BY Women and Hollywood
Interview with Lori Rotskoff on the New Anthology When We Were Free to Be
Cultural historian Lori Rotskoff talks with Holly Rosen Fink about her new anthology, co-edited with Laura L. Lovett, When We Were Free to Be: Looking Back at a Children’s Classic and the...
3 of 25 Films Inducted into National Film Registry Directed by Women
The Librarian of Congress, James Billington, picked the next batch of 25 films to be inducted into the National Film Registry. 3 of the 25 films chosen by Billington are directed by women. There are...
Angelina Jolie to Direct Unbroken for Universal
Angelina Jolie is set to direct Unbroken, her first major studio film. The film is for Universal and Walden Media. Based on Laura Hillenbrand’s best-selling 2010 book, Unbroken looks at...
Martha Nelson: First Woman Named as Editor in Chief for Time
Martha Nelson has just been named the new Editor-in-Chief of Time magazine. Nelson, will be the first woman to hold the post in the 70 plus years that the weekly has existed. Nelson, who has been...
Cross Post: Too Old?
DC playwrights are watching their "in" boxes this week, awaiting word about whether they've been accepted into Arena Stage's playwrights' group. Six locals will be invited to...
Women’s Film Critics Circle Name Zero Dark Thirty Best Movie of 2012, Ava DuVernay Wins Josephine Baker Award
The Women’s Film Critics Circle have announced their 2012 picks. And as she continues to sweep the awards circuit, Kathryn Bigelow and Zero Dark Thirty won several awards including Best Movie...
6 of 12 Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab Project Picks Written by Women
The Sundance Institute has picked 12 projects to participate in their January Screenwriters Lab. The workshop provides writers the opportunity to find financing and other resources for their films....
The 2012 Black List and Hit List Titles Revealed
The folks at The Black List, which recently launched a paid script service, yesterday revealed the names of the top unproduced scripts according to 290 experts in the film business. Another...
Cross Post: On Sex, Disability, and Helen Hunt in ‘The Sessions’
I hadn’t heard of Mark O’Brien before I saw The Sessions. I only knew that the film starred John Hawkes (of Deadwood, Winter’s Bone, and Martha Marcy May Marlene fame) and Helen...
Final Trailer for Zero Dark Thirty
Zero Dark Thirty hits theatres in NY and LA tomorrow. In anticipation here is the final trailer for the must talked about (even before it is released) film. I got the chance to see Zero...
The Women Directed Films That Are Qualified for 85th Academy Awards
On Friday the Academy released the list of the 282 films that have qualified for best picture. Animated, Documentaries and Foreign language films are also eligible for best picture if they meet...
Newcomer Samantha Barks on Her Les Mis Experience
When Samantha Barks sings “On My Own” in the new film Les Misérables, it will be hard for anyone to ask why this virtual unknown was chosen to play the key role. Barks originally...
Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere Wins Big at The African-American Film Critics Association Awards
The African-American Film Critics Association announced their best of 2012 yesterday. Leading with 4 awards is Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere. Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty was...
Chicken & Egg Pictures Awards $220,000 in Grants to Women Filmmakers
Chicken & Egg Pictures, one of our favorite nonprofits supporting women filmmakers, announced $220,000 in grant funds to 25 documentaries directed by women. And while we usually...
She Who Will Not Be Ignored
My fellow blogger Sasha Stone has another great piece (how do you write so much great stuff Sasha?) over on her blog Awards Daily called Female Trouble: Why Powerful Women Threaten Hollywood. ...
Interview with Abbie Cornish – Star of The Girl
Abbie Cornish is one of the most talented and interesting young women working in film today. She was introduced to the world in Cate Shortland's Sommersault but broke through in Jane...
Guest Post: From Film to Comics
The best career advice I got before graduating from film school (besides the cliché but true “It’s not a sprint it’s a marathon”) went something like this: You need to...
