ALL POSTS
CBS Developing Limited Series Based on Patty Hearst
Prepare for the term “Stockholm Syndrome” to re-enter public consciousness in a big way. CBS is in the midst of developing a limited series based on Patty Hearst, arguably the most famous,...
“Orange is the New Black” Smartly Puts the Prison Industry in its Cross Hairs
The fourth season of “Orange is the New Black,” premiering on Netflix June 17, takes on some very topical issues as Litchfield comes to terms with its new corporate owner. It’s an interesting...
Teaser Watch: “Moana” Presents Disney’s Next Feisty Heroine
Disney’s next adventurous heroine just got a little closer and a little more real, with the official teaser trailer for “Moana” released last night during the Tony awards. As we previously...
Exclusive: Hilarious Video from “Adult Life Skills” Director Rachel Tunnard Nails Industry Sexism
One of the things we love about Rachel Tunnard’s “Adult Life Skills” is how it rejects the notion of a “strong female character” in favor of an interesting one that is allowed to mess up,...
Claire Carré’s “Embers” Will Be First Narrative Released By Slamdance Presents
Claire Carré’s directorial debut “Embers,” which closed this year’s Slamdance Film Festival, will be the first narrative feature released by the new Slamdance Presents label, Variety has...
Frameline, San Fran LGBTQ Film Fest’s Features Lineup is Nearly 50% Women-Directed
LGBTQ film festivals are always something to celebrate, but especially when women-directed films feature prominently in the program, as both groups are underrepresented on the film festival circuit...
BBC’s Adaptation of Zadie Smith’s “NW” Will Star Nikki Amuka-Bird and Phoebe Fox
The leading ladies for BBC’s adaption of Zadie Smith’s 2012 novel “NW” have been revealed. Deadline announced that Nikki Amuka-Bird (“Luther,” “Jupiter Ascending”) and Phoebe Fox...
“Nashville” Renewed For Fifth Season at CMT
After being cancelled last month at ABC, “Nashville,” created by Callie Khouri, has officially been renewed for a fifth season airing on CMT, Variety reports. “CMT heard the fans. The wave of...
Genne Murphy Wins Leah Ryan Prize for Emerging Women Writers
Leah Ryan’s Fund for Emerging Women Writers has announced Genne Murphy as the winner of the seventh annual prize for her play “Giantess.” Ryan was a playwright, essayist, writer of post-modern...
Weekly Update for June 10: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Diary of a Chambermaid — Co-Written by Hélène Zimmer “Diary of a Chambermaid” is set during the beginning of the 20th century in provincial France....
LA Film Fest Winners: “HEIS (chronicles),” “Political Animals,” “Paint it Black” All Honored
The LA Film Festival, produced by Film Independent, has announced the winners of the 2016 fest. The festival, which ran from June 1–9 this year, handed out juried awards in the categories of:...
Jennifer Lawrence to Play Elizabeth Holmes, Founder of Theranos
Jennifer Lawrence has signed on to a high-profile, timely new project. The Oscar winner will play Elizabeth Holmes, the 32-year-old founder of Theranos, a controversial medical company. Adam McKay...
Trailer Watch: Winona Ryder’s Creepy Quest in Netflix’s “Stranger Things”
If 99 times out of 100, a missing kid is with a parent or a relative, what about the other one time? That’s what Winona Ryder’s character wants to know in this creepy new trailer for Netflix’s...
When the Moment Strikes: Crowdfunding Picks
This month’s crowdfunding picks test time in various ways. In Georgia Oakley’s “Little Bird” we travel back to 1941 London, where a young woman (Emily Taafe) is interviewing for the...
Robin Thede Calls for Support for WGAE’s Diversity Tax Credit
Robin Thede, a writer and performer for “The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore,” has penned a personal essay for Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter in which she calls for the support of Writer’s Guild...
Quote of the Day: “Grace and Frankie” Creator Marta Kauffman Talks Aging on TV
The Hollywood Reporter recently hosted a roundtable of six comedy showrunners, and while the discussion featured many highlights, a delightfully candid comment from “Grace and Frankie”...
