So my Aunt Dana said something to me the other day – or rather wrote it in a Facebook post – that has inspired this post. In no way is she responsible for this post…only this sentence:

PEOPLE ARE STUPID.

This is my inspirational phrase of the day. So today’s program is sponsored by my aunt’s ability to be succinct and thought provoking.

This comment was her response to my post about a guy who called me a “lesbo” for wearing my HRC (Human Rights Campaign) shirt with the word ‘equality’ written on it.

I don’t care if someone wants to call me names and I don’t care if someone wants to assume I am a lesbian because of a shirt. What bothered me was the fact that the shirt merely asked for equality for all and this nitwit doesn’t get it. It’s so basic.

Again – PEOPLE ARE STUPID.

Continue reading →

Today, I had a conversation about whether women should only hire women to work on their films.

It’s a tough question. So I’d like to pose another question…should men only hire men to work on their films?

Ah, but that’s already happening. So should we pull the old “they did it first” or are we stronger than that?

Continue reading →

As seen on the FilmmakeHers blog: http://www.thefilmmakehers.com/musings/2017/7/2/embracing-your-independence

Recently, I was at a FilmmakeHers meeting where one of the members commented that she wrote her last script at her corporate job where she was being paid to answer the phones that rarely ever rang. I made a comment that went something like, “So, they are paying you to write and you are just being kind and volunteering to answer the phones. You are making money at your art. Congratulations.” This was a joke, of course and we all laughed heartily and drank more wine.

Continue reading →

So you’re probably thinking Shari has post Olympics blues and is desperately attempting to hold on to thoughts of gymnasts bending all the laws of physics distracting her from her life and her obligations. True, but not the reason for this post.

Continue reading →

Life is full of disappointments. People in particular can be very disappointing. Their motives are often completely unclear and their missing the value you have brought to them over the years is just stupefying. It’s a pity, but true more often than anyone wants to admit.

In the film industry, this happens all the time. Back-stabbing and lack of support and allowing yourself to be happily taken advantage of only to find that you are on the other side of a closed door after going those extra miles.

Continue reading →

I started to write this from my point of view, but it didn’t work because it just came across as – well, pissed-off and I am. To make it more entertaining I am going to write this piece from the point of view of the person sitting diagonally in front of me during a multi-media event I went to last night. Continue reading →

Last week I got on a flight to Florida. During the four hours I spent on the tarmac, I thought about all the time spent waiting on a film set. I think this was because they kept plying us with free coffee and by the end of the eight hours I spent on my two and a half hour flight, every flight attendant understood that I drank my coffee black and yes that meant no cream or sugar.  Continue reading →

My husband – Chris Benker/DP extraordinaire – requested that I tell the tale of our first camping trip together. Here it goes…

Chris decided to take me camping. Being that I’m from the city, I had never been camping before and he thought I was missing out. We spent two hours in traffic in New Jersey, discovered the people in the tent next to us brought their loudest speakers and house music, and when we were finishing up our hike later that day, we ran in to a bear. And I thought as the final incident began, “This is my last camping trip. If the bear mauls us to death, no more camping. If we survive – no more camping and possible divorce.”
Continue reading →