BY Laura Berger
Trailer Watch: A Tragic Romance Unfolds in “If Beale Street Could Talk”
“You trusted love this far. Trust it all the way,” says Regina King in an emotional new trailer for “If Beale Street Could Talk.” Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to...
Viola Davis’ Production Company Inks First-Look Deal with Amazon
Another actress with a burgeoning producing career has joined forces with Amazon Studios. Recent weeks have seen Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne, and Natalie Dormer signing first-look deals with the...
Trailer Watch: Taraji P. Henson Has Psychic Powers in “What Men Want”
Taraji P. Henson has the hots for her neighbor in a new red band trailer for “What Men Want.” There’s just one problem — “Captain Fucktastic,” as she calls him,...
Catherine Hardwicke on “Twilight’s” 10th Anniversary and Breaking Down Stereotypes
It’s been a decade since Bella and Edward’s love story galvanized audiences comprised mostly of women and teen girls. “Twilight’s” box office success helped prove the...
Quote of the Day: Nicole Kidman on Hollywood’s “Long Road” to Equality
Nicole Kidman has kept good on a commitment she made publicly: to work with at least one female director every 18 months. “I’ve actually so far exceeded it,” she tells Variety in a...
Gloria Ui Young Kim Filming Feature Debut, Mother-Daughter Drama “Queen of the Morning Calm”
Award-winning director Gloria Ui Young Kim has kicked off filming on her feature debut. A mother-daughter drama, “Queen of the Morning Calm” stars Tina Jung (“Kim’s...
Quote of the Day: Ellen Pompeo Calls Out Lack of Racial Inclusivity During Event
Ellen Pompeo’s fight for fair pay on “Grey’s Anatomy” — and her willingness to talk about the issue both publicly and candidly — has been helping push forward the...
Jasmin Mozaffari’s “Firecrackers” Goes to Good Deed Entertainment
“Firecrackers” will be set off in U.S. theaters. Jasmin Mozaffari’s feature debut has secured distribution stateside from Good Deed Entertainment, Deadline confirms. The female-led...
Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne Sign First-Look TV Deal with Amazon
Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne’s newly formed production banner just scored a major deal. Animal Pictures is going into business with Amazon Studios, Variety reports. The pact sees the duo...
Trailer Watch: A Family Goes to War Over Drug Money in “Birds of Passage”
“Do you know why I’m respected? Because I’m capable of anything for my family and my clan,” a matriarch (Carmiña Martínez) explains in a new trailer for “Birds of...
Janelle Monáe’s Wondaland Pictures Strikes First-Look Deal with Universal
“Hidden Figures” breakout Janelle Monáe has two films on the way with Universal Pictures, and it seems she has plenty more projects on the horizon with the studio. Monáe’s...
Natalie Dormer Inks First-Look Deal with Fremantle
Natalie Dormer is re-teaming with Fremantle and taking her relationship with the production and distribution company to the next level. The “Game of Thrones” alumna has signed a...
Kelly McMahon Is the MPAA’s Next Ratings Chair, Joan Graves Retiring
The MPAA has named a new chair of the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), the group that assigns film ratings. Deadline confirms that Kelly McMahon will succeed Joan Graves, who is...
Judi Dench to Receive Honor at British Independent Film Awards
Judi Dench is following in the footsteps of Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, and Julie Walters, all previous recipients of the Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution to British film....
Trailer Watch: Frankie Shaw Tries on Different Identities in “SMILF” Season 2
Bridgette Bird has given up her fantasy of playing professional basketball, but it looks like she’s still pursuing acting in Season 2 of “SMILF.” Showtime has released a trailer for...
Melissa McCarthy to Be Honored with Santa Barbara Film Festival Montecito Award
Considered among the Best Actress Oscar frontrunners for her dramatic turn in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, Melissa McCarthy has been named as the recipient of Montecito Award from the...
Mary Lambert to Helm Mermaid Thriller “Rolling in the Deep”
Disney’s highly anticipated live-action version of “The Little Mermaid” is still in its early stages, but another mermaid-centric project is in the pipeline — a decidedly more...