Hettie MacDonald to Direct “Howards End” Miniseries for BBC
Hettie MacDonald will direct a miniseries adaptation of “Howards End” for the BBC, Deadline has reported. The series will be a four-parter. Based on the classic 1910 E. M. Forster novel of the...
Watch: Lena Dunham and “Girls” Cast Record PSA on Sexual Assault
Lena Dunham and her “Girls” co-stars have released a PSA about sexual assault in the wake of Brock Turner’s all too lenient sentencing. Dunham posted the video to her Twitter account, where...
Ingrid Veninger’s “He Hated Pigeons” to Open Female Eye Film Festival
Ingrid Veninger’s “He Hated Pigeons” will open the 14th annual Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto. The fest is an international showcase of female directors, and runs from June 14–19 this...
Trailer Watch: Blake Lively Takes On a Great White Shark in “The Shallows”
Looking forward to an upcoming beach vacation? The final trailer for “The Shallows” may make you reconsider cooling off in the water. Blake Lively leaves her designer “Gossip Girl” dresses...
Kerry Washington Will Receive SAG-AFTRA’s Actors Inspiration Award
Kerry Washington, star of ABC’s “Scandal” and HBO’s “Confirmation,” has been selected as the recipient of the Actors Inspiration Award by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Washington, Variety...
Geena Davis to Produce Hollywood Gender Inequality Doc, But a Man Will Direct
Geena Davis will produce a a documentary on Hollywood’s gender inequality, Variety has learned. Davis, a prominent activist about this issue, is teaming up with Creative Chaos vmg and their...
“Homeland” Season 6 Will Have a Female President
Mere hours before Hillary Clinton became the first woman in U.S. history to secure a major party’s presidential nomination, it was revealed that the next season of Showtime’s hit series...
“O.J.: Made In America” Producer Caroline Waterlow on Race, Marcia Clark, and Domestic Abuse
Women and Hollywood spoke with Caroline Waterlow, producer of the highly anticipated “O.J.: Made in America,” one of Sundance 2016’s biggest hits. Described as a masterpiece by many critics,...
Listen: Podcast With Emily Best, CEO and Founder of Seed&Spark
Women and Hollywood spoke with Emily Best, the CEO and Founder of Seed&Spark, about the exciting new steps for the platform. It is going to bring audiences to the content creators....
“From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series” Announces Season 3 Directors with Only One Woman for 10 Episodes
Miramax and El Rey Network have announced the directors for Season 3 of “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,” and only one of the 10 episodes will be directed by a woman. As a press release...
Trailer Watch: Teen Girls Battle Bratwurst Nazis in “Yoga Hosers”
Prepare to meet Canadian Hitler. A trailer has landed for Kevin Smith’s horror-comedy “Yoga Hosers,” starring Harley Quinn Smith (“Tusk”) and model Lily-Rose Depp as sardonic Canadian...
Sloane Crosley’s Debut Novel Optioned By Universal
Sloane Crosley is getting the big-screen treatment. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the essayist’s debut novel, “The Clasp,” has been optioned by Universal. The book centers on a...
“Tomorrowland’s” Britt Robertson to Star in Netflix’s “Girlboss”
Britt Robertson, who starred in last year’s Disney sci-fi film “Tomorrowland,” will topline an upcoming Netflix original series called “Girlboss.” The 13-episode comedy was inspired by the...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Anaïs Volpé — “HEIS (chronicles)”
Anaïs Volpé is a screenwriter, filmmaker, visual artist, and actress. She likes mixing arts and exploring new forms of narration. In 2013, she directed her first short film, “Blast.” The film...
Sexist Comment of the Day: Studio Ghibli Producer Explains Why They Don’t Hire Women to Direct
Perpetuating stereotypes is never a good thing — but especially in the context of an interview with one of the world’s most prominent publications. The Guardian asked Studio Ghibli producer...
Elizabeth Banks and Directing While Mothering
First things first, I am not a mom. Nor am I a director. But I have spoken with many moms who are directors and many directors who aren't moms. Second, this discussion is inherently sexist...
