Yesterday, producer Sydney Pollack died from cancer at the age of 73. Pollack was the one giving Geena her first role on the big screen when signing her on for Tootsie, allegedly having spotted her in a Victoria’s Secret catalogue.

Geena Davis kept her audience laughing at the Smart Talk lecture series at the Des Moines Civic Center on Monday night.

She wore a navy blue suit and light blue shirt. One of the first laughs came when she quipped that one thing about portraying the first female president of the United States in the TV show “Commander-in-Chief” – for which she won a Golden Globe – was that she now had “a lifetime supply of snazzy business attire.”

In spite of her humor, the film and TV star was earnest about her message that media and society do not give equal status to women. Two turning points in her life opened her eyes about that, she said.

Read the full article at The Des Moines Register online

(Weird photo? Not really! Geena was imitating Lt. Uhura from “Star Trek” as she talked about acting roles women had while she was growing up.)

Role models are a theme of Geena Davis’ life.

She has acknowledged those who have influenced her, she has dedicated efforts toward improving gender depictions in children’s media, and she has portrayed women of influence in her acting.

Role modeling is a topic that will most likely be heard when Davis takes the stage at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines at 7:30 p.m. today. She is the final speaker in the Smart Talk Women’s Lecture Series sponsored by The Des Moines Register.

Read the article at The Des Moines Register online

As mentioned earlier this week, on May 16 Geena delivered the keynote speech at the School of Communication ceremony at USC Annenberg. From the website:

Davis started her speech by drawing laughs from the School of Communication for her advice on how to become a movie star: “First step. Get really big parts in major motion pictures.”

She then spoke about serious gender research being done at USC Annenberg that shows a vast underrepresentation of female characters in popular TV and media. About 200 USC Annenberg undergraduate students, including more than 50 research assistants sitting in the audience as new graduates, helped in the research done in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

“Research and education are the cornerstones of affecting change,” Davis said.

Buzz around the ‘net is that Geena’s detective series is _not_ launching after all. Will update as soon as I get more information…

Geena Davis’ drama pilot Exit 19 has not been picked up (E! Online / Watch With Kristin)
Primetime Pilot Panic: CBS Rejects Geena (Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily)

I have been hoping for some photos from this event before blogging it, but I haven’t managed to find any. I will update this entry if I manage to come across some! This Thursday, Geena was awarded the Crystal Eagle award by Coro; an organization aiming to train young veterans in the leadership skills necessary to assure that the democratic system of government could more effectively meet the needs of its citizens. From the Coro website:

The Coro Public Affairs Award is symbolized by a Crystal Eagle and is presented to those who exemplify excellence in effective leadership and dynamic community involvement. Their achievements demonstrate that, whether as an individual or on behalf of an organization, one can make a difference for the public good – a premise that lies at the very heart of Coro.

The other three recepients this year were Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Jack Steiny and Sheriff Lee Baca.

At USC Annenberg, Walt Disney Co. President Robert Iger will deliver the commencement address May 16, while Geena is among those scheduled to speak at the satellite ceremonies. Geena will speak at the Communication Satellite Ceremony held in USC’s McCarthy Quad. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. — after the main University activities conclude. The University-wide ceremony starts at 8:30 with a recommended arrival time of 7 a.m. or earlier.

(sources: the Annenberg website and LA Times)

I’m not obsessed celebrity blog is bringing photos from the filming of Geena’s new TV-pilot – called “Exit 19″, or perhaps “Gloria Sheppard” (Geena’s role character’s name). Click photo below for more:

Thank you for the pointer, 77517!

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Geena’s role character Gloria is a Manhattan homicide detective and single mom. Perez plays Lorna, Gloria’s Brooklyn-born partner on the police force. Ramon Rodriguez plays a smart and flirty cop who works with Gloria and Lorna, and Amy Farrington will play Davis’ neighbor.

If you are an aspiring actor, you might want to look into this:
Casting for Geena’s new TV-series, 4 actors needed – although from the descriptions, it seems that three of those have already been casted.