Eva Longoria Bastón to Make Feature Directorial Debut with Workplace Comedy
Best known for her role as Gabrielle Solis on “Desperate Housewives,” Eva Longoria Bastón has spent years building up an impressive resume behind the scenes. After making her TV...
Melissa V. Murray to Make Feature Debut with “We Real Cool,” Effie Brown Producing
“Dear White People” producer Effie Brown has lined up her next project. She’s set to produce Melissa V. Murray’s feature directorial debut, “We Real Cool.” AGC...
Daisy Haggard-Led Series About an Ex-Con Goes into Production for BBC Three
Daisy Haggard has her own show on the way. The wonderfully expressive “Episodes” actress co-wrote “Back to Life” and will play its lead, Variety reports. Already in...
Felicity Jones to Be Honored at 2018 British Independent Film Awards
“On the Basis of Sex” doesn’t hit theaters until December 25, but Felicity Jones is already earning awards buzz for her performance in the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic. The...
Bad Robot Announces Films from Megan Amram, Lisa McQuillan, and More
Sitcom scribes Megan Amram and Lisa McQuillan are making the move to the big screen. “The Good Place,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “Silicon Valley” are among the...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag” to Make New York Debut
“Fleabag” is coming stateside. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s award-winning play is set to debut in New York, a press release announced. Written and performed by Waller-Bridge and directed...
LGBTQ Vampire Novel “The Gilda Stories” Coming to TV with Cheryl Dunye as Showrunner
Over vampire stories about white teen girls falling for even paler immortal dudes? “The Gilda Stories” may be just the inclusive genre story you’re looking for. Published in 1991,...
Amazon Orders Bilingual Rom-Com Pilot from Catalina Aguilar Mastretta
“Everybody Loves Somebody” writer-director Catalina Aguilar Mastretta has a romantic comedy in the works at Amazon Prime. The streamer has ordered a pilot for the untitled bilingual...
Trailer Watch: Danielle Macdonald Enters Jennifer Aniston’s Beauty Pageant in “Dumplin'”
Danielle Macdonald broke out as an aspiring rapper in 2017’s “Patti Cake$” and her next pic sees her taking on the world of Texas beauty pageants. Directed by Anne Fletcher...
Trailer Watch: Yalitza Aparicio Has a Star-Making Role as a Domestic Worker in “Roma”
A trailer has dropped for “Roma,” a favorite out of Venice and Telluride. Inspired partly by the childhood of its writer-director, Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity”), the drama is...
Trailer Watch: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Won’t Be Told to Quit in “On the Basis of Sex”
Felicity Jones isn’t taking anybody’s shit in a new trailer for Mimi Leder’s “On the Basis of Sex.” The biopic sees her playing Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and more...
“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Insecure,” and “SMILF” Among Recipients of ReFrame’s Inaugural TV Stamp
If you’re looking for a new series to watch — and want to avoid one that ignores the existence of women on-screen and behind the scenes — look no further. Variety reports that...
Trailer Watch: Julianne Moore Is a Dancing Queen in “Gloria Bell”
“When the world blows up, I hope I go down dancing,” says Julianne Moore in the first trailer for “Gloria Bell.” An English-language remake of 2013’s “Gloria,” the...
“Insecure” Actress Amanda Seales Is Making Her HBO Comedy Special Debut Next Year
One of Issa and Molly’s BFFs on “Insecure” is set to make her comedy special debut on the network behind the Issa Rae-starrer. HBO has announced that Amanda Seales, who plays...
Vanessa Bayer Comedy “Big Deal” in the Works at Showtime
Another “Saturday Night Live” alumna has her own show in the works. Vanessa Bayer is set to topline “Big Deal,” a single camera comedy that she’s also credited as...
Trailer Watch: Karen Gillan Spirals Out of Control in “The Party’s Just Beginning”
“Sometimes it feels like the world’s gone deaf — I can’t tell if they can’t hear me or they’re ignoring me,” says Karen Gillan in the first trailer for her...
Michelle Yeoh May Be Getting Her Own “Star Trek” Spinoff on CBS All Access
“Change is the essential process of all existence,” Spock once said. It looks like Captain/Emperor Philippa Georgiou may take his advice and forge a new path. Michelle Yeoh is in talks to...