Golden Globe Noms Out But Who Cares We’ve Got a Video With Tina and Amy
I kind of think that the awards will be the after story of this year's Golden Globe ceremony which is scheduled for Janaury 13. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are already acting as awesome golden...
No Women Directors Included in First Seven Films in 2013 Berlin International Film Festival
The 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival has just announced the first six films in their competition line up. Thus far, it’s not looking good for women. Of the 7 films announced...
Trailer Watch: Blancanieves (Spain’s Oscar submission)
Spain's Oscar submission, Blancanieves, is a revisioning of the classic fairy tale Snow White. This iteration set in 1920's Spain, centers around a young female bullfighter, Carmen (Macarena...
The NAACP Image Awards Nominations Ignore Ava DuVernay
Dear Nominators of the NAACP Image Awards: With all due respect, what the fuck were you thinking? It's 6am here on the east coast and I am finally getting to read the nominations for the 44th...
Anne Hathaway on Her Transformation in Les Mis
There’s a lot of Oscar buzz centered around the soon to be released Les Misérables, particularly for Anne Hathaway whose character, Fantine, is actually in the film the least amount of...
Guest Interview: ‘Flight’ Actress Kelly Reilly On Playing A Heroine On Heroin
Flight, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Denzel Washington, offers a harrowing and honest portrait of addiction. Washington stars as Whip, a brilliant airline pilot who suffers from a...
Trailer Watch: The Girl – Starring Abbie Cornish
Abbie Cornish stars in The Girl, as a young mother, Ashley, who loses custody of her young son because of a lack of money. When she decides to smuggle immigrants over the border for money, things...
Angelina Jolie Wields Power over Salt 2 Script
Sony is reportedly negotiating with Becky Johnston to take over writing duties for Salt 2. Jolie has been in talks to reprise her role as a CIA agent turned Russian sleeper cell agent. In 2011,...
‘Free to Be You and Me’ Celebrates 40th Anniversary
The iconic “Free to Be You and Me,” from Marlo Thomas is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The song, TV show and book was a staple for many growing up, celebrating our differences and to...
Why Having Only Strong Girl Heroines is Not Enough
A.O. Scott in the lead story of the NY Times Magazine this past weekend wrote a very interesting piece on how Hollywood has finally embraced women, well not exactly women, heroines. The piece...
Answer of the Day: Shonda Rhimes on Why She Has Many Gay Characters on Her Shows
Shonda Rhimes got asked this question from a clearly idiotic viewer and being Shonda Rhimes she took the opportunity to use the question to answer a much larger societal question. Question: love...
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics and AFI Announce Picks of 2012
We are officially in the center of awards season and yesterday both the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association and the American Film Institute announced their winners in film (AFI also...
Trailer Watch: I, Anna – Starring Charlotte Rampling
Based on the novel by Elsa Lewin, I, Anna follows Anna (the great Charlotte Rampling) who gets entangled in the middle of a murder case and falls for the lead detective (Gabriel Byrne). I, Anna is...
Variety Announces 10 Directors and Screenwriters to Watch, 4 are Women
Variety announced 10 directors and screenwriters to watch for the upcoming year. Out of the 20, 4 women were included, 2 for each. The directors will be profiled in the January 3rd issue of...
Zero Dark Thirty and Emmanuelle Riva Win Big with Critics Over the Weekend
The year end awards keep rolling in. The Boston Film Critics, New York Film Critics Online and Los Angeles Film Critics all announced their winners over the weekend. Kathryn Bigelow and Zero Dark...
UK’s Women in Film and Television Awards Honors 15 Women
At the U.K.’s 22nd annual Women in Film and Television Awards, fifteen women were honored from all aspects of television and film. Amongst the winners were Clare Balding, a sports presenter,...
TV Link Roundup: December 10
Here's some of the women-centric television news that we didn't get the chance to cover last week. Molly Ringwald Developing John Hughes–esque Lifetime Drama...
