BY Laura Berger
Trailer Watch: Rooney Mara Embarks on a Spiritual Journey in “Mary Magdalene”
Rooney Mara steps into Biblical times in the first trailer for “Mary Magdalene.” The film promises to tell “the untold story” behind one of Jesus’ most famous followers. We’re told the...
Christina Ricci & Judith Light to Star in Lifetime Film About First Undercover Female Journalist
Another project about Nellie Bly is in the works. Back in September we wrote that “Megan Leavey” actress Kate Mara is toplining a series in development about Bly, who is considered the...
“Lady Bird’s” Greta Gerwig Named Best Director by National Board of Review
Greta Gerwig’s solo directorial debut is moving full steam ahead into awards season. The National Board of Review (NBR) has named Gerwig Best Director for “Lady Bird,” Deadline reports. A...
Trailer Watch: Ruth Wilson Returns to Her Family Farm in Clio Barnard’s “Dark River”
A UK trailer has dropped for Clio Barnard’s Ruth Wilson-starrer “Dark River.” “I haven’t seen you for 15 years,” Joe (Mark Stanley, “Game of Thrones”) tells his sister Alice...
“Lady Bird” Makes Rotten Tomatoes Herstory as Best-Reviewed Movie Ever
“Lady Bird” has soared all the way into record books. Greta Gerwig’s solo directorial debut is officially Rotten Tomatoes’ best-reviewed film of all time, Indiewire confirms. The Saoirse...
Ruth Ware’s “The Lying Game” Is Coming to TV
“The Lying Game” is heading to the small screen. Entertainment One (eOne) and The Gotham Group are teaming up for the adaptation of Ruth Ware’s New York Times-bestseller, Deadline reports. The...
Whistler Film Fest Lineup Features Record Number of Films Directed by Women
This year’s edition of the Whistler Film Festival (WFF) is setting an important record — the 2017 lineup features the highest number of films directed by women in the fest’s history....
Allison Janney to Receive Honor at Palm Springs Film Festival
Allison Janney’s earning lots of Oscar buzz for her supporting role in Tonya Harding biopic “I, Tonya,” and the seven-time Emmy winner’s award season is getting off to a strong start. Last...
Oscars 2018 Foreign Language Contenders: Annemarie Jacir— “Wajib”
Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir has written, directed, and produced over 16 films. Her short film “Like Twenty Impossibles” was the first Arab short film in history to be an official...
Oscars 2018 Foreign Language Contenders: Hana Jušić— “Quit Staring at My Plate”
Hana Jušić has written and directed several award-winning short fiction and documentary films which have been shown at prominent European festivals. Her credits include “No Wolf,” “Gnats,...
Apply Now: Win a Trip to Sundance with The Horizon Award
Head’s up, female filmmakers: The Horizon Award is now accepting applications. If you’d like the chance to attend the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and have your work seen by industry vets, this...
Trailer Watch: Five American Latinas Get Ready to Celebrate in HBO’s “15: A Quinceañera Story”
“A quinceañera’s not just a party. It’s how I’m embracing being Hispanic while still being an American,” says one of the characters in “15: A Quinceañera Story” in a new trailer for...
Pam Veasey Multigenerational Female Drama in the Works at TNT
A multigenerational female drama may be headed our way. TNT is developing “East of Jingletown,” a drama series from Pam Veasey (“CSI:NY,” “In Living Color”). The project follows “four...
Indie Spirit Award Nominations: “Lady Bird,” “The Rider,” and More
The 2018 Independent Spirit Award nominations are in. Two of five Best Feature nominees are women-directed: Greta Gerwig’s universally adored “Lady Bird,” a coming-of-age story about a...
Female-Led WWII Spy Thriller from Lydia Dean Pilcher and Sarah Megan Thomas in Development
Another female-led spy thriller is on the way, this one based on a true story. Set in WWII, the pic tells the story of spy recruiter Vera Atkins. The as-yet untitled project will be written by Sarah...
The Quad Salutes Lois Smith by Screening Her Career Highlights
Just days ago Lois Smith received this year’s Golden Key Award for Career Achievement at the Key West Film Festival. Now comes word that the industry vet will be honored at New York City’s Quad...
