BY Casey Cipriani
CIR Launches Glassbreaker Films for Female Documentary Filmmakers
The Center for Investigative Reporting has announced the launch of Glassbreaker Films, a new film studio “intended to support and empower women in documentary filmmaking.” Glassbreaker Films was...
Amber Tamblyn’s Directorial Debut “Paint it Black” Acquired for Spring Release
Amber Tamblyn’s directorial debut, “Paint it Black” has been acquired by Imagination Worldwide for a release this April. The film premiered at the 2016 LA Film Festival. Based on the cult...
Gugu Mbatha-Raw Set to Star in Julia Hart’s “Fast Color”
Gugu Mbatha- Raw (“Belle,” “Beyond the Lights”) is set to star in the thriller “Fast Color,” Variety reports. “Miss Stevens” director Julia Hart is set to helm, with a screenplay she...
Trailer Watch: “The Lure” Makes Mermaids Frightening Again
Mermaids have always been frightening creatures of mythology, and now, Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska’s “The Lure” brings back the horror lost to Disney princesses, with an added fun,...
Taraji P. Henson Set to Play Hit Woman in “Proud Mary”
Taraji P. Henson has her next movie role lined up. According to Deadline, Henson is set to star in “Proud Mary,” for Screen Gems. She’s previously acted for the company in “No Good Deed”...
Trailer Watch: Women Will Make You Scream with Horror Anthology “XX”
Horror anthology film “XX” is a breath of fresh air in the male-dominated genre: The feature utilizes an all-female directing team. A new trailer has been released for the project, and the...
“Cameraperson,” “Hooligan Sparrow,” and “Making a Murderer” Win at Cinema Eye
Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson” topped the Cinema Eye Honors last night, taking home three awards: Outstanding Cinematography for Johnson, Outstanding Editing for Nels Bangerter, and...
New York Jewish Film Festival 2017 Lineup is 50 Percent Female-Directed
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Jewish Museum kicked off the 26th Annual New York Jewish Film Festival yesterday and half of the lineup is directed by women. The NYJFF is one of the...
“Good Girls Revolt” Unable to Find New Network After Cancellation
Sadly, “Good Girls Revolt” won’t be coming back. After Amazon cancelled the show at the end of Season 1, its creators tried desperately to find a new home for the historical series. But, as...
Hasbro Launching New Female Toy Character with Digital Series
Toy maker Hasbro is launching a new female character. As The Hollywood Reporter writes, the company will introduce Hanazuki, “a girl gifted with powers that are tied to her many moods.” The toy...
Natalie Portman Says Ashton Kutcher Was Paid 3x More on “No Strings Attached”
Sexism strikes again. During an interview with Marie Claire UK, Oscar winner and “Jackie” star Natalie Portman revealed that her “No Strings Attached” co-star, Ashton Kutcher, was paid...
Regina King Lands Deal at ABC
Emmy winner Regina King has landed a two-year deal with ABC studios for her production company Royal Ties, Shadow and Act reports. She runs the company with her sister, Reina King, whose official...
Kitty Genovese Doc “The Witness” Getting Narrative Treatment
The documentary “The Witness,” which follows the story of the murder of Kitty Genovese, is getting the narrative film treatment, Deadline reports. Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Pamela...
2017 Bitch List Highlights Diverse Scripts That Pass the Bechdel Test
The annual Bitch List, which works to highlight unproduced feature film and television screenplays that pass the Bechdel Test, has just been released. For those not in the know, the Bechdel Test was...
Lena Waithe’s “The Chi” Set for Showtime
Showtime has ordered Lena Waithe’s hour-long Chicago-set drama “The Chi” to series, Shadow and Act writes. The project was redevelopped and recast after a pilot was ordered in...
Jackie Collins’ Lucky Santangelo Books Being Adapted Into Film Trilogy
Jackie Collin’s beloved character Lucky Santangelo is coming to the big screen. As Deadline reports, the 10-novel series has been acquired by Universal Pictures with the hope of making a trilogy...
