oh i have the acker book, need to dig it out of a box now.
also, heard of that winger doc, really want to see it. terms of endearment is always a film i'll watch when it comes on tv, and always cry in the same scenes. winger and macclaine were AMAZING in that movie. the whole cast was.

let's see what can i recommend? hmmmm.
not really film women related but a personal reccomendation is audre lorde's zami a new spelling of my name. that book had a huge impact on me. still does. lorde, what a amazing, warm writer.

I recommend the book: "Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood" by Cari Beauchamp

Frances Marion (www.imdb.com/name/nm0547966/) was a ground-breaking female screenwriter whose credits ranged from early silents in 1915 to a remake of her "Dinner at Eight" in 1985.

Winning two Academy Awards for screenwriting for "The Big House" in 1930 and "The Champ" in 1932, she was one of the most respected writers of either gender.

The book also touches on Mary Pickford, journalist Adela Rogers St. Johns, bit-player-turned-gossip-columnist Hedda Hopper, and Marie Dressler.