene is composed of women. Make the doctor or the lawyer (in your project) a woman.” Read More…