Hope Dickson Leach’s “The Levelling” Acquired By Monterey Media
Hope Dickson Leach’s debut feature film “The Levelling” has been acquired by Monterey Media. The film premiered at TIFF back in September. Set in Somerset, England, “The Levelling” follows...
“Casual” Adds More Female Directors
Hulu’s “Casual” is getting more female directors. According to TVGuide.com, series creator Zander Lehmann said at the Television Critics Association winter TV previews that the show is looking...
Nanfu Wang, Anna Rose Holmer, and Jordana Mollick Receive Spirit Grants
Three grants were awarded to women this past Saturday annual Film Independent’s annual Spirit Awards Nominees Brunch. As The Hollywood Reporter writes, Jordana Mollick received the Piaget...
“Hidden Figures” Wins Weekend Box Office
The African-American women of “Hidden Figures” ruled the box office this weekend. As The Hollywood Reporter writes, the historical film passed “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” to take the...
Golden Globes 2017 Wrap Up: Queen Meryl Streep, Feminism, and Tuxedos
Last night’s Golden Globe Awards, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, celebrated the best in movies and television of 2016, and there were plenty of moments that stood out for...
Watch: “Being Mary Jane” Clip Teases Season 4 Return and Mystery Man
The fate of BET’s “Being Mary Jane” was up in the air after the series’ star, Gabrielle Union, filed a $3 million lawsuit against the network for breach of contract. The dispute was settled...
Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Hits Palm Springs International Film Festival
The Palm Springs International Film Festival has kicked off, but not without a touch of scandal. Mere days before the festival began, The Desert Sun reports, the former acting director, Helen Du...
Disney’s 2017 Slate Lacks Both Women Writers and Directors
Looks like another major studio will be lacking in female representation this year. After Women and Hollywood reported that 20th Century Fox has zero female directors on their slate through 2018,...
Should Leia Become an Official Disney Princess?
After Carrie Fisher’s tragic death on December 27, fans of the “Star Wars” saga and her character, Princess/General Leia Organa, mourned her loss by showing their devotion the the beloved...
Theatre du Châtelet in Paris Gets Its First Female Artistic Director Ever
The Theatre du Châtelet in Paris has appointed its first female artistic director, The New York Times reports. Ruth Mackenzie will be taking over for Jean-Luc Choplin, who has served as artistic...
Netflix Acquires Kitty Green’s “Casting JonBenet” Before Sundance Premiere
Streaming giant Netflix has acquired the rights to director Kitty Green’s documentary “Casting JonBenet” before its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this month. “Casting...
Denmark Faces Another Disappointing Year For Female Director Representation
Denmark, home of such lauded female directors as Susanne Bier and Lone Scherfig, is sadly headed for another disappointing year for Danish female directors. Though the country is known for being...
Beyoncé Will Be First Female Coachella Headliner in 10 Years
Beyoncé will be the first female headliner at the Coachella music festival in 10 years, Vanity Fair reports. The last, and only, woman to headline the three-day event was Björk in 2007. A...
Katra Film Series Finalists Are 63% Female Directed, Written, and/or Produced
The 5th Annual Katra Film Series Grand Finale is toasting a big group of women this year. The finale of the series will take place on January 25 at the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn. The series...
Trailer Watch: Grab Tissues for “Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds”
Losing both Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, a mere 24 hours apart right before the year ended seemed like the cap to a particularly sad year of celebrity deaths. As a fitting way of...
Best of 2016: The Dudeocracy of Film Writers
Women and Hollywood is off today. Please enjoy one of our top posts of the year. This piece is from May 5, 2016. Yesterday, Owen Gleiberman was appointed chief film critic at Variety. We...
Best of 2016: Another Male Director With Little Experience Given a Big-Budget Project
Women and Hollywood is off this week. Please enjoy one of our top posts of the year. This piece is from June 21, 2016. In today’s dose of “Are you fucking kidding me?” another male director...
Best of 2016: Renee Zellweger and Why It’s Still Not Ok to Talk About Women’s Faces and Bodies
Women and Hollywood is off this week. Please enjoy one of our top posts of the year. This piece is from July 1, 2016. Here’s a thought: how about we, as members of the media, cease to write...
