From the Archives: Vote for our Reel Jersey Girl for the New Jersey Hall of Fame

The genesis of this article goes back to 2012 when the Fort Lee Film Commission lobbied hard to get pioneer filmmaker, Alice Guy Blaché, on the ballot for the New Jersey Hall of Fame. 

We thought 2012 was the year of Alice as it was the centennial of her building and opening her Solax Studio on Lemoine Avenue in Fort Lee and, to this day, she is the only woman to own her own movie studio. The fact that on that site she directed, produced and wrote hundreds of films all before women had the right to vote in the United States is an amazing story--one making her worthy of membership in the NJ Hall of Fame. 

Previously, the Fort Lee Film Commission lobbied the Directors Guild of America for four years and in October of 2011 the DGA at their 75th anniversary awards ceremony in their screening room in Manhattan, presented Alice Guy Blaché with the DGA Lifetime Directorial Achievement Award posthumously. 

Academy Award winning director and film historian Martin Scorsese introduced a clip reel on Alice and of course he mentioned the studio she built and operated in Fort Lee.

Riding this wave of Alice into 2012, the Film Commission thought for sure that her induction into the Hall of Fame was certain, but as with all things in life, nothing is certain and thus on the centennial of the construction and opening of her studio here in New Jersey, she was denied entry into the NJ Hall of Fame.

Our efforts were not dashed, but rather we at the Fort Lee Film Commission were more determined than ever to work harder in 2013. Thanks to one of the Fort Lee Film Commission’s founding members, and the Fort Lee Film Commission 2012 Alice Guy Blaché Award honoree, NJ Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg worked hard to keep the cause of Alice alive. 

Senator Weinberg worked with Senate President Stephen Sweeney and the result was that I became Senator Sweeney’s appointee to the New Jersey Hall of Fame Board of Commissioners as of January 2013. 

Since my appointment I have worked within the commission to tell the story of Alice to my fellow commissioners. The result is the placement of Alice Guy Blaché on the 2013 ballot. You can cast your ballots until May 3, not much time. This is a wonderful development but now the work starts. I ask not only for you to visit this website (http://www.njhalloffame.org/) and cast your ballot, but pass along this info to your friends and family and have them cast their ballots online too, as we have less than one month to make our voices heard and to gain induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame to the most worthy of nominees  - the first woman director in cinema history, the only woman to build and own her own studio, a world cinema pioneer and a former Fort Lee resident who happened to ride her horse to work from her home on Lemoine Avenue to her studio further north on Lemoine.  

Though Alice doesn’t live here any more, her spirit does. Please support our Reel Jersey Girl, Alice Guy Blaché for entry into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.