logo
Margaret Atwood Calls Fellow Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada Honorees 'Very Hard Acts to Follow'

Margaret Atwood Calls Fellow Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada Honorees 'Very Hard Acts to Follow'

Yahoo2 days ago

Margaret Atwood recalls MGM's straight-to-series order in 2016 to adapt her dystopian classic novel The Handmaid's Tale as a Hulu series as being a touch risky.
'It was a gamble. And the gamble paid off. Anybody approaching me earlier who said we wanted to make a film about The Handmaid's Tale, I would have said, 'Who's going to watch that?'' she told the second annual Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada gala at the Ritz Carlton in Toronto on Thursday.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs Livestream: When to Watch the MLB Game Online With Hulu + Live TV
'The Handmaid's Tale' Star Madeline Brewer on Janine's Final Scene: "I Was Inconsolable"
Why FX's 'Adults' Team Has Been Partying at Laundromats
'When it came out, a certain number of people felt it was illuminating because, surely, the United States would never, ever do such things,' the acerbic Canadian author, poet and activist said as she picked up the Icon Award at the Ritz Carlton. She talked about the success in adapting her 1985 dystopian novel just as Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale has reached the climax for its sixth and final season, and as a small- screen treatment for her 2019 follow-up novel, The Testaments, is shooting in Toronto.
Atwood was among a host of Canadian leading ladies celebrated at The Hollywood Reporter's second annual WIE Canada event. The all-day gathering was attended by top homegrown producers, actors, musicians and execs like Orphan Black breakout Humberly González, Toronto Film Fest chief programmer Anita Lee, AEG Presents exec Debra Rathwell and Cinespace Studios exec Magali Simard.
Emotional highpoints for the event included The Sex Lives of College Girls star Amrit Kaur, on stage to accept the Breakthrough Award, calling on her fellow Canadian women in the room, and especially decision-makers, to be more feisty as they create and tell stories.
'Women have intuition. We're not scared of the truth the way men are. We understand the human condition. We've dealt with oppression. We don't take no for an answer. I want you guys to fund art that fuels our fire as women, as humanitarians and as artists' Kaur declared.
Also on hand was Shirley Halperin, co-editor-in-chief of THR, and Jeanie Pyun, deputy editorial director of THR, to introduce this year's WIE Canada Power List spotlighting 45 trailblazers breaking through and building the future of film, TV and music north of the border.
'We are delighted to recognize the achievements of a diverse group of powerhouse women,' Halperin said as she looked over the crowded ballroom while calling many of 45 leading ladies in attendance onto the stage to rapturous cheers and applause. WIE Canada attendees were also treated to a performance of 'I'm Done' by singer-songwriter Rachelle Show.
And the first cohort of the WIE Canada Mentorship Program — Jessica Commanda, Aman Kaur Khangura, Julisa Marcel, Kipola Wakilongo, Olivia Weatherall and Dianne Wulf — also took to the Ritz Carlton stage alongside their instructors as they look ahead to personalized mentorship, workshops and networking to turbocharge their careers.
Another high point was Christina Jennings, founder and president of Shaftesbury, producer of the period police procedural Murdoch Mysteries and the dog-and-cop family series Hudson & Rex, receiving the Glass Ceiling Award. A child of the 1960s and the 1970s, Jennings recalled a golden age for women's rights as a young woman.
'I saw myself as no less capable than a man, and I never believed that, outside of physical strength, I couldn't do anything that a man could do,' she recalled. Jennings, sister of the late ABC News anchor Peter Jennings, then looked to the U.S. today where women face backlash in the workplace and the wider society amid the Donald Trump administration.
'Women's rights are being challenged and taking away the progress we made. It's frightening to see that diversity, equity and inclusion, those rights that we fought so strongly for, are being stripped back in the United States of America,' she called out. Also Thursday, Killers of the Flower Moon actress Tantoo Cardinal, who is of Cree and Métis heritage, picked up the Equity in Entertainment Award.
She spoke of Canada's indigenous peoples having come through the impact of Canada's infamous residential schools and the Sixties Scoop atrocities on the country's indigenous people. 'I came from a powerful people. Our history will tell you we found truths in our survival of atrocities, in the marrow of the children that survived, and touched by the spirits of those that did not,' Cardinal said as she underscored the power of healing and self-discovery through storytelling.
And legendary fashion and lifestyle journalist Jeanne Beker, receiving the Impact Award, touted being able to make a career in Canada in the 1980s and 1990s, at a time when women weren't as supportive of one another as they are today. 'There was intense competition. I felt it, and I felt threatened by women,' an emotional Beker recalled.
But times changed. 'To see this incredible community out here, just radiating so much light and so much support, it's absolutely heart-swelling. Thanks to all of you for hanging on and being on this incredible journey,' Beker added.
The second annual WIE Canada summit once again brought together the Canadian industry across TV, film and music to celebrate and recognize the achievements of women driving the industry forward. The event's return, produced once again by Access Canada, followed the successful first WIE Canada summit in 2024 attended by iconic Canadian entertainers like Lilly Singh, Nia Vardalos, Devery Jacobs, Kim Cattrall, Catherine Reitman and Jully Black.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More
Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025
Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Harvey Weinstein Trial Witnesses React to Mixed Verdict, See Win For #MeToo Movement
Harvey Weinstein Trial Witnesses React to Mixed Verdict, See Win For #MeToo Movement

