ALL POSTS
Maria Bamford Finally Explodes in “Lady Dynamite”
As far as I can tell, the only lyric in the opening theme to Maria Bamford’s gloriously surreal new Netflix show is “I’m a pterodactyl!” Except in the pilot, when it’s “Have you ever...
Stripper Exposé “The Hustlers at Scores” Will Be Made Into a Film
Annapurna Pictures and Gloria Sanchez Productions have acquired the film rights to The New York Magazine article “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler. A modern twist on the Robin Hood...
An Update on the EEOC Investigation Into Discrimination Against Women Directors
This week marks the first anniversary of the ACLU sending its landmark letter to the EEOC formally requesting that they look into the systemic discrimination against women directors in Hollywood. We...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest Lineup Over 50% Female-Directed
The lineup for the 2016 Human Rights Watch Film Festival has been revealed, and 10 of the 18 features being screened are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to 56 percent of the slate....
Rose Byrne to Star in Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s “Home Again”
Rose Byrne is reportedly in negotiations to star in the comedy “Home Again,” according to Variety. The film will be written and directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer, daughter of Nancy Meyers, who is...
Cannes 2016: Jodie Foster Opens “Women in Motion” Program at Cannes
Jodie Foster will open the second “Women in Motion” program at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins today. Foster is at the festival promoting her film “Money Monster,” which is screening...
Natalie Johns on Her Inspiring Skateboarding Doc “I Am Thalente”
Natalie Johns was born in Zimbabwe, grew up in South Africa, and moved to London in 1997 to begin a career specializing in live entertainment television and documentary film. In 2013, she moved to...
Trailer Watch: Salma Hayek-Pinault Revolts in “Septembers of Shiraz”
While Ben Affleck’s “Argo” may have offered a comedic take on the 1979 Iranian revolution, “Septembers of Shiraz” appears, from the looks of the new trailer, to make a more serious...
Cannes 2016: Sony Pictures Classics Acquires “Elle”
In some of the first news out of the Cannes Film Festival, which begins today, Sony Pictures Classics has bought the North American rights to Paul Verhoeven’s psychological thriller “Elle,”...
Multiple Jenni Rivera Projects in the Works
Multiple projects are in the works surrounding the life of singer Jenni Rivera, according the Deadline. Television projects and a film based on the life of the late Mexican-American singer have been...
TV Writers Petition For Tax Credits To Hire Women & Minorities
Call it Made in New York…by Women. According to Deadline, almost 500 film and TV writers have sent letters to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asking for new tax incentives for television producers...
Rosemary Myers’ “Girl Asleep” Acquired by Oscilloscope
The U.S. rights to Rosemary Myer’s debut feature, “Girl Asleep,” have been acquired by Oscilloscope Laboratories. Set in Australia in the 1970s, the coming-of-age tale centers on Greta...
Trailer Watch: Mira Nair’s “Queen of Katwe” Cheers For an Underdog Chess Champ
The trailer for Mira Nair’s highly anticipated “Queen of Katwe” has finally dropped, and the clip is introduced with an inspirational quotation that beautifully captures what follows: “The...
Ending the “Bury Your Gays” Trope Would Help Storytellers
How do you solve a problem like LGBT characters dying at disproportionate rates on American television? How do you catch a trope and pin it down? With the fandom uproar over the slew of LGBT...
Megan Griffiths’ Richard Ramirez-Inspired “The Night Stalker” To Premiere on LMN
The demand for stories about serial killers is showing no sign of slowing down. LMN, a television network that’s part of the Lifetime family, has acquired award-winning writer-director Megan...
Trailer Watch: “Orange is the New Black” Season 4 is Definitely a Drama
“Do you know the difference between pain and suffering?” Pennsatucky asks in the new trailer for “Orange is the New Black” Season 4. “Pain is always there, but suffering is...
