“FORGET THE BULL IN THE CHINA SHOP. THERE’S A CHINA DOLL IN THE BULLPEN.” – “The Bullpen” by Dessa You don’t need to be loud to make a change. You don’t need to get angry or make others angry. You just need to be passionate and to act out of that passion. People will listen. Because they’ll have to. When your words and action come from a place of ownership and pride, everybody will hear you. This month’s pairing features a pioneer winemaker who took the land into her own hands, literally, when no one else would dare to do…
Author: Elyssa Phillips
Elyssa Phillips
A native New Yorker, Elyssa has been acting since the age of 5 (she still owns the red dress with the black bow from when she played Annie at the age of 6). After studying at the British American Drama Academy in England, and graduating from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Elyssa spent her time performing around the country in various theatrical productions....from Shakespeare's "As You Like It" and "Measure For Measure", to the long-running improvisational comedies "Tony 'n Tina's Wedding" and "Shear Madness"...with some other tricks of her trade along the way. Elyssa is a house performer, writer, and producer at The Pack Theater in Hollywood. Her most recent TV credits include "Silicon Valley" and "The Mindy Project".
“IN ORDER TO BE RESPECTED BY OTHERS, YOU’VE GOT TO RESPECT YOURSELF FIRST.” – Juliette Binoche on her character Isabelle in “LET THE SUNSHINE IN” Unconventional. Impulsive. Raw. Unapologetic. Observational. Am I talking about this month’s wine or this month’s film? Perhaps about this month’s winemaker or the leading lady who stars in this month’s flick? Or am I simply referring to my favorite traits in all of my female best friends? The answer is YES. To all of it. I walked out of this month’s film saying, “Wow, that was really French.” I meant it as a compliment. In Hollywood,…
“I FOUND WHEN IT HAPPENED THAT I REALLY LIKED DRY HUMPING MORE.” – Saoirse Ronan as Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson in “Lady Bird” The term “women’s lib” has evolved throughout the years. From the OG women’s liberation movement of the 1920s that centered around women’s suffrage, to the free-loving ‘70s when women demanded to be in the workplace, to the modern-day Me Too hashtags and Time’s Up GIFS. But while the specific issues being targeted have changed, one theme has remained the same – unapologetic feminism. The Rosa Parks, Hilary Clintons, and Oprahs have paved the way for women to…
“I KNOW THEY SAY YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN. I JUST HAD TO COME BACK ONE LAST TIME.” – Miranda Lambert The story of the quintessential mother-daughter relationship is just that….quintessential. It’s timeless, and to a degree, somewhat predictable. We know the arc of that story. We can predict how, when, and where it will build to a traumatic climax, only to come back down again to the bittersweet ending we were looking for the whole time. Enter CHANTAL AKERMAN. Born in Brussels to Holocaust survivors, AKERMAN’S approach to this all-too familiar story is anything but. She basks in…
“YOU DON’T WANT TO BE CONSIDERED A FEMALE FILMMAKER. YOU’RE JUST A FILMMAKER.” – Lake Bell The words “feminism” and “gender equality” are all over the place these days, and in Hollywood, it’s now more than ever. Tinseltown is all abuzz; the lack of female film directors, the pay gap between male & female actors, the diminutive presence of women writers in late-night television – getting sick of it yet? You’re not the only one…. It can be a tricky subject for most. You want to be supportive of women doing what it is they want to do – but…
“JUST WHEN YOU THINK IT CAN’T GET ANY WORSE, YOU RUN OUT OF CIGARETTES.” – Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird, “CAROL” The focus of my monthly column is to pair a female-helmed film with a wine from a female winemaker. Sometimes the wine (or beer or cocktail) comes to me first. Sometimes the film comes to me first. Either way, I try to find a common through line between the two. I always want to celebrate these women. Not for being women, but for creating something special. Something different. This month, it was more of a pressing issue that inspired me.…