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Harvey Weinstein Trial Witnesses React to Mixed Verdict, See Win For #MeToo Movement

Harvey Weinstein was found guilty on one sexual assault charge Wednesday and acquitted on the other, but the two witnesses related to the counts are both viewing it as a win that keeps the former mogul in prison. A jury of 12 gave their unanimous verdicts on the two counts Wednesday, finding Weinstein guilty of one count of a criminal sexual act against former Project Runway assistant Miriam Haley, but not guilty of the other count of criminal sexual act against former model Kaja Sokola. The jury was sent home for the day, amid inflamed tensions among the jurors, to resume deliberations Thursday on the third count, rape in the third degree related to aspiring actress Jessica Mann. More from The Hollywood Reporter Harvey Weinstein Receives Mixed Partial Verdict As Deliberations Heat Up in Criminal Case Jurors Raise Concerns About Harvey Weinstein Deliberations Harvey Weinstein's Team Wants the Jury to Believe He's a Scapegoat of #MeToo The charge of criminal sexual act in the first degree, which here is related to performing oral sex on the complainant, is the higher felony charge and carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years. And so while Weinstein was not convicted on the charge related to Sokola, she said she remained happy about the outcome. 'I'm very happy about today's verdict. I'm proud of the other two girls, the other two women who testified. It was an extremely difficult journey for all of us to relive our traumas and to go through it in open court. It's a big win for everyone. Harvey Weinstein will be in jail,' Sokola told reporters outside the courthouse Wednesday. Weinstein also still faces a 16-year prison sentence in California, after being convicted in 2022 of rape and other sex crimes. His legal team has appealed that conviction. Miriam Haley, who also testified in Weinstein's 2020 trial, saw the verdict as sending a message to sexual predators. 'Testifying in the face of constant disruptions, victim shaming, and deliberate attempts to distort the truth was exhausting and at times dehumanizing,' Haley told reporters. 'But today's verdict gives me hope. Hope that there is new awareness around sexual violence and that the myth of the perfect victim is fading. And I hope that this result empowers others to speak out and seek justice. To those predators who still believe they can exploit, abuse and walk away unscathed: Your time is running out. The world is changing. And you will not outrun the consequences of your actions forever.' Her attorney, Gloria Allred, who has also represented women coming forward against Jeffrey Epstein, R. Kelly and Sean 'Diddy' Combs, added that this was confirmation that the #MeToo movement is not dead, as has been discussed in the press. 'That obituary was obviously premature and I don't think it applies at all based on my experience for almost 15 years in women's rights,' Allred said. Haley had testified to meeting Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival and then later getting work from him on Project Runway. He later invited her to a movie premiere in Los Angeles, which she accepted, and then stopped by his apartment before leaving. It was there that she said Weinstein backed her into the bedroom, held her down and forced himself on her orally. Her account was backed up by her former roommate, as well as a friend. All of this comes after Weinstein's 2020 rape and criminal sexual assault conviction was overturned in April 2024 after the court of appeals found the trial prejudiced Weinstein with improper rulings, including allowing women to testify about allegations that were not part of the case. Weinstein was convicted on the charges related to Haley and Mann in 2020. Sokola was not part of Weinstein's 2020 case, but was a key witness for the prosecution in this one. She testified to meeting with Weinstein for lunch at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in 2006 and being invited up to his hotel room to see a script, as she pursued becoming an actress. When she followed him up, she testified that Weinstein asked her to come up to a hotel room to see a script and then forcibly held her down on the bed, removed her stockings and underwear and performed oral sex on her as she repeatedly asked him to stop. The defense team had sought to undermine her testimony by pointing to the fact that Sokola had not told her sister, who was at the lunch, about the assault, and even unveiled a diary from Sokola that did not include the sexual assault. As with the other victims, they also pointed to the fact that Sokola had received $475,000 as part of a settlement fund related to the 2016 incident with Weinstein. Sokola had also received a $3 million settlement in a civil lawsuit filed against Weinstein's brother Bob Weinstein, Disney and Miramax in 2019 related to an incident in which Sokola said she had been sexually assaulted by Weinstein in 2002, when she was 16. That incident was not charged in this case, but did come up in her testimony. As Sokola's attorney, Lindsay Goldbrum, pointed out at the press conference, it's also hard to prove allegations that happened 20 years ago beyond a reasonable doubt. 'For myself, it's the closing of a chapter that caused me a lot of pain throughout my life. And having prosecutors hear my story, go through all the details with me and believe me and support me was extremely powerful,' Sokola told reporters. And while Goldbrum also saw the conviction as a positive for the #MeToo movement, she added that it 'still has a lot of work that has to be done' in terms of the courts and judicial systems 'denying justice.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Harvey Weinstein's "Jane Doe 1" Victim Reveals Identity: "I'm Tired of Hiding" 'Awards Chatter' Podcast: 'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Finally Reveals What Happened to Tony (Exclusive)

