BY Rachel Montpelier
DGA Announces Participants of New TV Director Mentorship Program
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has selected the participants for a TV directing mentorship initative, SHOOTonline reports. The program will see “early-career directors (Protégés)”...
Charlize Theron’s “Tully” and Brie Larson’s “The Glass Castle” Receive Release Dates
Mark your calendars: release dates for the Charlize Theron-toplined “Tully” and the Brie Larson-starrer “The Glass Castle” have been announced. Variety writes that “Glass Castle,” an...
Yet Another Woman-Led Action Film Will Be Directed By a Man
“Peppermint” has found a director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the in-demand female-led action film will be helmed by Pierre Morel (“Taken”). Morel signed on to direct the revenge...
Refinery29 Unveils Its Female-First NewFronts Programming Slate
Rashida Jones (“Angie Tribeca”), Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld”), Sasheer Zamata (“SNL”), Willow Smith (“True Jackson, VP”), and Zosia Mamet (“Girls”) are among Refinery29's...
Anthology of Trailblazing Women Directors’ Films to Be Released
Time to brush up on your film herstory. Flicker Alley and Blackhawk Films has announced the release of “Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology,” a collection of restored films from...
“Ab Fab’s” Joanna Lumley to Receive the BAFTA Fellowship
Joanna Lumley is receiving the British Academy’s greatest honor. Variety reports that the “Absolutely Fabulous” star will be honored with the BAFTA Fellowship at the British Academy Television...
Shonda Rhimes Accepts Planned Parenthood Award and Says “Women Should Be Running Things”
“Women should be running things.” Amen, Shonda Rhimes. The mogul took the stage last night to accept the Champion of Change Award from Planned Parenthood, which still exists despite the best...
Women to Direct Six of 10 Episodes of Naomi Watts-Led Netflix Series “Gypsy”
Like Ava DuVernay’s “Queen Sugar” and Moira Buffini and Alison Newman’s “Harlots,” Netflix’s upcoming “Gypsy” has dedicated itself to supporting women behind the scenes. According...
Trailer Watch: “Wonder Woman” Doesn’t Need to Be Saved
In a new TV spot for Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman,” Diana Prince (Gal Godot), aka the titular Amazonian superheroine, finds herself in a classic film scene. She’s walking in a creepy alley...
“Mr. Chibbs” Director Jill Campbell on the Enduring Appeal of NBA Star Kenny Anderson
Jill Campbell has worked as a producer, director, and writer on myriad documentaries, including “Dancing Across Borders,” “Bernal’s Picasso: When Art Met Science,” and “Out of Print.”...
All-Female Comedy Series “Baroness von Sketch Show” Is Coming to IFC
Finally, something to fill the “Garfunkel and Oates”-shaped void in our lives. Per The Hollywood Reporter, IFC is adding the all-female “Baroness von Sketch Show” to its lineup. The first...
“Power” Showrunner Courtney Kemp Inks Multi-Year Deal with Starz and Lionsgate
More projects from Courtney Kemp could be coming our way. The “Power” creator and showrunner signed an exclusive multi-year overall deal with Starz and Lionsgate, Variety reports. This new pact...
Cherien Dabis to Helm Film About Flint Researcher Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha
You’re most likely familiar with the Flint, Michigan water crisis, but you may not know about Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician whose research concluded that a generation of Flint children...
Barbra Streisand Started Directing Because She “Couldn’t Be Heard”
Barbra Streisand didn’t mince words when Robert Rodriguez interviewed her at the Tribeca Film Festival this past weekend —of course, we wouldn’t have it any other way. The famously outspoken...
“Roseanne” Revival in the Works
More “Roseanne” could be on the way. A revival of the beloved ABC sitcom toplined by Roseanne Barr is currently being shopped to networks, The Hollywood Reporter writes. Creator/star Barr has...
Weekly Update for April 28: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Below Her Mouth” Films About Women Opening This Week The Circle When Mae (Emma Watson) is hired to work for the world’s largest and most powerful tech and social media company, she sees it...
Cate Blanchett to Star in Stage Production of “All About Eve”
Cate Blanchett is stepping into Bette Davis’ shoes. The two-time Oscar winner will portray Margo Channing in a stage production of “All About Eve,” the New York Times reports. Adapted from...
