BY Laura Berger
Issa Rae to Topline Stella Meghie’s “The Photograph”
Issa Rae and Stella Meghie are set to collaborate for a third time. The former will star in the latter’s next film, “The Photograph.” Variety confirmed the news. Written and...
Teaser Watch: Natalie Portman Goes to Space and Loses Her Grip in “Lucy in the Sky”
Natalie Portman travels to space and returns a different person in a new teaser for “Lucy in the Sky.” After seeing the whole universe, the astronaut’s life on Earth begins to feel...
Trailer Watch: A Park Guide Embarks on a Deadly Mission in “Body at Brighton Rock”
A park guide gets in way over her head in a new trailer for “Body at Brighton Rock.” A part-time summer employee at a mountainous state park, Wendy (Karina Fontes) spends her days...
Trailer Watch: Kiernan Shipka Walks a Darker Path in “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” Season 2
The debut season of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” saw the half-witch at the center of its story signing her name to the Book of the Beast and making a commitment to the Dark Lord. A...
SXSW Audience Award Winners Include “For Sama” & “Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins”
The 2019 edition of the SXSW Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend, and now the fest has announced this year’s Audience Award winners. Taking home the honor in the Documentary Feature...
“Queen Sugar’s” Fourth Season Gets a Premiere Date, Directors Announced
The triumphs and tragedies of the Bordelons will continue to unfold on OWN beginning June 12. Mark your calendars: that’s when the Ava DuVernay-created family drama returns for its fourth...
“Pachinko” Adaptation Ordered to Series at Apple with Soo Hugh as Showrunner
“Pachinko” is coming to the small screen. Apple has given a series order to a drama based on Min Jin Lee’s acclaimed bestselling novel, Deadline reports. Published in 2017,...
Lilly Singh Is Getting a Late-Night Show on NBC
YouTube star Lilly Singh boasts over 14 million followers on the streaming platform, and she’s poised to make plenty of new fans in the coming months. The comedian is “taking over...
Trailer Watch: Taylor Schilling Parties with Juggalos in “Family”
“Orange Is the New Black’s” Taylor Schilling leaves prison behind but not her superiority complex in Laura Steinel’s “Family.” A trailer for the comedy has dropped,...
Women-Directed Docs Dominate PBS’ “POV” This Season
The films comprising the upcoming 32nd season of PBS’ “POV” have been revealed. Of 15 features announced, nine are directed or co-directed by women. A 16th film will be added to the...
Trailer Watch: Audiences Reflect on “Thelma & Louise’s” Legacy in New Doc
“It all started 25 years ago when I saw ‘Thelma & Louise.’ I couldn’t help but wonder how other viewers were reacting,” says director Jennifer Townsend in a trailer...
Anne Fontaine’s Isabelle Huppert-Starrer “White As Snow” Lands at Cohen Media
Anne Fontaine’s contemporary re-telling of “Snow White” has found a home. Cohen Media has acquired U.S. rights to the feminist fable ahead of its premiere at Tribeca Film Festival...
Trailer Watch: Mary Harron Tells the Manson Girls’ Stories in “Charlie Says”
“I know everyone thinks we’re these scary creatures who committed these horrible crimes, but we did what we had to do,” says one of the so-called “Manson Girls” in a new...
Hot Docs Adds “One Child Nation,” “I Love You, Now Die,” & More to Special Presentations Lineup
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival has added more titles to its Special Presentations lineup, described as “a high-profile collection of world and international premieres, award...
Anna D. Shapiro to Direct “The Devil Wears Prada” Broadway Musical
Miranda Priestly’s legendary barbs are coming to the stage. Already a best-selling novel and blockbuster film, “The Devil Wears Prada” is headed to Broadway, and Anna D. Shapiro...
SXSW 2019 Awards: “For Sama” and “Alice” Win Top Prizes
Women directed 60 percent of the films screening in Competition at SXSW, and lo and behold, they dominated the awards. Women-helmed pics took home the Feature Film Grand Jury Awards in the Narrative...
Elle Fanning to Receive Maverick Spirit Award from Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival
At just 20 years old, Elle Fanning already has over 50 credits to her name. The prolific actress and producer is set to be honored by Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival for her ever-expanding...
