Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ A day after joining more than 80 women protesting at the Cannes Film Festival,
Salma Hayek said Sunday that change for women in Hollywood already is happening. In a conversation that was part of the “Women in Motion” talk series at Cannes, Hayek said her production company is having trouble keeping up with the demand for female writers and directors. The actress-producer said she has sold four TV shows about women this year. “I can’t find enough female writers and directors,” Hayek said. “They’re all busy. The change already happened.” Hayek said much work still needs to be done, particularly on the issue of equal pay. The 51-year-old actress said she hasn’t been insisting on equal pay yet because male stars and producers still need to adjust. Hayek also remarked on her allegation of sexual harassment against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein in an op-ed in December. Weinstein at the time issued a lengthy statement of denial. Hayek said Weinstein specifically contested her claim and that of Lupita Nyong’o because they’re women of color. In the wake of the scandals that have followed Weinstein’s downfall, Hayek said men in Hollywood “are terrified” and that “predators are hiding.” But she said the #MeToo movement also is a great time for men “to rethink what it means to be a man.”
■ Dr. Dre has lost his trademark fight against Dr. Drai. Dre, the rap mogul and record producer whose real name is Andre Young, opposed the trademark application of Dr. Draion M. Burch, a Pittsburgh gynecologist who styles himself “America’s OBGYN.” Burch, whose website advertises that he’s a sex expert and media personality, is known professionally as “Doctor Drai” — a shortened version of his first name — and in 2015 he sought trademark protection for it. Dre objected, arguing that because Drai’s media appearances and speaking events take place in a “non-medical setting,” they constitute entertainment. His lawyers told a panel of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that consumers were likely to mix up Dre and Drai, whose names are pronounced the same way even though they’re spelled differently. The trademark panel rejected that argument, saying in its decision that Drai’s “entertainment and educational motivational speaking services, which are specifically limited in content to osteopathic medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, are a subject matter which is obviously far removed from music.” Dre’s lawyers also argued that Burch’s use of Dr. Drai “implied a false suggestion of a connection” between the two. But the gynecologist said he applied for the trademark simply because “that’s my name.”