BY Laura Berger
Playwright Lauren Yee Wins the Kesselring Prize
Lauren Yee’s adding another highlight to her 2017 reel. Earlier this year the playwright debuted “In a Word” Off Broadway to rave reviews, and now she’s been named as the winner of the...
Trailer Watch: A Writer Announces Her Plan to Commit Suicide and Seeks an Heir in “Maya Dardel”
Academy Award nominee Lena Olin plays an internationally renowned poet and novelist busy orchestrating one helluva plot twist in her own life in Magdalena Zyzak and Zachary Cotler’s “Maya...
Apply Now for Fork Films’ Documentary Grants
Documentary filmmakers, take note: Fork Films’ annual open call for doc grant applications is here. The New York-based production company will accept applications via an online submission form...
Doctor Comedy Being Developed at NBC, Sugar Lyn Beard to Star
Sugar Lyn Beard is stepping into scrubs. The “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” actress is set to star in a new comedy series about a female doctor that’s being developed by NBC, Deadline...
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s “Nico, 1988” Acquired by Magnolia Pictures
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s award-winning drama about Christa Päffgen, better known as Nico, has secured distribution. Deadline reports that Magnolia Pictures snagged the U.S. rights to “Nico,...
Jessica Williams to Star in Showtime Series
Jessica Williams’ star continues to ascend. Last month brought news that the “Daily Show” alumna’s podcast with Phoebe Robinson, “2 Dope Queens,” is being adapted by HBO, and now comes...
Diablo Cody Signs Overall Deal With Warner Bros. TV
Diablo Cody is taking the next step in her relationship with Warner Bros. Television. The Oscar-winning “Juno” screenwriter has signed a multi-year overall deal with the studio, The Hollywood...
Kate Winslet’s Lee Miller Biopic Secures Financing and Distribution
Kate Winslet has been attached to play American war photographer Lee Miller since 2015, and yesterday marked a major step forward for the project. According to Deadline, Entertainment One snagged...
Sabrina the Teenage Witch “Riverdale” Companion Series in Development at The CW
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is coming back to the small screen. The CW is developing a project based on the Archie Comics’ character, but it’s not a reboot of the ’90s series led by Melissa Joan...
Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, & Amy Poehler Join Forces for New Netflix Comedy Series
“Orange Is the New Black” star Natasha Lyonne, “Sleeping with Other People” writer-director Leslye Headland, and “Parks and Rec” alumna and national treasure Amy Poehler are teaming up...
Slovenia Chooses Hanna Antonina Wojcik Slak’s “Miner” as Foreign-Language Oscar Pick
Another woman-directed film based on a true story has been added to the foreign-language Oscar race. On Monday Cambodia selected Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father” as its pick for...
Judi Dench to Receive Kirk Douglas Award at Santa Barbara Film Fest
The Queen is adding another jewel to her crown. Judi Dench will receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film, a press release has...
Trailer Watch: Melissa McCarthy Plays to Win in “Cook Off!”
Contestants from all over the nation assemble to compete in the Rookle Farms Cooking Contest in a new trailer for “Cook Off!” The Melissa McCarthy-starrer sees a motley crew of...
Jamie Lee Curtis to Star in, Co-Write, and Produce CBS Funeral Home Comedy
“Six Feet Under” fans, take note: A new series about a family-run funeral business is in the works. Deadline reports that Jamie Lee Curtis has signed on to star, co-write, and executive produce...
Trailer Watch: Alicia Vikander Saves the World in “Tomb Raider”
An action-packed trailer for the Alicia Vikander-led “Tomb Raider” reboot has landed. It’s clear that there’s plenty of violence, chase scenes, and CGI in the potential franchise, but the...
Watch: A Runaway Bride Weighs Her Options in Exclusive “Different Flowers” Clip
“You don’t leave a man at the altar then grovel at his feet. Woman up,” Emma (Hope Lauren, “Supergirl”) urges older sister Millie (Emma Bell, “The Walking Dead”) in our exclusive clip...
Annette Bening to Receive BAFTA Career Retrospective
Annette Bening’s career spans 30 years and includes four Oscar-nominated performances, so it comes as no surprise that The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has opted to host a...