Trailer Watch: Steve Bannon Will Do Anything to Win in Alison Klayman’s “The Brink”
According to Steve Bannon, he’s the one responsible for Donald Trump being named the 45th President of the United States. “If I had not come in as CEO of the campaign Trump would not have...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Miia Tervo – “Aurora”
Miia Tervo is an award-winning director whose credits include “The Seal,” “The Little Snow Animal,” and “Clumsy Little Acts of Tenderness.” “Aurora” is...
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival to Open with “American Factory”
Sundance winner “American Factory” is slated to open the 22nd annual edition of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. A look inside what happened when a Chinese billionaire opened a...
Callie Khouri to Direct Lifetime’s “Patsy & Loretta,” Megan Hilty and Jessie Mueller Star
“Nashville” creator Callie Khouri is returning with another story set in the world of country music. She’s been hired by Lifetime to helm “Patsy & Loretta,” an...
Apply Now: TV Script Initiative for Female Writers
Thousand Films is looking to help bridge the television industry’s gender gap by connecting writers with established producers. According to a study from the Writers Guild of Great Britain,...
Trailer Watch: BFFs Let Loose in Olivia Wilde’s “Booksmart”
Perfectly timed to coincide with the film’s stellar reviews out of SXSW, a red band trailer for “Booksmart” has dropped. Olivia Wilde’s feature directorial debut tells the...
Trailer Watch: Alice Guy-Blaché Doc “Be Natural” Tells the Story of the First Female Filmmaker
#TimesUp on Alice Guy-Blaché’s contributions to cinema being overlooked, underestimated, and forgotten. “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché” tells the story of the first...
SXSW Women Directors: Meet Erin Lee Carr: “I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter”
Erin Lee Carr is a writer, director, and producer. She recently directed an episode of Netflix’s “Dirty Money,” an investigation into price gouging tactics revolutionized by pharma...
Trailer Watch: Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger Fall in Love in “Tell It to the Bees”
Director Annabel Jankel described “Tell It to the Bees” as “an unholy mashup of social and magical realism” that’s both “a coming-of-age story and a love story...
Julie Andrews to Receive Venice Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Julie Andrews is heading from Atlantis to Venice. The Oscar-winning “Mary Poppins” actress, who last appeared in “Aquaman,” is set to receive the Golden Lion for lifetime...
Trailer Watch: Gina Rodriguez Gets Her Dream Job and Loses Her Boyfriend in “Someone Great”
“We were together nine years. I thought we could handle anything,” says Gina Rodriguez in a new trailer for “Someone Great.” Written and directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson...
Margarethe von Trotta Will Be Celebrated with Lifetime Honor at German Film Awards
Margarethe von Trotta kicked off her career as an actress, but the trailblazer is best known for her work as a feminist director. The influential German filmmaker is set to receive a lifetime...
Brie Larson-Led CIA Drama Receives Straight-to-Series Commitment from Apple
“Captain Marvel” features Brie Larson playing a costumed crusader in the throes of an intergalactic war but her next project sees her going undercover for the CIA. The Oscar-winning...
Trailer Watch: Mindy Kaling Joins Emma Thompson’s Writers Room in “Late Night”
“I wish I was a woman of color so I could just get any job I want,” says one of the ignoramuses working for Emma Thompson’s long-running late-night show in the first trailer for...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Kestrin Pantera – “Mother’s Little Helpers”
Kestrin Pantera is an actress, writer, and director. She made her feature debut with 2014’s “Let’s Ruin It with Babies,” and has since directed TV series such as “Bad Parent...
Trailer Watch: Aretha Franklin Brings the House Down in “Amazing Grace”
Aretha Franklin’s iconic pipes are the focus of a new trailer for “Amazing Grace.” Shot in 1972 over two nights at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in LA, the long-awaited...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Amy C. Elliott – “Salvage”
Amy Elliott is a photographer and documentary filmmaker. She has been shooting motion and still editorial assignments for 20 years. Her previous features include 2014’s “Wicker...
