BY Laura Berger
“Blue Crush” TV Series in the Works at NBC with Script by Lizzy Weiss
Take out your surfboard and ride some celebratory waves. “Blue Crush” may be coming to TV. NBC has given a script commitment with penalty to a series based on the 2002 surfing movie starring...
DOC NYC 2016 Women Directors: Meet Deirdre Fishel — “Care”
Deirdre Fishel has a 20-year history of directing both documentaries and dramas. Her films have premiered at Sundance and SXSW, and have been broadcast in 25 countries worldwide. Her documentary...
Trailer Watch: “The Affair” Season 3 Kicks Off Three Years After Noah’s Confession
ANSFW trailer has been released for Season 3 of “The Affair,” and the spot confirms that Showtime’s critically acclaimed, multi-perspective drama will continue to deliver the thrills, sex...
Groundbreaking Film “Desert Hearts” Celebrates 30th Anniversary with MoMA Screenings
“Desert Hearts” is returning to the big screen for its 30th anniversary. New York City’s Museum of Modern Art will will screen Donna Deitch’s influential LGBTQ film from December 2-8. Based...
Elizabeth Banks Developing Family Comedy at CBS
Elizabeth Banks has landed her first major network sale, Variety reports. The actress, producer, and director signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. TV last year that sees her and Max Handelman,...
Rosie O’Donnell Joins the Cast of Frankie Shaw’s Showtime Pilot
Rosie O’Donnell has joined the cast of “SMILF,” Frankie Shaw’s semi-autobiographical Showtime pilot. If the project gets ordered to series, it would mark O’Donnell’s first credit as a...
“The Love Witch” Director Anna Biller Talks Gender Performance and Femme Fatales
Anna Biller’s 35mm cult feature “Viva” and her 16mm art-film shorts have screened at major film festivals and art spaces around the world. She is known for her use of classic and outdated film...
Madeleine Thien Wins the Giller Prize, Canada’s Most Prominent Fiction Award
Madeleine Thien has been named as the 2016 recipient of Canada’s Giller Prize, the country’s most prominent fiction award, Reuters reports. The author won the $100,000 award — the...
FX Developing “Flatlands,” a Series from Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s “Flatlands” has gone into development at FX, Deadline reports. The hour-long serio-comedy comes from the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated collaborators and...
TV Land Orders “American Woman” Starring Alicia Silverstone
“American Woman” has been greenlit by TV Land, Variety reports. Based on the life of “Real Housewives’” Kyle Richards, the ‘70s period dramedy stars Alicia Silverstone (“Clueless”)....
How Amy Adams’ “Arrival” Character Redefines Heroism
Amy Adams is having an amazing year. The five-time Oscar nominee is getting rave reviews and lots of awards buzz for two of her upcoming films, “Arrival” and “Nocturnal Animals.” The former...
DOC NYC 2016 Women Directors: Meet Markie Hancock — “Feral Love”
Markie Hancock is a documentary filmmaker working in New York City. Her works include “Born Again” and “Queers in the Kingdom.” Both docs explore evangelical Christianity and the formation...
Trailer Watch: Female Vets Confront the Aftermath of War in “After Fire”
A trailer has landed for “After Fire,” Brittany Huckabee’s new documentary examining the fastest-growing group of American veterans: women. “In the military, the focus is the mission,”...
Teaser Watch: Carrie Heads to NYC in “Homeland” Season 6
Carrie Mathison is back. Showtime has released a teaser trailer for the new season of “Homeland,” and if the new footage is any indication, Carrie (Claire Danes) is as brave, defiant, and...
“Toni Erdmann” Leads Nominations for European Film Awards
The European Film Awards have announced their 2016 nominees, and Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” leads the pack with six nods. Other women up for honors include “Room” screenwriter Emma...
Trailer Watch: An Amazing Principal Inspires “The Bad Kids”
Prepare to meet one of the most inspiring leaders you’ll ever see in action. She doesn’t wear a cape, challenge the rulers of her dystopian society, or wield weapons: She’s a high school...
Weekly Update for November 4: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Operator” Films About Women Opening This Week My Dead Boyfriend (Also Available on VOD) Mary’s (Heather Graham) life has been defined by a string of temp jobs and a half-hearted attempt to...
