By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --2017 may have been the year of "Wonder Woman," but a new study finds that female protagonists were down 5 percent in the year's 100 top-grossing films.
The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University released its annual "It's a Man's (Celluloid) World" on Thursday. It found that females comprised 24 percent of protagonists last year, down from 29 percent in 2016 despite high-profile releases like "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Beauty and the Beast" — 2017's top two films at the box office.
Researchers determined that while 32 percent of films featured 10 or more female characters in speaking roles, 79 percent had 10 or more male characters.
"In an awards season when talk about women and gender has been top of mind, we need to separate hyperbole from reality," said Martha Lauzen, executive director of the San Diego State center. "The numbers do not yet reflect claims of a tectonic or massive shift in the film industry."
However, black female characters increased from 14 percent to 16 percent, and Latinas went from 3 percent to 7 percent. Asian females increased from 6 percent to 7 percent.
The study analyzed 2,361 characters from 2017's top 100 films at the box office. It has been conducted annually since 2002.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More