Starr Parodi Elected as President of the Alliance for Women Film Composers
Women comprised six percent of composers working on the top 250 grossing films of 2018, according to research from Dr. Martha Lauzen and the Center for the Study of Women in Television &...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Karen Maine – “Yes, God, Yes”
Karen Maine wrote and directed the 2017 short “Yes, God, Yes,” which premiered as a Vimeo Staff Pick and received 2.9 million views. It won Best Short at the St. Louis International Film...
Hot Docs 2019’s Special Presentations Lineup Is Nearly 50 Percent Women-Directed
Hot Docs has announced the 15 features comprising this year’s Special Presentations program. Seven of the titles are directed by women, or 47 percent of the slate, which is described as...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth Sankey – “Romantic Comedy”
Elizabeth Sankey is an English writer, musician, and actor. As a cultural commentator, she has written for The Guardian, NME, Vice, and McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern. With her band, Summer Camp,...
Hanelle Culpepper Is Making “Star Trek” History and Directing Picard Pilot
Make it so. Hanelle Culpepper is heralding a new frontier in the “Star Trek” franchise. She’s helming the first two episodes of the upcoming Jean-Luc Picard series, “making...
Alliance of Women Directors Names AnnaLea Rawicz Arnold as First Executive Director
The Board of Directors of Alliance of Women Directors (AWD) has named AnnaLea Rawicz Arnold as its first Executive Director, a press release announced. An inclusive collective of professional...
Alethea Jones to Direct Paramount Musical “Big Gay Jamboree”
Alethea Jones is teaming up Margot Robbie for her next feature. She’ll follow up 2017’s “Fun Mom Dinner” with “Big Gay Jamboree,” a period musical being produced...
Nzingha Stewart to Direct Misty Copeland Biopic “Life in Motion”
Shondaland fixture Nzingha Stewart has been tapped to bring Misty Copeland’s story to the big screen. Stewart will direct New Line’s biopic of the trailblazer, “Life in Motion: An...
Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson Comedy “Late Night” Gets a Release Date
“Late Night” is hitting theaters this summer. Amazon Studios will release Nisha Ganatra’s breakout Sundance comedy nationwide June 7, Variety confirms. Penned by Mindy Kaling and...
Trailer Watch: The X-Men and Jessica Chastain Vie for Sophie Turner’s Soul in “Dark Phoenix”
“I’m scared, and when I lose control bad things happen to people I love,” says Sophie Turner in a new trailer for “Dark Phoenix.” The “X-Men” pic sees Jean...
Chinonye Chukwu’s Sundance Winner “Clemency” Goes to Neon, Alfre Woodard Stars
The winner of Sundance 2019’s U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award has found a home. Neon snagged U.S. rights to Alfre Woodard-starrer “Clemency,” a press release...
“Star Trek: Discovery” Renewed for Season 3, Adds Michelle Paradise as Co-Showrunner
Looks like Sonequa Martin-Green has plenty more worlds and life forms to discover. CBS All Access has greenlit a third season of “Star Trek: Discovery,” The Hollywood Reporter...
Lauren Greenfield to Make Narrative Debut with “Man Under”
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Lauren Greenfield is set to make her narrative debut. The “Generation Wealth” helmer is stepping behind the camera for indie pic “Man...
Uta Briesewitz to Direct “Frankenstein” CBS Pilot
Another “Frankenstein” adaptation is on the way. CBS has a modern interpretation of Mary Shelley’s 19th century novel in the works, and Uta Briesewitz has signed on to direct its...
Trailer Watch: Amy Schumer Is Pregnant but Not Precious in Her New Netflix Special
A lot has changed since Amy Schumer’s last Netflix stand-up special, 2017’s “The Leather Special.” “I’m fucking pregnant!” the Emmy winner exclaims in a...
Nia DaCosta to Direct “Sleeping with the Enemy” Reboot for Fox Searchlight
Nia DaCosta is breathing new life into another ’90s pic. Late last year it was announced that the “Little Woods” writer-director would helm a “spiritual sequel” to...
Nosipho Dumisa to Direct South Africa-Set Teen Drama “Blood & Water” for Netflix
Fans of “Sex Education,” “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” and/or “On My Block,” take note: Netflix has another teen-centric series on the way. The streamer...