Abigail Breslin and Trudie Styler Honored By Greenwich International Film Festival
The Greenwich International Film Festival, which is set to run from June 9–12 this year, has announced their honorees for the 2nd annual Changemaker Gala, which will take place on Friday,...
Lynda Carter Honored with Gracie’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Wonder Woman herself is getting an award. Lynda Carter, who played the Amazonian superhero on the original TV series, will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 41st Annual Gracie...
Why Research on Women Filmmakers Matters To Us All
When I was an undergraduate, I wanted to be a filmmaker. I wrote an essay declaring I would be a woman director, who made films about women, with all-women crews. Today, I am an Associate Professor...
Maisie Williams To Star in YA Thriller Directed by Kate Maberly
Arya Stark has her vision back on “Game of Thrones,” and Maisie Williams has her eyes set on a new project. ScreenDaily reports that “The Falling” actress will star in Kate Maberly’s...
Jodie Foster Gets a Star on the Walk of Fame, Talks Her Directing Style
Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “I grew up blocks from Hollywood Boulevard and would cross it every single day of my life,” said...
Cannes 2016: Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis Named 2016 Recipients of Kering Women in Motion Awards
It’s been 25 years since “Thelma & Louise” debuted on the big screen, but the iconic film — and its Oscar-winning stars — continue to make a mark on pop culture, and will be...
Women Directors at Cannes 2016 #SeeHerNow
The Cannes Film Festival kicks off this week with the unfortunate choice of a Woody Allen film in the opening slot. As we continuously note, Cannes, like so many other top tier festivals, continues...
“The Birth of the Pill” Coming to TV
Reproductive health in the U.S. has never been short of drama. Now a new event series will tell the story of the capsule that’s changed the lives and bedrooms of millions nationally and...
Angela Davis Biopic Acquired By The Firm
An unauthorized biopic of activist Angela Davis is coming to the big-screen. Deadline reports that The Firm has acquired an as-yet untitled script from LaToya Morgan, who previously served as a...
Sundance Institute’s Annual Directors Lab Includes 5 Women
Sundance Institute has selected their first-time filmmakers for this year’s Directors Lab, and five out of the eight directors chosen are women. That’s a lovely 62 percent. The annual Lab...
Anne Hathaway Bringing Stage Role in “Grounded” To the Big Screen
Anne Hathaway is adapting a movie version of the play “Grounded,” according to Variety. In 2015, she appeared in a New York production of the single-actor drama at the Public Theater, which was...
Teyonah Parris in Talks for Christine Swanson’s “Buffalo Soldier Girl”
Teyonah Parris of “Dear White People,” “Chi-Raq,” and AMC’s “Mad Men” is reportedly in talks to star in “Buffalo Soldier Girl” for filmmaker Christine Swanson, according to...
Listen: Podcast with Maxine Peake
British actress Maxine Peake talked to Women and Hollywood about taking on one of the most sought after, challenging roles in history — Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Peake spoke with us about her...
Alicia Vikander Starts Production Company Vikarious
Alicia Vikander is taking a cue from the many women in Hollywood who have already done so and set up her own production company. Oscar-winner Vikander and her London-based agent, Charles Collier of...
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin on Hollywood After 50 and “Grace and Frankie” Season 2
“Grace and Frankie”: Netflix Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s resumes are long and illustrious, and of course include “9 to 5,” the popular feminist tale they made together in the 70s. Both are...
5 Reasons to Check Out Chelsea Handler’s New Gig on Netflix
On May 11, the deeply snarky Chelsea Handler comes back with a new talk show — the first for Netflix, premiering at 12:01 a.m. This means she’s officially back in the late-night club where,...
Glamour Starts The Girl Project with “Get Schooled” Docu-Series
Glamour Magazine has begun an initiative called The Girl Project to highlight obstacles facing the 50 million girls worldwide who are fighting for an education. As part of the project, Glamour sent...
Lupita Nyong’o and Cast of Danai Gurira’s “Eclipsed” Urge #BringBackOurGirls
After one recent matinee showing of Danai Gurira’s “Eclipsed,” which is now playing on Broadway, the play’s star, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o championed a movement to remember the...
