BY Laura Berger
All Eight Disney/ABC Diversity Program Writers Get Staff Jobs
All eight writers selected for the year-long Disney|ABC Writing Program have secured staff jobs on series for the 2016–17 television season, Shadow and Act reports. Three of the writers are women:...
Kathryn Bigelow to Be Honored by LACMA
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art will honor Kathryn Bigelow for her illustrious career at its sixth annual Art + Film Gala this fall. Bigelow made history in 2010 when she became the first...
Trailer Watch: Cynthia Nixon Portrays Emily Dickinson’s “Quiet Passion”
Prepare to see Miranda Hobbes as you’ve never seen her before. A trailer has been released for “A Quiet Passion,” featuring former “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon as Emily...
Sofia Vergara Joins the Cast of Whitney Cummings’ Directorial Debut
Sofia Vergara will star in “The Female Brain,” comedian Whitney Cummings’ directorial debut. Comingsoon.net has reported that the ensemble cast for the film will include the Emmy-nominated...
Trailer Watch: A Female Musician Goes Against the Grain in “As I Open My Eyes”
A trailer has arrived for “As I Open My Eyes,” Leyla Bouzid’s award-winning feature debut. The coming-of-age film is set against the backdrop of the burgeoning Jasmine Revolution in Tunis and...
Helen McCrory to Star in Six-Part Political Thriller
Helen McCrory has signed on to star in “Fearless,” a six-part series from “Homeland” writer and EP Patrick Harbinson. The project is being produced by Mammoth Screen for ITV and is scheduled...
Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman Reteam for Another Book Adaptation
Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman are set to join forces again, Deadline reports. Witherspoon’s Pacific Standard production banner and Kidman’s Blossom Films have optioned the...
Lizzy Caplan to Topline Dark Comedy “Friend of Bill”
“Masters of Sex” star Lizzy Caplan has signed on to topline “Friend of Bill,” a dark comedy directed by Amy Rice (“By the People: The Election of Barack Obama”). The script, penned by...
TIFF Announces More Galas and Special Presentations
The Toronto International Film Festival will host the World Premiere of Emmanuelle Bercot’s “150 Milligrams.” The fest continues to gradually roll out its complete slate, and the French...
Amazon Acquires Black List Script About Journalist Ida Tarbell
Ida Tarbell: James E. Purdy/ Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Library of Congress A biopic about Ida Tarbell is on the way. Amazon has acquired “Ida Tarbell,” a 2015 Black List script about the pioneering...
Lauren Palmigiano to Direct Elizabeth Banks-Produced “White Girl Problems”
“Funny or Die” writer Lauren Palmigiano has signed on to make her feature directorial debut with Lionsgate’s “White Girl Problems,” Variety reports. The project is produced by Elizabeth...
Julie Taymor to Direct Revival of “M. Butterfly”
Julie Taymor will direct a revival of “M. Butterfly,” David Henry Hwang’s Tony-award winning play, BroadwayWorld reports. The drama originally opened on Broadway in 1988 and starred John...
San Sebastian Film Festival’s Official Lineup Includes Zero Women Directors
Sixteen films have been announced in San Sebastian Film Festival’s Official Selection as of today, and exactly zero of them are directed by women. As its name suggests, the Official Selection is...
Weekly Update for August 12: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Florence Foster Jenkins” Films About Women Opening This Week Florence Foster Jenkins Meryl Streep disappears into yet another role, this time as art patron and heiress Florence Foster...
Rihanna To Receive MTV’s 2016 Vanguard Award
MTV has announced Rihanna as the 2016 recipient of their highest honor, the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. A press release attributes Rihanna’s win to her “decade-long impact on music,...
Michelle MacLaren to Direct Film Adaptation of “The Nightingale”
Michelle MacLaren is making her big-screen directorial debut after building an impressive resume working in TV, helming episodes of series such as “Better Call Saul,” “Game of Thrones,”...
Alice Winocour on PTSD and Peeling Back the Layers of a Trophy Wife in “Disorder”
“Disorder,” the latest from French writer-director Alice Winocour, spans many genres. What begins as a character portrait of Vincent (Matthias Schoenaerts, “A Bigger Splash,” “The Danish...
