As someone who plans to be one of them one day, I frequently ask myself: where are the female Hollywood screenwriters? And despite a bunch of theories, it seems that no one really knows... So all I have to contribute is possible interviewee names. How about Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class, Woman In Black, etc)? Or Kelly Marcel (Saving Mr. Banks)? Both on Twitter, if you don't have any other connection to them...

Both great suggestions, Debbie. Thanks.

Thanks for this, Scott--the series in the first place, and placing importance on casting your net wide for interview subjects. Putting it out there that you're looking for women to interview isn't cheesy at all. It's how you get the ball rolling. Here's another tip that might help, from when I was working as a headhunter: ask your interview subjects for referrals. If you want to interview more women, ask your interviewees if they know women writers who fit your criteria who they could introduce you to. And, also ask: who else do you know who's underrepresented in the series who I could talk to? In fundraising it's called "rolodexing" -- working through someone else's list of contacts. Referrals are a great way to find the people you're looking for, and referrals that include a personal introduction (vs just receiving the contact info) are a powerful way to make new contacts. Best part: it's just one small question, bundled into the work you're already doing. Thanks again and I really look forward to the upcoming interviews with Hart, Beckwith and Powell.

Yes, don't underestimate the power of your online presence in terms of your ability to reach out to female writers blindly/boldly. Because of our circumstances in this business, we female writers are keenly aware of the importance of speaking up, we're aware of each other, and we're open to the opportunity to encourage others by participating in press, blogs, etc. Most of us can cite women whose careers were of critical importance to us realizing our dreams or even articulating for the first time our dreams of working in Hollywood, so we're happy to be that for young women looking for their own role models. You're doing great work, and your ambition to not only reflect the industry but challenge and inspire the industry is noble -- not easy -- but noble and will be well worth it in terms of inspiring others, creating change and edifying those heading into their fledgling careers. I would love to hear from the female writers listed above, as well as more from the great Naomi Foner, Tina Fey and Diablo Cody.

Is this exclusive to screenwriters, or does it include TV writers? If so, people like Megan Ganz, Hilary Winston and Emily Cutler from COMMUNITY. Moira Walley-Beckett and Gennifer Hutchison from BREAKING BAD. Kater Gordon, Maria Jacquemetton, Lisa Albert and Erin Levy from MAD MEN. They would be great subjects if that's in your purview.

Jeremy, I like TV, I've written some TV, but my passion is movies and screenwriting, and that is the focus of this blog. That said, there is so much crossover nowadays between writing for movies and TV, it does make a certain amount of sense to include TV writers. So I will add these names to the list, and see what I can churn up.

Liz, thanks for your kind words. I will add Foner, Fey and Cody to the list, each of them terrific talents. Who knows? Maybe we can land them for interviews.

Great advice, Shaula. I have made a note to follow up with the writers I've interviewed to do some "rolodexing".

Interviews with writers are the bestest thing ever (thank you for your series, Scott!). And there are definitely great women writers out there, have listened to quite a few on Nerdist Writers Panel podcasts, most TV writers. While the tempo and scale are definitely different in TV than movies, it's still all about story, and most esp character, so always much to learn. Maybe some of the women who've appeared on Nerdist might be kind enough to share their wisdom with GITS. One example, Jane Espenson, long time favorite and always a great interview, was on Nerdist's "Women on TV" episode: http://www.nerdist.com/2012/08/nerdist-writers-panel-49-women-on-tv/ Another great TV writer, and a former student of yours, Scott, Lisa Joy, writes on Burn Notice, and wrote one of my favorite episodes, "Where There's Smoke" (the princesses save themselves, whole lot of fun). I've been enjoying Arrow, sharp writing, and check out the writer credits from this first season: Series Writing credits: Greg Berlanti (17 episodes, 2012-2013) Marc Guggenheim (17 episodes, 2012-2013) Andrew Kreisberg (17 episodes, 2012-2013) Lana Cho (3 episodes, 2012-2013) Moira Kirland (3 episodes, 2012-2013) Beth Schwartz (3 episodes, 2012-2013) Ben Sokolowski (3 episodes, 2012-2013) Geoff Johns (2 episodes, 2012-2013) That's looking pretty darn good. And I bet those writers would make for great interviews. So many things need to shift and alter for there to be discernible change re proportion of women writers, probably starting with execs at the top, and ending with the audience at the end, and all that's founded largely on habit, pre-conceived notions and expectations, not ill-intent. So what can we do to make things better? One thing all of us can work on, make no female character a derivative. As hard as we work to find fresh and unexpected outcomes in scenes, so should it be with every female character. And, if it's of use, remember there are more differences between individuals than the two genders, and you can read a bit about that here: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/04/study-debunks-notion-that-men-and-women-are-psychologically-distinct/ We can't make disappear all the existing "scripts" that influence our behaviors and outcomes, but we (as writers) sure as heck can lay down new stories to bury the old boring no-longer-useful ones, replacing with fresher and more relevant stories and ways of seeing things.

Meredith Stiehm, please.