Maria Callas Documentary Acquired by Sony Pictures
“Maria By Callas: In Her Own Words” has secured distribution. Sony Pictures Classics acquired all rights for the documentary in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, a press release has...
Trailer Watch: Blake Lively Regains Her Vision in “All I See Is You”
Blake Lively plays a woman who regains her vision and gets a new perspective on her relationship in “All I See Is You.” A trailer for the Marc Forster (“World War Z,” “Finding...
Christine Boylan to Write Jessica Chastain-Starrer “Painkiller Jane”
Jessica Chastain’s “Painkiller Jane” adaptation has found a scribe. Lotus Entertainment has hired Christine Boylan to pen the script, Deadline reports. Boylan’s writing credits include...
Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father” Chosen to Represent Cambodia at Oscars
Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father” is officially an Oscar contender. The drama has been chosen to represent Cambodia at the 2018 Academy Awards in the foreign-language category,...
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Wins TIFF’s People’s Choice Award
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” made its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, and if the reception it received at TIFF is any...
Julie Delpy to Receive Award from European Film Academy
Julie Delpy will be honored at the upcoming European Film Awards, The Hollywood Reporter writes. She’ll receive the European Achievement in World Cinema award in Berlin on December 9. Best known...
TIFF 2017 Deal: Ingrid Veninger’s “Porcupine Lake” Goes to Breaking Glass Pictures
“Porcupine Lake” has secured U.S. distribution. While several companies expressed interest in the project, it was Breaking Glass Pictures that snagged the rights to Ingrid Veninger’s...
Quote of the Day: Lesli Linka Glatter Says the Pool of Female Directors Is “Wide and Deep”
“There aren’t enough qualified female directors.” This excuse is all too common in conversations about the lack of films and series directed by women, and suggests that the problem isn’t...
Kate Winslet to Receive Actors Inspiration Award from SAG
Kate Winslet is following in the footsteps of Kerry Washington and Rashida Jones. Variety reports that the Oscar winner will be awarded the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Actors Inspiration Award, an...
Trailer Watch: Sally Hawkins Faces Off Against Michael Shannon in Fairy Tale “The Shape of Water”
Excitement is building for “The Shape of Water.” Described by many critics as a fairy tale for adults, “Pan’s Labyrinth” writer-director Guillermo del Toro’s latest film just won the...
Trailer Watch: Teen Bloggers Become Murderers in “Tragedy Girls”
“X-Men: Apocalypse’s” Alexandra Shipp and “Deadpool’s” Brianna Hildebrand leave the superhero world behind for a “Heathers”-esque take on the slasher genre in “Tragedy Girls.” A...
Pamela Adlon on Being Inspired by Lena Dunham and Saying Goodbye to Over-Pleasing
Pamela Adlon has added even more to her plate on “Better Things” this season. The comedy’s sophomore run debuts on FX tonight, and the series’ co-creator, star, showrunner, writer, and...
Trailer Watch: A Buddhist Priest Helps People Find the Will to Live in Lana Wilson’s “The…
Trailer Watch: A Buddhist Priest Helps People Find the Will to Live in Lana Wilson’s “The Departure” A Japanese punk-rocker-turned-Buddhist-priest provides much-needed hope to suicidal people...
Angela Robinson to Co-Adapt “Strangers in Paradise” with Its Creator
Angela Robinson’s “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women” made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival less than a week ago, and the writer-director has already...
Trailer Watch: Jennifer Lawrence Uses Her Body & Mind as Weapons in “Red Sparrow”
Jennifer Lawrence re-teams with Francis Lawrence, who directed her in three installments of “The Hunger Games” franchise, for “Red Sparrow.” A trailer has arrived for the anticipated spy...
Trailer Watch: A Trans Activist Is Remembered in “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson”
Marsha P. Johnson’s body was found floating in the Hudson River in 1992 and 25 years later the case remains cold. “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson” investigates what may have happened...
Quote of the Day: Taraji P. Henson Wants to Inspire Little Black Girls
Taraji P. Henson knows the legacy she’d like to leave behind. “I love black people. I love telling stories,” the “Empire” star said in a new interview with Marie Claire. “I want these...