Margot Robbie to Play A Trapeze Artist in “Queen of the Air”
Margot Robbie is putting aside her “Suicide Squad” sledgehammer and joining the circus. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Robbie is attached to star as a trapeze artist in “Queen of the...
Emmy Winner Tracy Droz Tragos on Her New Doc “Abortion: Stories Women Tell”
Tracy Droz Tragos is an award-winning independent filmmaker. Tragos’ “Rich Hill” explored rural poverty and won the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival....
Jennifer Lopez to Play “The Cocaine Godmother” in HBO Film
Jennifer Lopez plays an NYPD detective on NBC’s “Shades of Blue,” but she’s taking on the role of a high-profile criminal in a new as-yet-untitled project for the small-screen. Variety...
Trailer Watch: Kathy Bates’ Love is Unconditional in “The Great Gilly Hopkins”
A new trailer has been released for “The Great Gilly Hopkins,” Lionsgate Premiere’s upcoming adaptation of Katherine Paterson’s National Book Award-winning 1978 children’s novel. The...
Authorized Angela Davis Biopic in the Works
Another Angela Davis biopic is in the works. Variety reports that Codeblack Films has acquired the film rights to the civil rights activist’s 1974 autobiography with plans to develop and produce...
So Yong Kim’s “Lovesong” Acquired by Strand
Strand Releasing has purchased select U.S. rights to So Yong Kim’s “Lovesong,” Variety reports. Jena Malone (“The Neon Demon,” “The Hunger Games” franchise) and Riley Keough (“The...
Quote of the Day: Ellen Burstyn on Educating Martin Scorsese About Women
Ellen Burstyn won an Oscar in 1975 for her role in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” but her award-winning performance may never have come into fruition if she hadn’t educated the film’s...
NYFF Announces Main Slate: 20 Percent Women-Directed
The New York Film Festival has announced the Main Slate for its 54th edition. Only five of 25 films screening, or 20 percent, are helmed by women. Still, these numbers demonstrate that the fest is...
FX is Taking Major Steps Towards Hiring People of Color and Women
FX isn’t proud of their track record when it comes to hiring women and people of color behind the scenes. DGA research shows that in the 2014–15 TV season, only 12 percent of FX’s directors...
TIFF Announces More Lineups: Cinema Projectors, Showgirls, and Cannibals
TIFF is less than one month away, and the fest continues to announce programs for its 41st edition. As is the case with the TIFF’s Galas and Special Presentations, the fest’s most prestigious...
Trailer Watch: Maura Asks to Be Called Mom on “Transparent”
Viewers will be reunited with the Pfefferman family in just over a month, and fortunately “Transparent” fans have a newly released trailer for Season 3 of the series to tide them over until it...
Rebel Wilson to Headline “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” Remake
Rebel Wilson has signed on to star in a “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” remake. MGM is developing the project. The original 1998 comedy starred Steve Martin and Michael Caine as con-men who plot to...
Weekly Update for August 5: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“The Little Prince” Films About Women Opening This Week The Little Prince — Co-Written by Irena Brignull (Also Available on Netflix) Inspired by the beloved children’s novel, a young...
Maris Curran Talks Grief and Compassion in “Five Nights in Maine”
Maris Curran spoke with Women and Hollywood about the “joys and trauma of everyday life” that her debut feature, “Five Nights in Maine,” explores. The drama made its World Premiere at TIFF...
Reese Witherspoon in Talks to Star in Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s “Home Again”
Reese Witherspoon: Peter Souza/ Wikimedia Commons Reese Witherspoon is in talks to star in a new woman-directed feature. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar winner may take the lead in...
Natalie Portman and Marta Kauffman Team Up for HBO Miniseries
Natalie Portman has signed on for her first major TV role. The Oscar winner is teaming up with “Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman for a miniseries at HBO. Deadline reports that Portman will...
Apply for the Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award for Composers
The Ziegfeld Club, one of the first not-for-profit organizations in the Broadway community, has announced the second Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award for female composers. Named in honor of late actress...
Lily Tomlin Wins SAG Life Achievement Award
Lily Tomlin is adding another honor to her esteemed career. The actress has been named the 53rd recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award, which recognizes those who embody the “finest ideals of...
