My Isolation Diary 
50 Shades of Quarantine

By Emily Vogel

Dear Diary, 

January was basically 2020 in a fedora… But I have high hopes for February. For the first time since my first-grade boyfriend Kyle Lafferty, I'm finally going to have a Valentine. His name is Lock Down - but his friends call him Quarantine or "The Q," I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but he's kind of famous and has over 1.5 billion hits on Google. Like any relationship, some days are better than others and “once COVID is over” is starting to sound a lot more like “he’ll change,” but for now he seems like the safest option. 

Since "The Q" suffers from agoraphobia we couldn't travel to the Sundance Film Festival this year. But luckily, TheWrap brought Park City to us. Click here to check-out highlights from TheWrap's Interview and Portrait Studio presented by NFP and National Geographic. SPOILER ALERT: Female Directors Kicked Ass!

Female Directors Rule Sundance 2021 –
Is Equality Finally Here?​

(Credit: Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap​)

This year feels like some kind of balance has been achieved. There is no mistaking these films for tokens or placeholders.

Among all of the 72 feature films announced for the festival in December, 47% were directed by women, 3% by non-binary individuals, 43% by BIPOC and 8% by one or more LGBTQ+ filmmakers. (Two more features, both directed by men, were later added.)

This includes “CODA” by writer-director Sian Heder, the film that broke all Sundance sales records with a $25 million buy by Apple this weekend, about a deaf family and their hearing daughter who chases her dream as a singer. 

It includes “Passing,” by actress-turned-filmmaker Rebecca Hall, starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga as well-to-do women who can “pass” on either side of the racial divide, set in 1920s Harlem.

It includes “Land,” the widely-praised first feature by actress Robin Wright, already acquired and launched into the Academy Awards race. And many more!

Click here to read full article by Sharon Waxman on TheWrap.com. 

Stacey Abrams Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize​

(Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images​)

Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial Democratic candidate and star voting rights activist, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Abrams and her organization Fair Fight Action were integral in increasing Black voter turnout in Georgia this election cycle — a sprawling, years-long effort that culminated in the long-time red state turning blue.

Lars Haltbrekken, a Socialist Party politician in Norway’s Parliament, said Monday, the first day of Black History Month in the U.S. and the last day for someone to be nominated for the prize, that “Abrams’ work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for civil rights.”

Click here to read full article by Marty Johnson on TheHill.com. 

Maya Rudolph And Natasha Lyonne On Shedding The Bullshit Of Hollywood​

(Credit: Daria Kobayashi Ritch)

On the surface, Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne might seem like an unlikely duo, but they've actually been friends for over 20 years! They met in New York, were even roommates for a short stint, and have remained close through various creative collaborations. 

In 2018, they launched a production company together, Animal Pictures. They recently executive-produced Sarah Cooper’s comedy special Everything’s Fine, currently streaming on Netflix, and are developing several films and series, including Desert People, a dramedy created by Lyonne and Alia Shawkat.

Here, the friends and business partners discuss “shedding the bullshit” of Hollywood and choosing the communities they want to create with.

"I really go out of my way to surround myself with women. And 40 is the beginning for so many of the women in my life," said Lyonne. 

Click here to read full article on HarpersBaazar.com.

ACLU, For The First Time, Elects
A Black Person As Its President​

(Credit: Philip Greenberg/AP)

Deborah Archer, a professor at New York University School of Law with expertise in civil rights and racial justice, has become the first Black person in the 101-year history of the American Civil Liberties Union to be elected its president.

As the ACLU’s eighth president since 1920, Archer will act as chair of its board of the directors, overseeing organizational matters and the setting of civil liberties policies. The fight against racial injustice is expected to be a top priority.

“The ACLU has proven itself as an invaluable voice in the fight for civil rights in the last four years of the Trump era, and we are better positioned than ever to face the work ahead,” Archer said.

Click here to read full article by David Crary on HuffPost.com. 

7 Must-See Black History Month Flicks To Stream Right Now

(Source: Betches)

You marched and protested for Floyd and Taylor and the countless others who came before and after them. You donated. You called. You denounced white supremacists IRL and on social media. OK, alright, you can call yourself woke. 

But you really cannot call yourself woke unless you truly know Black History, my sistrens. Thankfully, there’s plenty to binge-watch and catch up on if you’d like a crash course in the deep-rooted ugliness of what it’s like to be Black in America. While it’d be virtually impossible to include every doc and flick that’s worth watching, this handful is a good start.

1. Enslaved (Prime Video)

2. Harriet Tubman: They Called Her Moses (Prime Video)

3. The History Channel: In Search of History—Black Wall Street (YouTube)

4. I Am Not Your Negro (Netflix)

5. Loving (Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video and more)

6. Selma (Hulu, YouTube, Prime Video and more)

7. 13th (Netflix)

Click here to read full article by Sheena Foster on Betches.com.

Who Run the World?! Girls. 

WrapWomen is a power base of influential women of entertainment, media, technology and brands committed to changing the face of their industries. 

Sure to stay up-to-date on all things WrapWomen at www.wrapwomen.com. 

Join the conversation on social media! Follow us on Instagram for surprise guest takeovers and Insta live performances.

In the meantime, stay safe and stay fabulous.

Xoxo,
Emily Vogel on behalf of WrapWomen
Content Manager, WrapWomen