Marja-Lewis Ryan to Serve as Showrunner on Showtime’s “The L Word” Sequel
The upcoming “L Word” sequel has found a showrunner. According to Deadline, Marja-Lewis Ryan (“The Four-Faced Liar”) will be steering Showtime’s continuation of the beloved series....
Pascal Pictures Acquires Kat Wood’s Sci-Fi Spec “Envoy”
Amy Pascal has yet another promising project in the works. According to Deadline, Pascal Pictures nabbed the rights to Kat Wood’s sci-fi thriller spec “Envoy.” Described as being in the vein...
Laura Dern, Julie Dash, & More to Be Honored at NYWIFT’s Muse Awards
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) is set to honor some of the entertainment industry’s best and brightest. For 38 years, the professional association has presented the Muse Awards...
“Orange Is the New Black” Creator Jenji Kohan Signs Overall Deal with Netflix
Jenji Kohan is making it official with Netflix. The “Orange Is the New Black” creator has signed a multi-year overall deal with the streaming giant, Variety reports. Kohan’s female-led prison...
Viola Davis To Star in and Produce “I Almost Forgot About You”
Viola Davis is teaming up with the director of “Girls Trip.” The “How to Get Away with Murder” star will topline and produce an adaptation of Terry McMillan’s best-selling novel “I...
Trailer Watch: A Girl Becomes a Warrior to Save Her Dad in Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time”
“You can’t keep using your father’s disappearance as an excuse to act out,” Meg (Storm Reid) is told at school in a new trailer for Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” Rather than...
Lois Smith to Receive Career Achievement Honor at Key West Film Festival
Lois Smith has been making her mark on the screen and stage for seven decades. The celebrated actress is set to receive the Golden Key Award for Career Achievement at the Key West Film Festival, a...
Trailer Watch: Jesus Is Watching in Lena Waithe’s “The Chi”
Comprised mostly of snippets, the first trailer for “The Chi” doesn’t reveal much about the new Showtime series’ plot. We catch a peek of various characters and scenarios, ranging from a mom...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lisa Immordino Vreeland — “Love, Cecil”
Lisa Immordino Vreeland is an award-winning director whose credits include “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel” and “Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict.” “Love, Cecil” premiered at the...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Evan Briggs — “The Growing Season”
Evan Briggs worked as a field producer on the documentary “Tough Love,” which aired on the PBS series “P.O.V.” in 2015. She has taught filmmaking through the Digital Media Academy in San...
Jesmyn Ward Makes History and Wins Second National Book Award for “Sing, Unburied, Sing”
This year’s National Book Awards were dominated by women. Female writers took home prizes in three major categories: fiction, nonfiction, and young people’s literature. An event celebrating the...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Alison Chernick — “Itzhak”
In award-winning documentaries profiling major contemporary artists, Alison Chernick has captured the thoughts and processes of this century’s most prolific visual artists. Her credits include...
Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, & More Talk Equal Pay and Abuse in THR Roundtable
Lawrence: THR “I hope the entertainment industry will never be the same,” Jessica Chastain responded when asked about the current watershed moment in Hollywood during a roundtable hosted by The...
“Girls Trip’s” Tiffany Haddish Has Two New Projects in the Works
Thanks to Tiffany Haddish, we’ll never look at grapefruits the same way. The hilarious “Girls Trip” breakout is riding the momentum of the box office hit and is in talks to join New Line’s...
Whitney Cummings’ “The Female Brain” Snagged by IFC
Whitney Cummings’ directorial debut has secured distribution. IFC Films scored the U.S. and Canadian rights to “The Female Brain,” Variety reports. Based on Louann Brizendine’s bestselling...
Taraji P. Henson to Topline “What Men Want”
Another gender-bending twist on a classic is headed our way. Female-led reboots of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “Ocean’s Eleven” are in the works, and now comes word that “Empire”...
Athena Film Festival Announces 2018 Awardees: Barbara Kopple, Amma Asante, & Bridget Everett
The Athena Film Festival has announced its 2018 awardees: two-time Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple, BAFTA-winning writer and director Amma Asante, and cabaret artist and...
“Wonder Woman 2” Release Gets Bumped Up, MGM Dates Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson Comedy
Diana Prince is returning sooner than expected. Originally scheduled to hit theaters December 13, 2019, “Wonder Woman 2” will now be released November 1, 2019, six weeks earlier than planned....