Kathryn Bigelow and Amy Sherman-Palladino Both Have Pilots in the Works
Two new shows are in the works from a couple of our favorite women in the industry. According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO has ordered a pilot from “The Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow....
Trailer Watch: “Jesus Camp” Directors Tackle TV Icon in “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You”
A newly released trailer for Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You” introduces the doc’s subject by saying, “He has been around approximately forever.”...
How Finding a Filmmaking Partner Changed My Career
Guest Post by Siobhan Devine Making an independent film takes a village, and that’s pretty much the only part that everyone likes to talk about; that two days or three weeks of crazy madness and...
Netflix Snags Cannes Hit “Divines”
“Divines” is headed from Cannes to your living room. Variety reports that Netflix has acquired Houda Benyamina’s directorial debut, the winner of this year’s Camera d’Or. Benyamina...
Trailer Watch: Atheist Doctor Teams Up with Nuns in Anne Fontaine’s “The Innocents”
A newly released trailer for European writer-director Anne Fontaine’s latest offering, “The Innocents,” has been released. The drama centers on a young, atheist French Red Cross doctor (Lou de...
Zoe Saldana to Produce Documentary About Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
According to Hollywood’s Black Renaissance, Zoe Saldana will produce a powerful feature documentary titled “Gone Missing.” Saldana is producing along with her sisters Cisely and Mariel Saldana...
Pearlena Igbokwe to Head Universal Television
Pearlena Igbokwe has been named the next president of Universal Television, reports Variety. The position was previously held by Bela Bajaria, who left the studio earlier this week. Igbokwe is...
Ava DuVernay Honored at LAFF, Promotes Diversity in Film
Last week at the Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF), director Ava DuVernay was recognized with the Spirit of Independence honor. DuVernay, who directed “Selma,” and became the first...
Amy Poehler and Natasha Lyonne Bringing “Zero Motivation” to TV
“Zero Motivation” stole the show at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, where it took home top honors, and now the social satire is coming to TV. Talya Lavie’s acclaimed directorial debut is...
“First Wives Club” Coming to TV, Alyson Hannigan and Megan Hilty Will Star
“The First Wives Club” is likely coming to the small-screen — the project was picked up to pilot in March — and now we know some of the leading ladies who will top line the potential...
“Me Before You” Defies Expectations at Box Office Proving the Power of Female Audiences
If you build it, they will come. No, we’re not talking baseball, we’re talking movies marketed to women, specifically the new romantic drama “Me Before You,” which outperformed projections...
Trailer Watch: “When the Bough Breaks” Doc Captures Postpartum Depression
Brooke Shields’ struggle with postpartum depression was documented in her 2005 memoir “Down Came the Rain.” Now, to continue her quest to raise awareness for the cause, she has executive...
Diane Lane Commits $20,000 for Female Music Educators Grant, Applications Open
Diane Lane has committed $20,000 towards a four-year, $5,000 annual grant for New York-based female educators focused in music in honor of late composer Elizabeth Swados. Swados, Broadway World...
Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith Team Up for a “Girl Trip”
Though they have a long history of working together off-screen, Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith haven’t appeared on-screen together since 1996’s “Set it Off,” but that may...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Dorie Barton — “Girl Flu.”
Writer-director Dorie Barton makes her feature film debut with “Girl Flu.” She has spent many years as a story consultant with filmmakers, from up-and-coming writers, to industry veterans. As a...
Submissions for Warner Bros. Pictures Emerging Directors Workshop Now Open
Attention filmmakers: the application process for the inaugural Warner Bros. Emerging Film Directors Workshop is now open. The nine-month intensive will guide participants through the film...
Weekly Update for June 3: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Dear followers: Welcome to the Women and Hollywood Weekly Update. Each week we will be sharing with you films by and about women that are opening around the U.S. We’ll also include information...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Finell — “Sensitivity Training”
Melissa Finell is an award-winning director and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. “Sensitivity Training” is her first feature film. Her script for the film won an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Finell — “Sensivity Training”
“Sensitivity Training”Melissa Finell is an award-winning director and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. “Sensitivity Training” is her first feature film. Her script for the film won an...