TIFF’s Canadian Lineup: Deepa Mehta, Lesbian Romance, Poetic Animation, and More
TIFF 2016 will host the World Premiere of Deepa Mehta’s newest film. The fest has announced its Canadian lineup, of which the former Oscar nominee is a part. Screening in the Masters program,...
The Team Behind “Gossip Girl” and “The O.C.” To Write YA Murder Mystery Film for Netflix
The team behind “Gossip Girl” and “The O.C.” have signed on to another teen-centric project. Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz will pen an adaptation of “13 Minutes,” a British YA novel...
“Girl on the Train” Writer Erin Cressida Wilson to Pen Adaptation of “Eileen”
Erin Cressida Wilson continues her hot streak. The in-demand screenwriter has been tapped to adapt “Eileen,” Ottessa Moshfegh’s award-winning debut novel, for Fox Searchlight and producer...
“Pussy Valley,” “Dirty Girls Social Club,” and “Teresa” Being Developed By Starz
Starz has a number of female-fronted projects in development. The network behind “Outlander” is working on “Pussy Valley,” an hour-long drama centered on five pole dancers in Mississippi;...
Teaser Watch: Issa Rae Hits the Town and Gets Rejected in “Insecure”
HBO has unveiled a teaser trailer for “Insecure,” the premium cable network’s eagerly awaited new half-hour comedy series from Issa Rae. The “Awkward Black Girl” YouTube breakout created...
Trailer Watch: Cannes Hit “The Handmaiden” is a Sexy and Stylish Revenge Thriller
A trailer has arrived for “The Handmaiden,” a stylish new revenge thriller from Korean director Park Chan-wook (“Stoker,” “Oldboy”). While the film is based on Sarah Waters’ 2002 crime...
“Queen Sugar” Gets Early Season 2 Renewal
This September, OWN will debut the series premiere of “Queen Sugar,” a new family drama created by Oprah Winfrey and “Selma” director Ava DuVernay. Yesterday OWN announced that it has...
Trailer Watch: “The Love Witch” Casts an Enchanting Spell on Vintage Horror Fans
Fans of retro horror comedies are in for a delightful blast from the past with Anna Biller’s “The Love Witch.” A newly released NSFW trailer for the film introduces Elaine (Samantha Robinson),...
Women Film Journalists Celebrate “Wonder Women,” Cinema’s Best Female Characters
“Wonder Woman” doesn’t hit theaters until next summer, but if you’re on the hunt for films that feature complex, inspiring female characters, look no further: the Alliance of Women Film...
Nahnatchka Khan Lands Her Own Production Deal at 20th Century Fox TV
“Fresh Off the Boat” creator Nahnatchka Khan has secured her own production deal at 20th Century Fox TV, Variety reports. The multiyear deal will see Khan creating, writing, developing, and...
Trailer Watch: Nicole Byer Finds Her Voice as a Comedian in “Loosely Exactly Nicole”
A hilarious trailer has been released for “Loosely Exactly Nicole,” a new MTV comedy starring actress and comedian Nicole Byer (“Girl Code”). The clip kicks off with Byer, who is playing a...
Weekly Update for July 29: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Equity” Films About Women Opening This Week Equity — Directed by Meera Menon; Written by Amy Fox (Opens in NY and LA) “Equity” tells the story of a driven female investment banker...
Sandra Oh, Emma Donoghue, and More Canadian Women to be Honored at TIFF
Twelve Canadian female directors, screenwriters, and actors making their mark in cinema will be celebrated at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Telefilm Canada, a federal cultural...
Tribeca Film Institute Announces Grant Recipients for Doc Fund and AOL Award
Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) has announced the 2016 recipients of the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund and its subsection, the AOL Charitable Foundation Award. Seven projects have been chosen to...
Anna Faris to Write a Memoir
“Mom” star Anna Faris is set to release a memoir titled “Unqualified,” which will take inspiration from the actress’ cheekily titled podcast “Anna Faris Is Unqualified,” where...
Sian Heder Reveals What Inspired Her New Kidnapping Drama “Tallulah”
Sian Heder writes and produces on “Orange is the New Black,” for which she has received multiple WGA nominations. Her first short film, “Mother,” won top honors at the Cannes Film Festival,...