Best of 2016: Kathleen Kennedy Doesn’t Think There’s a Woman Director Ready for “Star Wars”
Women and Hollywood is off this week. Please enjoy one of our top posts of the year. This piece is from November 23, 2016. “Star Wars” producer Kathleen Kennedy sounds determined to get a...
Best of 2016: Ava DuVernay Will Be First African-American Woman to Helm $100 Million Film
Women and Hollywood is off this week. Please enjoy one of our top posts of the year. This piece is from August 3, 2016. Yesterday, a list of CA tax credits was announced. On that list was...
“Hidden Figures” and Black Girls CODE Create Website for Women in STEM
Inspired by “Hidden Figures,” 20th Century Fox and Black Girls CODE have teamed to create FutureKatherineJohnsons.com. The website will be built by “the next generation of young women poised...
Watch: Viola Davis is the One to Watch in “Fences” Clip
“Fences” may revolve around the character played by the film’s director, Denzel Washington, but its costar Viola Davis who is getting most of the awards attention. And from this clip it’s...
Television Academy Foundation Appoints Madeline Di Nonno as Chair
The Television Academy Foundation has elected Madeline Di Nonno as as its new chair. The Foundation is the Television Academy’s charitable arm and Di Nonno comes to the job from being chief...
Trailer Watch: Female Friendships Conquer All in Lifetime’s “Beaches”
On January 20, 2017, we’ll be living through one of the most disappointing presidential inaugurations in the history of this country, but fortunately the next night we can drown our tears in...
Cast Announced for Female-Driven Hacking Drama “Assassination Nation”
A new female-led film is heading our way. As Shadow and Act reports, Foxtail Entertainment and Phantom Four is making the teen-centric thriller “Assassination Nation.” The film will star Odessa...
“13th,” “Certain Women,” and More Nab Alliance of Women Film Journalist Awards
The women have voted! The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced the winners selected for the 2016 AWFJ EDA Awards. The 10th annual awards were announced in 25 categories, divided into...
Steppenwolf Theatre Company to Honor Phylicia Rashad
The Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced that Tony-winning actress and stage director Phylicia Rashad has been selected as the 2017 honoree of the annual Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts...
Trailer Watch: Oprah Reunites with Her South African Academy Grads in “O Girls”
“I wanted to help girls who were like me,” Oprah Winfrey says in the trailer for the doc “O Girls.” Five girls from Oprah Winfrey’s Johannesburg, South Africa school, The Oprah Winfrey...
Human Rights Campaign to Honor Meryl Streep with Ally for Equality Award
The Human Rights Campaign has announced that it will honor Meryl Streep for the organization’s Ally for Equality Award at the 2017 HRC Greater New York Gala, Broadway World reports. The HRC Ally...
Tegan and Sara Set Up LGBTQ Foundation
Musicians Tegan and Sara have set up a new project called the Tegan and Sara Foundation, the LA Times reports. The foundation is devoted to “commitment to feminism and racial, social, and gender...
BET’s Debra L. Lee Honored with Grammy Salute to Industry Icons Award
During the annual Pre-Grammy Gala in February, BET Networks Chairman and CEO Debra L. Lee will be honored as the Grammy Salute to Industry Icons recipient for her significant contributions to the...
Athena Film Festival Will Honor Eve Ensler, Patricia Riggen, Regina K. Scully
The Athena Film Festival (AFF) has announced its 2017 awardees, celebrating female leaders in the entertainment industry and those who support them. The festival will honor Tony Award-winning...
Trailer Watch: A Transgender Girl Fights for Her Rights in “Growing Up Coy”
A young transgender girl just made history by landing the cover story of National Geographic Magazine. Trans issues are getting the attention they deserve and need more and more, and the upcoming...
Learn How to Write for TV from Shonda Rhimes
Heads up, aspiring TV writers. Have you always wanted to learn from one of the best? “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes is starting an online course through MasterClass...
Trailer Watch: Get Nasty with “The Good Fight”
CBS All CBS All Access is about to launch two highly anticipated female-centric shows. One is the Sonequa Martin-Green-led “Star Trek: Discovery,” which will premiere in May, 2017 on the...