Glenn Close to Receive Icon Award from Palm Springs International Film Festival
Glenn Close is heading to Palm Springs and she’ll leave with a new decoration for her mantelpiece. The six-time Oscar nominee is set to be honored with the Palm Springs International Film...
Nominees for 2019 Cinema Eye Honors Revealed: “Shirkers,” “Free Solo,” & More
Presented annually to celebrate nonfiction films, The Cinema Eye Honors awards nominees have been announced via a press release. Sandi Tan’s “Shirkers” is among the leaders of the...
Inaugural Class of Female Cinematographers Announced for Fox’s DP Lab
The industry and mainstream media are — at long last — starting to address the dearth of opportunities for women directors, but the conversation hasn’t shifted as much when it comes...
Susanne Bier Tapped to Helm Every Episode of HBO’s Nicole Kidman-Starrer “The Undoing”
Nicole Kidman’s new HBO series has found its director. Emmy-winning “Night Manager” helmer Susanne Bier will step behind the camera for all six episodes of “The...
Exclusive: A Mother and Daughter Argue About Islam in “Jinn” Clip
Once carefree, 17-year-old Summer (Zoe Renee, “The Quad”) finds herself struggling to cope when her mother Jade (Simone Missick, “Luke Cage”) converts to Islam....
Reese Witherspoon and Fox 2000 Nab Rights for Vietnam Book “League of Wives”
No stranger to period pics, Reese Witherspoon traveled to the ’60s to tell the story of June Carter Cash in “Walk the Line,” the ’30s for circus drama “Water for...
Apply Now: Birds Eye View Future Leaders in Distribution Program
Listen up, UK-based female distribution executives: Birds Eye View wants to support you in breaking through the glass ceiling of the distribution sector. ScreenDaily reports that the gender equality...
BAFTA to Celebrate Nicole Kidman with Career Retrospective
An Oscar, multiple Golden Globes, Emmy, and BAFTA are just a few of the many honors Nicole Kidman has collected along her 30-plus-year career in the film and television industry. She’s amassed...
Trailer Watch: A Child Sues His Parents in Nadine Labaki’s Cannes Winner “Capernaum”
An Oscar hopeful in the Best Foreign Language Film category, Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum” already took home the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival. A new trailer has dropped...
Anika Noni Rose to Play Legendary Boxing Trainer in TNT Pilot “Beast Mode”
“Beast Mode” has found its lead. Tony winner Anika Noni Rose is stepping into the ring as legendary boxing trainer Marsha Blackstone for the TNT pilot, the network announced in a press...
Apply Now: NBC’s Female Forward and Emerging Director Programs
Heartened by the increasing number of women and people of color behind the camera in episodic TV? If you want to get in on the action, consider submitting to the 2019-20 classes of NBC’s...
Allison Janney to Topline Anna Foerster Thriller “Lou”
Allison Janney is set to star in a dramatic thriller for Bad Robot. The Oscar and Emmy winner is teaming up with “Outlander” and “Jessica Jones” director Anna Foerster for...
Kat Dennings-Starrer “Dollface” Ordered to Series at Hulu
Kat Dennings is trying to make up for all the girls’ nights she missed out on. The “2 Broke Girls” alumna toplines “Dollface,” the story of a woman determined to make...
Weekly Update for November 2: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING A Private War (Opens in NY and LA; Opens Nationwide November 16) In this world where journalism is under constant assault, watching “A Private...
Seed&Spark Crowdfunding Rally Yields Nearly $250,000 for Pilots by Creators of Color
Seed&Spark continues to kick ass. With the highest campaign success rate of any crowdfunding site and its focus on inclusion and diversity, the platform is already helping give the industry a...
Apply Now: Women and Hollywood Internship
Women and Hollywood is looking for two interns for the first half of 2019. The position will begin on January 2 and end July 1. Applicants must be willing to commit to 10-15 hours per week for the...
Exclusive: Bliqis Abdul-Qaadir Explores “Life Without Basketball” in a Clip of the DOC NYC Film
Set to premiere at DOC NYC, “Life Without Basketball” offers an intimate look into the triumphs and struggles of Bliqis Abdul-Qaadir, a record-breaking basketball player from Springfield...