Critics’ Choice Doc Award Winners: “13th,” “Weiner,” and “Southwest of Salem”
Ava DuVernay won big at the inaugural Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, held Thursday night in New York. Her Netflix doc, “13th,” won a number of major honors at the ceremony. “13th”...
Oscars 2017 Foreign Language Contenders: Meet Maria Schrader — “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe”
One of Germany’s most acclaimed actresses, Maria Schrader is a two-time winner of the German Film award and two-time winner of the Bavarian Film award. In 1999, at the Berlinale, she received the...
Paul Feig May Direct Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson Comedy
“Ghostbusters” helmer Paul Feig is in “serious talks” to direct Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson in an untitled comedy that’s been described as “The Devil Wears Prada” meets “Broadway...
Vanessa Gould’s “Obit.” Acquired by Kino Lorber
After a successful run on the festival circuit, Vanessa Gould’s “Obit.” has secured a theatrical release. A press release announced that Kino Lorber has acquired all U.S. rights to the...
Trailer Watch: Maria Sole Tognazzi’s Romantic Comedy “Me, Myself and Her”
A trailer has been released for “Me, Myself and Her,” a humorous look at a couple going through a difficult time. According to a press release for the Maria Sole Tognazzi-directed film, “Me,...
Meryl Streep to Receive Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes
Eight-time Golden Globe winner Meryl Streep will take home a special statuette at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards. She’ll accept the Cecil B. DeMille Award, given for “outstanding contributions to...
Niki Caro to Direct Film About DNA Scientist Rosalind Franklin
Writer-director Niki Caro has added yet another project to her packed slate. She’s inked a deal to develop and direct “Exposure,” a film centered on Rosalind Franklin, a trailblazing scientist...
Hannah Mackay Comedy Pilot Lands at ABC, Mindy Kaling Producing
Hannah Mackay (“Peep Show”) and Ed Weeks (“The Revolting World of Stanley Brown”) are teaming up for a single-camera comedy about a liberal lesbian couple. The project is being produced by...
Season 3 of “UnREAL” to Introduce Female Suitor to “Everlasting”
“Everlasting” is getting a makeover. The reality dating show at the center of Lifetime’s “UnREAL” is making history for the second season in a row. Last season saw a black suitor...
The Orchard Acquires Susan Johnson’s “Carrie Pilby,” Starring Bel Powley
If you loved Marielle Heller’s “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” and gravitate towards films with sassy, precocious female leads, you’re in luck. The Orchard has acquired the North American...
Trailer Watch: Katie Holmes Plays a Struggling Single Mom in “All We Had”
A trailer has dropped for “All We Had,” Katie Holmes’ feature directorial debut. The spot kicks off with 15-year-old Ruthie (Stefania Owen, “Chance”) asking her young mother Rita (Holmes),...
IDA Doc Award Nominations: “13th,” “Weiner,” and More
The nominations for the International Documentary Association’s 2016 IDA Documentary Awards have been announced. Three of the six films competing for the Best Feature Award are directed or...
Amy Pascal Buys Liz Hannah’s Pentagon Papers Spec Script
Amy Pascal’s Pascal Pictures has snagged “The Post,” a spec script about the Pentagon Papers penned by Liz Hannah, Deadline reports. According to Deadline, the spec “frames a feature film...
Erin Cressida Wilson May Write Disney’s Live-Action “Snow White”
“The Girl on the Train” screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson may pen Disney’s live-action “Snow White.” Wilson is in negotiations to write the script for the film, “which will expand upon...
BIFA Nominations: “American Honey,” “Adult Life Skills,” and More
The 2016 British Independent Film Awards have been announced, and Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey” and Rachel Tunnard’s “Adult Life Skills” each scored an impressive six...
Paul Feig Has Been Advised to Make Fewer Films with Female Protagonists
Paul Feig is known for directing female-driven films, and that’s a reputation he’s just fine with. Being associated with championing women in film is not a bad thing — at least not in his...
S.J. Clarkson to Direct Netflix’s “The Defenders”
S.J. Clarkson is returning to the Marvel universe. Clarkson, who directed the first two episodes of “Jessica Jones,” has signed on to helm Episodes 1 and 2 of Netflix’s upcoming original...
Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna Team Up for Workplace Comedy
“Fresh Off the Boat” showrunner Nahnatchka Khan is joining forces with with “ Son of Zorn” showrunner Sally Bradford McKenna for a “high-concept” Fox comedy, The Hollywood Reporter...
Toni Morrison Receives PEN Award for Achievement in American Fiction
“Beloved” author Toni Morrison received the 2016 PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction Thursday at the PEN American Center in New York. The event, titled “Dangerous Work:...
Naomie Harris to Be Honored with Variety Award at British Independent Film Awards
Naomie Harris has been named as the 2016 recipient of the Variety Award, Variety reports. The actress will receive the honor at this year’s British Independent Film Awards ceremony, held December...
Weekly Update for October 28: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“The Eagle Huntress” Films About Women Opening This Week The Eagle Huntress (Documentary) (Opens November 2 in NY and LA) Narrated by Daisy Ridley, “The Eagle Huntress” follows Aisholpan, a...
MGM Snags Chiara Atik’s “Fairy Godmother” Spec Script
Chiara Atik is turning her gaze from the stage to the screen. MGM has acquired the playwright’s first spec script, “Fairy Godmother,” following a “competitive” bidding process,...
First New Play Written By a Woman Announced for Current Broadway Season
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel is set to make her Broadway debut, The New York Times reports. “Indecent,” Vogel’s newest play, will be staged on Broadway next spring. Rebecca...
Nancy Buirski on Paying Tribute to a Legend in “By Sidney Lumet”
Nancy Buirski’s 2013 documentary “Afternoon of a Faun” had its World Premiere at the 51st New York Film Festival and International Premiere at the 64th Berlinale. She is the director,...
Chanya Button on “Burn Burn Burn,” Her Love Letter to Friendship
Chanya Button made her start in the industry at an early age, working as an Assistant Director on the “Harry Potter” franchise. Button has since worked extensively across both the theater and...
Sarah Adina Smith’s “Buster’s Mal Heart” Acquired by Well Go USA
“Buster’s Mal Heart” has secured a theatrical release. Deadline reports that Well Go USA has acquired rights in North America, as well as some other territories, for the surreal psychological...
Amber Fares’ “Speed Sisters” Sets Release Date
“Speed Sisters” is racing into New York. First Run Features has announced that Amber Fares’ doc about the first all-women race car driving team in the Middle East will make its U.S. theatrical...
Cynthia Mort to Write and Direct “Jane Millen,” Starring Olga Kurylenko
“Nina” helmer Cynthia Mort has booked her next gig. She’ll write and direct “Jane Millen,” a crime thriller starring Olga Kurylenko (“Oblivion,” “Quantum of Solace”), The Hollywood...
Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” Gets Release Date
The breakout horror hit of this year’s festival circuit has a release date. Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” will hit theaters March 10, 2017 and digital platforms in the summer, Birth.Movies.Death....
Trailer Watch: “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House”
Consider yourself warned: The main character of “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House” won’t live to see her next birthday. A trailer has been released for the Netflix original film...
“The Night Manager” Director Susanne Bier to Deliver Keynote at Screen Film Summit
Writer-director Susanne Bier will deliver the keynote speech at Screen Film Summit 2016, Screen International reports. Just over a month ago the prolific Danish filmmaker picked up an Emmy for...
Wendi McLendon-Covey Sells Workplace Comedy to ABC
“The Goldbergs” star Wendi McLendon-Covey has transformed her humble beginnings into comedy gold. Deadline reports that McLendon-Covey has secured a script commitment plus significant penalty...
Quote of the Day: Helen Mirren Says She’s “The Nastiest of All Nasty Women”
Helen Mirren is the “nastiest of all nasty women” — at least that’s how she described herself at the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards, held Monday in LA. The Oscar winner joined millions...
Trailer Watch: Rory and Lorelai’s Banter is Back in “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life”
Rory and Lorelai Gilmore are back, and the twosome’s famous repartee is thankfully still intact. A newly released trailer for Netflix’s “Gilmore Girls” reboot has been released, and the...