New “Little Women” Film in the Works from Clare Niederpruem
Jo March would be so pleased. A new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age classic “Little Women” is in the works and a woman director is at the helm. According to Deadline,...
Only Five of Disney’s Slated Films Through 2021 Are Directed by Women
Disney has unveiled the premiere dates for its upcoming films from next Friday’s “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2” through the end of 2021. Per Variety, none of the remaining 2017 films are...
Robin Thede to Host Weekly Late-Night Show on BET
Robin Thede is returning to late-night TV. The former “Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore” head writer and contributor will host and exec produce “The Rundown With Robin Thede” for BET. The...
Mindy Kaling Options Alyssa Mastromonaco’s Political Memoir for TV
Mindy Kaling in “The Mindy Project”: NBCUniversal Mindy Kaling is branching out into politics — political TV comedies, in particular. Deadline reports that the “Mindy Project” creator...
“Lipstick Under My Burkha” Set for Release in India After Censorship Threat
“Lipstick Under My Burkha” will screen in India after all. Per The Hollywood Reporter, India’s Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) overruled the Censor Board’s initial decision to...
Research: Women Writers Comprise 29% of Self-Reported Scripts on Black List Website
Elyse Hollander’s Madonna biopic “Blond Ambition” topped the 2016 Black List The lack of opportunities for women in Hollywood is disappointing, but isn’t really a surprise anymore. What may...
Only NYC Female Theater Critic Linda Winer Resigns
The environment for women theater critics just got even less welcoming. Newsday’s Linda Winer, the only female theater critic in the New York City area, will be leaving her post May 12. Per...
Beyoncé Announces Formation Scholarship Program for College Women
Beyoncé is inviting four women to join the formation. In honor of “Lemonade’s” first anniversary, the Grammy award-winning artist and media mogul has unveiled plans for Formation Scholars, a...
“The Secret Life of Bees” Being Made into Musical
“The Secret Life of Bees” is coming to the stage — again. The New York Times reports that a musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s 2001 novel — which was previously adapted into a...
Globe Artistic Director Emma Rice Gives Primer on the Importance of Trust in Art
Emma Rice has been blazing trails throughout her short tenure as artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe. Per the New York Times, Rice has been open about her mixed feelings about Shakespeare’s...
Margot Robbie to Portray Queen Elizabeth I in Josie Rourke’s “Mary Queen of Scots”
Margot Robbie is swapping her Harley Quinn pigtails for Queen Elizabeth I’s crown. The Hollywood Reporter writes that the “Suicide Squad” actress will play Queen Elizabeth in Josie Rourke’s...
Bravo Developing Drama Series About African-American Female Mayor
Bravo has elected a female mayor. According to Deadline, the network is developing “Candy,” a drama about the youngest — and first African-American female — mayor in an unnamed...
Weekly Update for April 21: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Unforgettable” Films About Women Opening This Week Unforgettable — Directed by Denise Di Novi; Co-Written by Christina Hodson Katherine Heigl stars as Tessa Connover, who is barely coping...
Watch: Why Are Playwrights Lynn Nottage & Paula Vogel Only Just Making It to Broadway?
Hollywood isn’t the only industry with a woman problem. A new video from women’s theater website The Interval reminds us of this as it spotlights Lynn Nottage and Paula Vogel, the only women...
Cannes 2017: Women Directors Represent 42% of Critics’ Week Main Competition
The 2017 lineup for Cannes’ Critics’ Week sidebar has been announced. Three of the main competition’s seven films — about 42 percent — are women-helmed. Only one film screened in...
Modern Retelling of “Pride and Prejudice” Acquired by Warner Bros.
The only way Elizabeth Bennet could be more over gender roles and pointless class divisions is if she was somehow forced to participate in a Texas debutante ball. Sadly for Lizzie — but...
“The Birth of the Pill” TV Adaptation Headed to National Geographic
Soon you’ll be able to watch a scripted series about the creation of the birth control pill alongside documentaries about nature and foreign cultures. According to The Hollywood Reporter, National...