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tiffany Bartok — “Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story”
Tiffany Bartok worked consistently as an actress but soon discovered a talent for makeup artistry. She began to sharpen her makeup skills on celebrities and film crews. Bartok made the decision to...
Watch NYWIFT’s Fall Shorts Festival Online Now
Want to check out a film festival without the hassle of ordering tickets, waiting in long lines, and dressing up? You’re in luck. You can experience the New York Women in Film & Television...
Joanna Quraishi Comedy About Woman Exploring Middle-Eastern Roots in Development at CBS
Joanna Quraishi has a new project in the works. Variety reports that CBS is developing a comedy from the “Kevin Can Wait” scribe. Currently untitled, the series would center on a “millennial...
Maria Bello and Jessica Goldberg Team Up for NBC Drama About Doctor on a Remote Island
Jessica Goldberg is switching gears from Meyerism to a medical drama. “The Path” creator has a new series in development at NBC, “Relief.” The project sees her teaming up with “NCIS”...
Zendaya to Star in Film About Vassar’s First Female African-American Graduate
Hot off her turn as a math wiz in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Zendaya’s newest project sees her enrolling at one of the most prestigious liberal arts schools in the United States. The “K.C....
“The Breadwinner,” “Loving Vincent,” and More Women-Directed Animated Films Submitted for Oscar…
“The Breadwinner,” “Loving Vincent,” and More Women-Directed Animated Films Submitted for Oscar Race The Oscar race is heating up. Features submitted for consideration in the Animated...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Laura Fairrie — “Spiral”
Laura Fairrie is an award-winning documentary director with a background as a current affairs journalist and producer. At the beginning of her career she worked in the UK, Northern Ireland, China,...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Julia Bacha — “Naila and the Uprising”
Julia Bacha is a Peabody award-winning filmmaker, media strategist, and the Creative Director at Just Vision. Her credits include “Encounter Point,” “Budrus,” and “My Neighbourhood.”...
Trailer Watch: Sally Hawkins Makes a Run for It in “The Shape of Water”
“He’s coming for you,” Sally Hawkins is warned in the final trailer for “The Shape of Water.” Set against the backdrop of Cold War era U.S. circa 1963, the otherworldly fairy tale sees...
Could “Good Girls Revolt” Be Coming Back?
“Good Girls Revolt” might be getting a second life. The much-loved, short-lived series was cancelled nearly a year ago by Amazon after just one season, but Deadline reports, “Sony Pictures TV...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Paige Goldberg Tolmach — “What Haunts Us”
Paige Goldberg Tolmach founded The Little Seed in 2007, an eco conscious store in Los Angeles which helped raise awareness about the dangers of toxic chemicals in households. In 2009, The Little...
Exclusive: Female Activists Unite in “Naila and the Uprising” Trailer
“Naila and the Uprising” “For over a decade, whenever I’ve asked Palestinian grassroots leaders about the models of inspiration that they draw on, they’ve consistently pointed me towards...
Gal Gadot to Receive Palm Springs Film Festival Rising Star Award
Gal Gadot is set to receive a well-deserved honor at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival. The “Wonder Woman” actress will take home the Rising Star Award at the fest’s Awards...
Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston’s Morning Show Drama Goes to Apple
Huge TV news: Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston’s highly anticipated morning show drama has found a home, and it’s landed at an unexpected place. Apple snagged the as-yet untitled project...
Clio Barnard’s Ruth Wilson-Starrer “Dark River” Lands U.S. Distribution
Clio Barnard’s latest offering has secured U.S. distribution. According to ScreenDaily, FilmRise acquired the North American rights to the family drama “Dark River,” toplined by “The...
Toni Collette to Star in Family Drama Series From Netflix & BBC One
Toni Collette is returning to the small screen. A press release announced that the “United States of Tara” alumna will topline Netflix and BBC One’s “Wanderlust,” a six-episode, hourlong...
Trailer Watch: Meryl Streep Risks Everything to Expose Government Corruption in “The Post”
A trailer has landed for Meryl Streep-starrer “The Post,” and while the drama is set in 1971, the subject matter remains terrifyingly timely. The highly anticipated pic follows the White...