R. Kelly Seeks Release From Prison, Claiming Officers Tried to Have Him Killed by Fellow Inmate
R. Kelly Seeks Release From Prison, Claiming Officers Tried to Have Him Killed by Fellow Inmate

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

R. Kelly Seeks Release From Prison, Claiming Officers Tried to Have Him Killed by Fellow Inmate

R. Kelly, who is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence, is seeking to be released from prison, claiming jail officials attempted to solicit a fellow inmate to kill him. In a court filing on Tuesday, the disgraced R&B star asked a judge to be released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina. He's serving multiple decades after being convicted in two separate criminal cases for several sex crimes. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Shrinking' Actress and Music Supervisor Christa Miller on Pulling the Strings Behind the Scenes John Cusack, Nancy Sinatra, Ronnie Wood and More Pay Tribute to Brian Wilson: "The Maestro Has Passed" Sabrina Carpenter Announces New Album 'Man's Best Friend' Kelly claims a prison officer 'illegally accessed and stole a series of phone calls and emails' between the former musician and a woman and his attorney, according to the motion. He also alleges a former cellmate stole 'attorney-client correspondence' and shared the letters with prosecutors ahead of his trial in New York. To stop this information from being released, Kelly alleges that prison officials tried to have him killed. In the filing, Kelly alleges that a fellow inmate, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood gang, came up to him and 'disclosed that he was sent to FCI Butner by BOP officials who directed him to murder Mr. Kelly.' When he failed to go through with it, the filing claims the Aryan Brotherhood member also 'had his own life threatened.' Kelly's attorney, Beau Brindle, added in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter, 'R. Kelly's life is being threatened because of his decision to stand up and expose the violation of his constitutional rights made by corrupt prosecutors who use Bureau of Prisons officers and cooperating witnesses to facilitate these violations.' 'Once it became clear that he was uncovering evidence of the corruption underlying the charges in his federal cases, a white supremacist member of the Aryan Brotherhood was sent to murder him,' the statement continued. 'We are filing our motion to make sure that they cannot get away with it.' In response, Billboard reported that prosecutors filed their own documents asking the judge to strike Kelly's filing. 'Robert Kelly is a serial sexual predator,' prosecutors wrote in their filing. 'He even documented his sexual abuse of children on film — creating child pornography — such that the abuse would live on in perpetuity. That abuse and harassment continues with defendant's latest filing.' Kelly was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking in New York in 2021 and found guilty of child pornography and enticing minors for sex in Chicago in 2022. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the New York case, and to 20 years for the Chicago case, with both sentences overlapping. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Harvey Weinstein's "Jane Doe 1" Victim Reveals Identity: "I'm Tired of Hiding" 'Awards Chatter' Podcast: 'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Finally Reveals What Happened to Tony (Exclusive)

Disney to make final payment of $439 million for full control of Hulu
Disney to make final payment of $439 million for full control of Hulu

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Disney to make final payment of $439 million for full control of Hulu

Disney will pay Comcast's NBC Universal almost $439 million for its stake in Hulu, The Associated Press reported. The transaction gives Disney complete ownership of Hulu, allowing for more integration with the Disney+ streaming service. It comes after an initial payment of $8.61 billion in December 2023, which was part of the agreed-upon $27.5 billion floor value set in 2019. As for the final decision made on Monday, Disney will pay the remaining $438.7 million to acquire Comcast's stake in Hulu. The acquisition is expected to close by July 24. 'Completing the Hulu acquisition paves the way for a deeper and more seamless integration of Hulu's general entertainment content with Disney+ and, soon, with ESPN's direct-to-consumer product, providing an unrivaled value proposition for consumers,' Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. Comcast gave up its authority to Disney in 2019, becoming a silent partner. Hulu started in 2007, quickly becoming a popular streaming service. Disney joined in 2009, planning to offer shows from ABC, ESPN and the Disney Channel. A decade later, Disney gained majority control of the business when it acquired 21st Century Fox. A Juneteenth tribute to Afro-Caribbean traditions in art, dance in Holyoke; plus an events listing WMass adds its voice to 'No Kings' Day protest at federal building on Saturday Springfield mayor to announce $420K for kids' summer programs AMC theaters to play longer ads in lieu of more-expensive tickets Costco to offer new perk for customers — but there's a catch Read the original article on MassLive. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store