The Dudeocracy of Film Writers
Yesterday, Owen Gleiberman was appointed chief film critic at Variety. We congratulate him on the position, and consider him a great writer, but his hiring has capped off a bothersome trend we’ve...
Louise Osmond on the Village That Inspired Her Underdog Doc “Dark Horse”
Director Louise Osmond started her career at the UK network ITN in their news journalism graduate trainee program, covering stories in Europe and Africa before moving into documentaries. Her most...
U.S. Film Fests Screen Three Times as Many Male-Directed Narratives As Female Ones
New research from Dr. Martha Lauzen reveals that high-profile U.S. film festivals screen more than three times as many narrative films directed by men than women. It’s well-known that female...
Naomi Watts and Daisy Ridley to Star in Reimagining of “Hamlet”
Two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts and rapidly ascending star Daisy Ridley are likely teaming up for a project. The pair are in final negotiations to star in “Ophelia,” a reimagining of...
Cynthia Nixon to Receive Provincetown Film Festival Excellence in Acting Award
The Provincetown International Film Festival, which runs from June 15–19 this year, has announced today that Cynthia Nixon will be honored with the 2016 Excellence in Acting Award at this...
Female Cinematographers Band Together to Form CINEMATOGRAPHERS XX
Female cinematographers are banding together to form a new, supportive group called CINEMATOGRAPHERS XX, which will “help the crews behind the camera be more reflective of the stories they create,...
DGA Members Vote For Best-Directed Films and Include Only One Woman
The Directors Guild of America is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, and it’s doing so by essentially forgetting that female directors even exist. The DGA polled its members asking what...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Marcie Hume — “Magicians: Life in the Impossible”
Marcie Hume began her documentary career in factual television in London. She has produced and directed a range of series for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel. Along...
“Twilight” Author Stephenie Meyer to Produce YA Thriller “Anna Dressed in Blood”
The force behind the “Twilight” phenomenon is returning to the world of YA. “Twilight” author and producer Stephenie Meyer is backing a new supernatural film franchise. Meyer and Meghan...
Harriet Tubman Biopic Now in Development
Mere days after the announcement that abolitionist Harriet Tubman would make her way to American currency, it’s also been announced that a biopic about her is in the works as well, Deadline has...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Rama Thiaw — “The Revolution Won’t Be Televised”
Rama Thiaw is a writer, director, and producer at Boul Falle Images, a Senegalese film production company. Mauritanian and Senegalese, she grew up between Senegal and Europe. She has previously...
Directors UK Research: “Systemic Bias Against Women Directors”
In one week most of the worldwide film industry will be in Cannes celebrating the “best in cinema.” There will be monumental press attention paid to these movies and these directors. While we...
“UnREAL” Teasers Show How Reality TV Manipulates Its Stars
We’ve all long suspected that reality dating shows like “The Bachelor” wallow in sexism and manipulation. But Lifetime’s scripted series “UnREAL” came along last summer and proved our...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Helena Třeštíková— “Mallory”
Helena Třeštíková has directed forty films since graduating from Prague’s FAMU film school in 1974. Recently, Trestikova’s works have been the subject of retrospectives at several major...
Why Are We Ignoring Female-Centric Horror Films?
“The Boy” Women in horror movies get a bad rap. Don’t get me wrong — the majority of horror films in existence today are insulting to all female and female-identifying humans, with their...
Sexism and Misogyny Plague “Ghostbusters” Trailer Proving Even Male Directors Aren’t Immune
Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, and Leslie Jones in “Ghostbusters’: Sony It wasn’t a surprise when the announcement of Paul Feig’s all-female remake of “Ghostbusters” was...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Hélène Choquette — “A Dog’s Life”
Hélène Choquette has been dedicating herself to making documentaries on social and political issues since she made her debut as a camerawoman and photographer in 2001. She co-directed the...