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Rita Wilson delivered a love letter to Hollywood in her speech while accepting her new star on the Walk of Fame.

“This street has drawn people from around the world to come walk the boulevard, where these beautiful stars allowed them to dream about what it must be like to live in Hollywood, and who those people might be and that live here,” Wilson said. Her parents, Allen and Dorothy Wilson, immigrated from Greece and Bulgaria to live in Los Angeles. Wilson added, “I have a history with this street.”

She described childhood memories of Hollywood staples like the Broadway department store, Musso & Frank Grill, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Palladium, Capitol Records Building, and her days as a cheerleader for Hollywood High School. She recounted a list of firsts she experienced in Hollywood like working her first job, recording her first album, joining her first bank, receiving her SAG card,...

Apparently, when Rita Wilson tied the knot with Tom Hanks back in 1988, her mom, Dorothy Wilson, didn't totally approve of her marrying the actor because he isn't Greek. "She could not believe that I didn’t marry a Greek man," Rita told Us Weekly in a new interview, adding that Tom did join the Greek Orthodox Church before they got hitched. "But [my parents] thought he looked enough Greek and that he could blend in!" Today, Rita, 61, and Tom, 62, have been happily married for 30 years and share two adult sons — Chet, 28, and Truman, 22 — together. While chatting with Us Weekly, Rita also admitted that her kids don't like to bring home their dates or talk about their grilfriends around her. Rita and her mom, Dorothy. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) "My kids won’t even discuss women with me! It comes out in dribs and drabs, because they know that they will not bring...

Women Leadership scheme aims to address gender imbalance in top cinema jobs

The UK’s Independent Cinema Office (Ico) is to launch its second Women Leadership scheme in a bid to to help women professionals move up in the film industry.

Just 4% of women hold top cinema positions, according to Creative Skillset, and the Ico’s scheme will aim to increase this percentage and make the exhibition workforce more diverse by focusing on the lack of representation of women in top management positions.

The scheme was created for women in the UK who are looking to become CEOs or directors of a major venue or film festival. The Ico will select eight women who fall into this category who are at similar levels in their career.

The seven month-long programme will feature one-to-one coaching, work shadow placements, monthly skills development workshops and high-level networking.

Mentors taking part include British Film Institude (BFI) CEO Amanda Nevill and Glasgow...

The Ico unveils eight participants and mentors for scheme.

The Independent Cinema Office (Ico) has unveiled the eight participants and mentors on its inaugural Women’s Leadership scheme, aimed at boosting the number of women working in the exhibition sector.

Mentors comprise Amanda Neville Cbe, chief executive of the BFI, Amanda Berry OBE – chief executive of Bafta, Lyn Goleby, managing director of Picturehouse Cinemas, Liz Leyshon, manager of Strode Theatre, Ginger Corbett, pr specialist, and Dorothy Wilson MBE, chief executive and artistic director of Mac Birmingham.

The eight-month programme, funded through the Creative Skillset Film Skills Fund, via BFI National Lottery funding, will involve one-to-one coaching, work shadow placements, monthly skills development workshops and mentoring.

According to the latest Skillset Skills Survey, women occupy just 4% of top cinema jobs.

Catherine Des Forges, director of the Ico, said: “The demand for places on this scheme shows that this is not an isolated situation. The lack of...

Training scheme to help women in film exhibition take the step up into senior management.

The Independent Cinema Office (Ico) and Creative Skillset have launched an initiative to tackle the lack of representation of women in top management positions in film exhibition.

Applicants can apply for eight places available for women who wish to benefit from a six-month training programme of one-to-one coaching, shadow placements, skills development workshops and mentoring.

The mentors include BAFTA CEO Amanda Berry, BFI CEO Amanda Nevill and Picturehouse Cinemas MD Lyn Goleby.

Other mentors include British Council director of film Briony Hanson; mac Birmingham CEO and artistic director Dorothy Wilson, and Strode Theatre manager Liz Leyshon.

The course will run from November 2015 to May 2016 and is funded through the Creative Skillset Film Skills Fund via BFI National Lottery funding.

The scheme is open to any UK-based woman with five years or more of experience in a management role in film exhibition. The deadline...