Tribeca 2017 Women Directors: Meet Katie Green and Carlye Rubin — “The Family I Had”
Katie Green and Carlye Rubin made their directorial debut with “The (Dead Mothers) Club,” which broadcast on HBO in 2014. The documentary centers on three women who lost their mothers during...
Trailer Watch: Nicole Kidman Gets an Unwanted Guest in Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled”
“You’re a most unwelcome visitor,” Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman) informs the wounded John McBurney (Colin Farrell) in a new trailer for Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled.” “And we do...
NYC Women in Film & TV Scriptwriting Competition Announces Winners
The NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema have announced the winners of a citywide screenwriting competition focusing on stories by, for, or...
Bruna Papandrea’s Series “Deadlier Than the Male” Gets Pilot Order from TNT
Bruna Papandrea has lined up yet another project. The “Big Little Lies” exec producer’s drama series, “Deadlier Than the Male,” received a pilot order from TNT. The Hollywood Reporter...
Trailer Watch: Two Women Grieve and Rage in Amber Tamblyn’s “Paint It Black”
In the newly released trailer for Amber Tamblyn’s “Paint It Black,” Josie (Alia Shawkat, “Search Party”) gets the phone call that everyone fears. “Has there been any individual you know...
Glamour and Girlgaze Partner for #NewView Short Film Competition
Glamour magazine is teaming up with digital media company Girlgaze to support young female filmmakers. A press release announced that the two companies are launching #NewView, a film competition for...
Ellen DeGeneres to Celebrate 20th Anniversary of LGBT Landmark “The Puppy Episode”
It’s been 20 years since Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian — on her ABC sitcom “Ellen” and in real life — and the Emmy-winning talk show host wants to celebrate. Per The...
Academy CEO Dawn Hudson Renews Contract Through 2020
Dawn Hudson has signed on for another three years at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. According to Variety, the Academy’s Board of Governors voted to renew the CEO’s contract...
450 Sexual Assault Survivors Draft Letter Demanding Fox News Fire Bill O’Reilly
Here’s a talking point for you, Bill. Over 450 sexual assault survivors wrote an open letter urging 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch to fire Bill O’Reilly, holding him accountable for his...
Marielle Heller to Receive Inaugural Moms-in-Film Award
Moms-in-Film (MiF), an organization for working parents in film and TV, is celebrating its first anniversary by honoring “Diary of a Teenage Girl” writer-director Marielle Heller. Heller will...
Gina Rodriguez Lines Up “Carmen Sandiego” & Two Potential Women-Directed Films
Where in the world is Gina Rodriguez? Everywhere. Per The Tracking Board, the “Jane the Virgin” star will voice the titular character in Netflix’s animated series “Carmen Sandiego.” She is...
Kelly Marie Tran’s Character Will Be a Major Part of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
Kelly Marie Tran has joined the Resistance. The actress-comedian “has the biggest new part” — the character Rose — in the highly-anticipated “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,”...
Weekly Update for April 14: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week “A Quiet Passion” A Quiet Passion (Opens in NY; Opens in LA April 21) Cynthia Nixon delivers a triumphant performance as Emily Dickinson as she personifies...
New Shonda Rhimes Show & Season 2 of “Queen Sugar” Get Premiere Dates
“Still Star Crossed”: ABC Your summer TV watchlist just got longer. Premiere dates have been announced for Shonda Rhimes’ newest show, “Still Star Crossed,” and the second season of Ava...
Four Books from “Big Little Lies” Author Liane Moriarty Headed to the Screen
The “Big Little Lies” finale was less than two weeks ago and fans are clamoring for more time with Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Bonnie, and Renata. There have been rumors of a possible second season...
Trailer Watch: Suki Waterhouse Lives with Cannibals in Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch”
In the parched desert, with vultures circling overhead, a young woman (Suki Waterhouse, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”) uses her remaining two limbs — one arm, one leg — to push...
Trailer Watch: Katell Quillévéré’s “Heal the Living” Explores Each Side of a Heart Transplant
“I can’t walk much. I can’t go upstairs,” a woman waiting for a heart transplant explains in the trailer for “Heal the Living.” “I’m not sure I want a dead person’s heart,”...