Watch: Gemma Arterton Yearns for More from Life in Exclusive Clip of “The Escape”
A chance encounter with a book may lead to life-changing consequences in “The Escape.” The drama follows Tara (Gemma Arterton, “Their Finest”), a stay-at-home mom who is struggling with...
Agnieszka Holland & Kasia Adamik to Direct Netflix’s First Original Polish-Language Series
It’s been quite a week for Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik. Just days ago Poland announced their collaboration “Spoor” as the country’s pick in the foreign-language Oscar race, and now...
TIFF 2017 Deals: Emma Thompson’s “The Children Act” and Ellen Page’s “The Cured”
Emma Thompson and Ellen Page’s latest projects have secured distribution. Both features scored strong reviews out of the Toronto International Film Festival, where they made their world premieres...
Quote of the Day: Swedish Film Institute CEO Anna Serner on the Bias Against Women Directors
Anna Serner has heard plenty of bullshit excuses defending the lack of women directors hired to direct high-profile, big-budget projects. This fact was made abundantly clear at a recent event at the...
Trailer Watch: “Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart” Celebrates Playwright & Activist Lorraine Hansberry
“It really doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about the oppressed or the oppressor — an oppressive society will dehumanize and degenerate everyone involved,” says Lorraine Hansberry...
Trailer Watch: Sonia Lowman’s “Teach Us All” Investigates De-Segregation in Schools
“It’s not a story of progress. It’s a story of total inequality of schooling,” says one of the characters in Sonia Lowman’s “Teach Us All.” The upcoming documentary explores...
“Transparent” Gets a New Showrunner for Season 5
“Transparent” is getting a new showrunner. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming fifth season of the family dramedy will be run by Jill Gordon, whose credits include “Cupid,”...
Patty Jenkins Signs On to Direct “Wonder Woman” Sequel, Becomes Highest-Paid Female Filmmaker Ever
“Wonder Woman” helmer Patty Jenkins has made herstory yet again. Back in June she earned a place in the record books when the Gal Gadot-led superheroine film became the top-grossing live-action...
ABC Scores Modern “Pride and Prejudice” Drama Based on Curtis Sittenfeld’s “Eligible”
The Bennett sisters are making their way towards the small screen. Deadline reports that ABC has given a put pilot commitment to “Eligible,” a drama based on Curtis Sittenfeld’s 2016 novel...
Poland Chooses Agnieszka Holland’s “Spoor” as Foreign-Language Oscar Pick
Agnieszka Holland’s “Spoor” has been chosen as Poland’s candidate for best foreign-language film at the 2018 Oscars, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. Holland’s “In Darkness” received a...
Eva Green to Star in Alice Winocour Astronaut Drama
Eva Green is heading to space. The “Penny Dreadful” alumna has signed on to star in Alice Winocour’s next feature, a bilingual action-drama that centers on an astronaut. According to The...
Trailer Watch: A Young Drifter Rejects Society’s Rules in Nanfu Wang’s “I Am Another You”
A trailer has arrived for “I Am Another You,” Nanfu Wang’s award-winning follow-up to “Hooligan Sparrow.” The atmospheric spot clocks in at over two minutes but we don’t hear a single...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Mouly Surya — “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts”
Mouly Surya was born in Jakarta, where she currently lives. She is considered one of the most promising filmmakers in Indonesia. Her debut film, “Fiksi.” won numerous awards including Best...
Alice Lowe to Write and Direct Metaphysical Rom-Com “Timestalker”
Alice Lowe is taking on another genre project. A press release has announced that the British writer-director-actress is following up “Prevenge,” a dark comedy about a mom-to-be on a killing...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lisa Langseth — “Euphoria”
Lisa Langseth is a playwright and filmmaker from Stockholm. Her film credits include “Pure” and “Hotell,” both of which are toplined by “Euphoria” star Alicia Vikander. “Euphoria”...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Valerie Faris — “Battle of the Sexes”
Valerie Faris and her husband, Jonathan Dayton, have co-directed music videos for R.E.M., The Smashing Pumpkins, Janet Jackson, Oasis, and many others in the 1990s and 2000s. Their previous film...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sadaf Foroughi — “AVA”
Sadaf Foroughi is an Iranian-born, Montreal-based filmmaker. In 2005 she was selected to participate in the Berlinale Talent Campus as a writer-director. She created a short documentary,...