According to new!Magazine, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has appointed Geena to a state commission established to promote women’s equality. Geena, who is a Democrat, was appointed to California’s Commission on the Status of Women on Tuesday, July 20. The nonpartisan panel works to promote equality and justice for all women in areas such as education and access to health care.

Geena has previously worked to promote the cause – she is involved in the United Nations Development Fund for Women and is founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which encourages film and TV writers to create more roles for the fairer sex. She will serve on the commission for four years.

Congratulations on the accomplishment!

Hollywood Reporter, by Nellie Andreeva, knows more about the initial development of what will hopefully be Geena’s next TV-show:

The project was developed at ABC Studios by writer Michael Nankin and studio-based producers Gene Stein and Nina Wass, whose overall deal there was terminated during the writers strike. Stein and Wass then took the script to Davis, with whom they had worked on ABC’s comedy series “The Geena Davis Show.” Davis, who had a holding deal with CBS Paramount Network TV, in turn took the project to CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler, who ordered a major rewrite. Jeff Bell was tapped to pen the new script, which was greenlighted by the network.

Bell, Stein and Wass will executive produce, while Davis will serve as a co-executive producer. CBS Paramount will produce with ABC Studios.

Read the full article here.

CBS has green-lighted the pilot of “Exit 19″, a drama starring Geena as a quirky homicide detective. When her character isn’t solving crimes on the mean streets of Manhattan, she’s in the Long Island suburbs raising two kids alone.

Writer Jeff Bell will exec produce the project along with Geena, Gene Stein and Nina Wass. CBS Paramount Network Television is producing in association with ABC Studios.

Sources tell that CBS president Nina Tassler has been trying to develop a project with Geena for several years (most recently Criminal Minds, when Mandy Patinkin walked out). She and Geena are both Boston University graduates, some sources even claim that they were roommates.

Sources: Variety, TVSquad, Reuters

Geena was seen at jeweler Damiani’s annual Oscar cocktail party this Tuesday. The event took place at the Presidential Suite at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Thank you for the link, 77517!

The University of Southern California website has a news article from the recent Gender in Media conference, with the round-up:

“The studies include these recommendations for entertainment executives and creators: Include more females as main characters, secondary characters, in crowds and as narrators; provide female characters with aspirations beyond romance and develop the inner character of female characters.”

Read the full article here. Also see photos from the event here. This photo shows Geena with principal researcher, USC Annenberg School for Communication professor Stacy Smith. (photo: Dan Avila)

Watch a GDGIM related interview on ABC News at Yahoo!News.

Thank you, 77517!

From Milford Daily News, Jan 29

The Yankee Dental Congress is one of the top five dental expos in the country and lines up as the second biggest convention in Boston for 2008, with an estimated economic impact of $22 million. The city’s largest convention this year is the AIIM and On Demand combined expo, scheduled for early March and expected to draw about 35,000 people involved, respectively, with the information management and digital printing industries. The event runs Jan. 30 to Feb. 3.

The Yankee Dental Congress kicks off Wednesday night with a reception and awards ceremony at the Seaport Hotel in South Boston, with the convention center opening Thursday and events there running through Sunday.

The event typically features top-notch entertainment and this year singer Sheryl Crow performs Friday night in the convention center’s ballroom. Actress Geena Davis and mystery author Harlan Coben will make guest appearances.

Thank you, 77517, for the heads up!

An interview related to the upcoming gender in media conference is found at MovieMaker.com.

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