“A HOUSE IS A BUILDING. A HOME IS A FEELING….SOMETHING YOU CARRY WITH YOU.” – Paula Pell, Writer, “SISTERS” They say, whomever “they” are, that home is where the heart is. And in our hearts, we carry with us those that matter most; our relationships. We also carry those passions and beliefs that keep us going everyday; our dreams. This month is dedicated to just that. To those that matter most and to that which keeps us going. January’s Movie: “SISTERS” Paula Pell has never really been a…
“BEFORE I DIE, I WANT TO….FEAR NOTHING.” – Toni Collette as Milly in “Miss You Already” We’ve all read the statistics: – Women only directed 4% of the top-grossing movies from 2002-2014. – Less than 10% of women are chief winemakers at U.S. wineries. And there’s plenty more where that came from. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and numbers don’t lie. Despite the efforts of fierce female filmmakers and crafty women vintners to break through glass ceilings, gender bias continues to be an ongoing struggle. What continues to keep our spirits high, however, are the audacious women who…
“THIS IS A MAN’S WORLD. BUT IT WOULD BE NOTHING, NOTHING WITHOUT A WOMAN OR A GIRL.” – James Brown STEREOTYPE – A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Some of the most iconic places to see stereotypes are in the media. When you think BEER, you think, commercials with tall, skinny blondes clad only in drawstring bikinis playing volleyball on a beach. And when you hear the words HORROR FILM, you think of the silly young cliché pretty girl who should have run out the front door, but…
“THAT’S THE REAL TROUBLE WITH THE WORLD, TOO MANY PEOPLE GROW UP.” -Walt Disney BuzzFeed. Huffington Post. Twitter. Snapchat. We are living in a world of instant gratification. A world of “now you see it, now you don’t”. What’s considered “news” at 12pm is already an archived Reddit post by 5pm. People’s attention spans are getting shorter. Yet the list of two-minute Vine “movies” they’re watching is getting longer. In today’s world of wham-bam-thank you ma’am, how are we supposed to hold on to the things we find near and dear to our hearts? How are we supposed to share…
PIONEER: ONE WHO VENTURES INTO UNKNOWN OR UNCLAIMED TERRITORY TO SETTLE; OPENS UP NEW GROUND FOR NEW AREAS OF THOUGHT & DEVELOPMENT BY OTHERS. Or in other words….Chicks who do what they want. So, it’s been said that the whole “women aren’t funny” movement is coming to an end. When you’ve got A-list comediennes like Amy Poehler & Tina Fey, and hilarious shows like “Broad City” running about, it’s a hard argument to fight. Alas, the proof is in the pudding, and numbers don’t lie. The number of female-written & female-starring projects may be on the rise, but are still…
Women are just shattering glass ceilings these days – on screen and off. In the entertainment world, while women only made up 7% of directors in the top 250 grossing films last year, that number is sure to spike in 2015 with the emergence of the female-helmed flicks “FIFTY SHADES OF GREY”, “SPY”, “TRAINWRECK”, and my chosen film of the month…. “PITCH PERFECT 2”. July’s Movie: “PITCH PERFECT 2” What makes this movie so special…
“HERE I STAND. AND HERE I’LL STAY. LET THE STORM RAGE ON!…….. LET IT GO, LET IT GO……” – Elsa (“Frozen”) There has been much talk lately about women in the entertainment industry. Or in actuality, lack thereof. The ACLU recently made news when it publicly asked for state and federal agencies to investigate what it calls “the widespread exclusion of women directors from employment in directing episodic television and feature films.” The call to action also states that in 2014, women were only 7% of directors on the top 250 grossing films. And to add insult to injury, that…
Well, it was bound to happen at some point ladies. I knew the day would come when no bottle of Veuve or glass of Pinot Noir would suffice. Previously, I’ve been pairing female flicks with wines made by women – but this month – we done gonna have a beer ladies! This month I have paired up a fiery feminine flick with one of the first female-owned craft breweries in California. Both ran successful Kickstarter campaigns to turn their dreams into a reality. Both exemplify the true power of what hard work can accomplish. This is a pairing I am…