Film Link Round Up: December 8
Here's some of the women-centric film news that we thought people should know about: Jane Goldman to Write 'Pinocchio' for Robert Downey Jr. and Tim Burton (The Hollywood...
If Women Ran Hollywood…
If women ran Hollywood is a question worth pondering and one we often do here at Women and Hollywood. Apparently it’s been a question on the minds of those over at The Hollywood Reporter, so...
Interview with Nancy Buirski – Director of The Loving Story
The Loving Story is a powerful and beautifully wrought film about two people – Richard and Mildred Loving – who just wanted to be married and live in their home state of Virginia. ...
Cross Post: Okay, Jen. Here Goes: “Stop Being Mean To Women On The Internet”
My fellow comedian Jen Kirkman is boycotting Twitter until men stop using it as a medium to be awful to her because she’s a woman yet still has the audacity to express her views on occasion. Or...
Amy Herzog Receives 2012 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award
The New York Times awarded their 2012 Outstanding Playwright Award to Amy Herzog for her play After the Revolution. After the Revolution, an off-Broadway hit, follows an extremely...
Athena Film Festival Needs Volunteers and Women Filmmakers
As we previously reported, The Athena Film Festival (co-founded by our own Melissa Silverstein) is gearing up for its third year. Here’s where you come in! If you are in the New York...
Zero Dark Thirty Wins Big with the National Board of Review
Kathryn Bigelow is on a roll. After receiving Best Director, Best Film and Best Cinematography (for Greig Fraser) for Zero Dark Thirty from the New York Film Critics Circle on Monday, the film...
Using Sundance to Shift the Narrative on Women Directors
The happy glow has still not worn off the news that women directors have achieved gender parity in the US dramatic and documentary competitions. (But we must also remember that women are still...
Sexist Quote of the Day by Bret Easton Ellis
In a ploy to make himself relevant again after being turned down to write the screeplay for 50 Shades of Grey, Bret Easton Ellis took to twitter and slammed director Kathryn Bigelow. Here's the...
Sarah Polley, Deepa Mehta, Nisha Pahuja Named to the Top 10 Films of Canada
Canada’s 12th Annual Top 10 Film list was announced this week. Films by Sarah Polley, Deepa Mehta and Nisha Pahuja were included on the list. TIFF will screen the films in Toronto from...
Guest Post: On Editing and Cooking
The first time I told some friends that I was working on a film about a man in an iron lung trying to lose his virginity, I got looks that were somewhere between incredulity and pity. I could tell...
AFI Review: The Central Park Five – Co-Directed by Sarah Burns and West of Memphis – Directed by Amy Berg
Los Angeles’ AFI Film Festival gave me the chance to see two documentary films directed by women: The Central Park Five co-directed by Sarah Burns, Ken Burns and David McMahon and West of...
The Hollywood Reporter Announces Top Women in Entertainment for 2012
The Hollywood Reporter has unveiled the top ten of their 21st annual Top 100 Women in Entertainment. The honorees will join one another at a breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which will honor...
Jane Campion and Naomi Foner Included in Sundance Premieres Lineup
Sundance announced the films in their Premieres and Documentary Premieres categories. With films directed by Jane Campion and Naomi Foner amongst many women-centric films and a documentary...
Trailer Watch: Black Rock – Directed by Katie Aselton
Black Rock, directed by Katie Aselton (who also stars), is a thriller about three best friends (Lake Bell, Kate Bosworth and Aselton) who take a weekend together to revisit a childhood getaway that...
Fran Walsh Steps Out
You can't watch Hitchcock without thinking what life would be like had Alma Reville, Hitchcock's wife lived today. From the film you see how much a partner she is in life (expected) and...
3 of 15 Documentaries on Oscar Shortlist Directed by Women
Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences released the 15 films on the short list in the Documentary feature category for this year’s Oscars. Only three films on the shortlist are...