Sarah Haskins Passes Off the Golden Tampon

Sarah Haskins: Year In Review

Ah Sarah Haskins. It's been a very good year for you. Thanks for reminding us it hasn't been such a good year for women.

The Sarah Haskins Screenplay Has a Name (And Natalie Portman)

Sarah Haskins mentioned in an interview I did with her earlier this year that she had sold a screenplay that she co-authored, the details were vague. Now it sounds like the film will be called Booksmart and they've signed Natalie Portman onto the project. I've always valued Haskins' feminist comedy on Current, so I was a little surprised when I saw that this is a plot summary:

Laffer will revolve around two overachieving high school seniors who realize the only thing they haven't accomplished is having boyfriends, and each resolves to find one by prom. (emphasis mine)

Um, it doesn't sound very different from other romantic comedies: girl needs boy to feel "complete." I hope that Haskins' touch will add a new perspective to this old trope (and it's possible that the industry just can't deal with describing anything outside the old stereotypes of romantic comedy). After all, we could go a long way in expanding the genre.

Fact Checking Sarah Haskins

I normally love Sarah Haskins' segments on Current TV. (I do post them here almost every week.) The one this week about Ricki Lake's new show Charm School was pretty good, but I have one factual complaint. The beginning of the video depicts Sarah asking a woman to "quilt" while she is holding a crocheted blanket and knitting needles. It's a bizarre conflation of different hobbies. Maybe it's insignificant, but my mom, who actually owned a fabric store for 25 years, would probably disagree. Please, Sarah Haskins, try to keep your crafts straight.

Yet more Sarah Haskins Hilarity

Sarah Haskins on Michelle Obama's Guns

Sarah Haskins on Big Pharma

Sarah Haskins Is Awesome, Continued

Over at Campus Progress, I have a piece up that I'm really excited about. I got to interview Sarah Haskins about her role as a feminist comedian. (Note: If you don't know who she is, you should first immediately go here to check out her funny videos and secondly admit that you don't read nearly enough feminist blogs.) She also breaks the news to me that she has sold a screenplay:

Haskins has found some small success with her “Target Women” segment on Infomania, but she, like others in Los Angeles, is hoping to make it big. “I just sold a screenplay with my writing partner, a friend I knew from college. That’s very exciting. The protagonists are two girls,” she said. “That’s been awesome and hopefully it’ll get made. That’s sort of the Hollywood thing and where you don’t know if any of that will ever happen.”

Hollywood is known for being a tough town for women writers. As I pointed out in a recent article, only 12 percent of screenwriters in the top-grossing films last year were women. Haskins also noted that in her own experience with peddling a screenplay she felt women in the industry were more receptive to her work. “I feel like female producers maybe on the next level like TV or film are inclined to look at a female-oriented project or pitch and be a little kinder to it. You know, maybe take a second look at it because people are looking for young female writers,” she said. “I definitely have met with more women since I’ve been out here in Hollywood.”

I cannot wait for the possibility to see a film co-written by Sarah Haskins. That film will definitely make $10.75 from this feminist. Additionally, it's important to point out that Haskins has a lot in common with bloggers and eats Cheetos.

Sarah Haskins on Chocolate Commercials

I never realized how creepy chocolate commercials were until Sarah Haskins pointed it out: