By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --When women make movies, Hollywood pays attention, as scores of A-listers turned out to see Demi Moore, Courteney Cox and screenwriter Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith make their directorial debuts.
Jennifer Aniston, Lucy Liu, Sheryl Crow, Kirsten Dunst, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ashton Kutcher and David Arquette were among the stars who gathered at the Directors Guild headquarters Tuesday for Glamour magazine’s annual Reel Moments event, where Moore, Cox and Smith each showed a short film based on stories by Glamour readers.
“It’s a tremendous gift” to have the opportunity to direct, Moore said. “I realized, besides being completely terrified about taking this on, that people had faith in me far more than I had in myself, and that I will keep for the rest of my life.”
Moore’s 12-minute film, “Streak,” features her daughter Rumer Willis as a free spirit who inspires a calorie-counting college girl (Brittany Snow) to shed her restrictive lifestyle and have fun.
Cox showed “The Monday Before Thanksgiving,” a 19-minute drama about a woman who finds peace and acceptance on the anniversary of her mother’s death. Cox opened the program by announcing, “I’m available for directing.”
“I love it,” she said in an interview. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Smith, whose writing credits include “Legally Blonde” and “The House Bunny,” showed “The Spleenectomy,” a surreal comedy starring Anna Faris as a community-theater actress who stumbles into a life-or-death audition.
Stars celebrated at a private after-party at the Chateau Marmont. Guests included Matthew Perry, David Spade, Paul Haggis and James Van Der Beek.
Reel Moments, now in its fourth year, invites actresses and other women in entertainment to adapt and direct films based on real women’s stories, said Glamour publisher Bill Wackermann. Past participants include Aniston, Dunst, Kate Hudson, Rita Wilson and Rosario Dawson.
Nikki Baker Becomes CEO At Fallon
Fallon has appointed Nikki Baker as its new CEO. Baker, who joined the creative agency in 2018 and has served as co-chief creative officer with Leslie Shaffer since 2021, succeeds Rocky Novak, who has been in the role since 2019.
Baker’s promotion to CEO comes at a time of significant momentum for the agency, including six consecutive years of growth and award-winning work.
Baker’s recent career highlights include creatively leading the Walmart partnership with the Publicis Groupe team and spearheading innovative campaigns such as the award-winning “RomCommerce” 23-episodic series and the internet-breaking Mean Girls campaign, among hundreds of other campaigns together with the brand over the past few years. Together with Shaffer, Baker has also been instrumental in elevating Fallon’s creative output for longstanding clients like Arby’s, Mattress Firm, and Front Door/American Home Shield.
“I’ve always been an admirer of Fallon, even before I joined. The chance to lead the agency is an absolute honor. Fallon is a place like no other with amazing talent and a legacy of building big, innovative, creative ideas,” said Baker. “Rocky has represented the best of Fallon. He’s been a great leader, and I couldn’t be more excited to take the reins and lead the agency through to the next chapter. With creativity at our core, we’re going to be as ambitious as ever, push boundaries, and continue embracing emerging platforms to deliver work that truly resonates in culture.”
Prior to joining Fallon six years ago, Baker held positions as creative director and art director at agencies including DDB and GSD&M, working with major brands such as McDonald’s, Southwest Airlines, and Wrigley. Her work has been recognized by... Read More