BY Women and Hollywood
Diablo Cody to Make Her Directing Debut
Academy Award winning writer Diablo Cody will make her directing debut on her own script Lamb of God. Her longtime collaborator Mason Novick will produce. It seems that the movie is being fast...
Update: Five Female Playwrights Will be on Broadway This Fall
Here is an update to yesterday’s post about Theresa Rebeck’s play opening on Broadway. It seems that there will be several female written plays opening on the great white way this fall. Great...
Eva Gabrielsson in Conversation With Gloria Steinem
Eva Gabrielsson came to the US to promote her book There Are Things I Want You to Know About Stieg Larsson and Me and she stopped at the 92nd Street Y and had a conversation with feminist Gloria...
Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler pens a letter in support of Planned Parenthood. Here’s some of it: You know who is awesome? Cecile Richards. She’s the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She’s...
A Female Playwright Will Be on Broadway Next Season
After a disappointing year where not a single female written new play was produced on Broadway, word comes in now that next season will at least have some female representation. Theresa Rebeck’s...
Actress Michelle Yeoh Deported From Burma
Actress Michelle Yeoh who portrays Aung San Suu Kyi in the upcoming film The Lady was deported from Burma when she tried to enter the country to see Kyi last week. She has been placed on a blacklist...
Trailer and Poster: Pixar’s Brave
Pixar’s first girl centric film
Human Rights Int. Film Fest: Life Above All
The devastating and beautiful Life, Above All closes The Human Rights International Film Festival Thursday night in NY. Details here. Director Oliver Schmitz and Lead Actress Khomotso Manyaka will...
Bad Teacher Box Office Report
Cameron Diaz’ film Bad Teacher took second place at the box office this weekend with a total of $31 million. That makes it already a hit since it cost only $20 million to make and also took in...
Trailer Watch: One Day Directed by Lone Scherfig
Film opens August 19
Human Rights Watch Int. Film Fest: The Price of Sex — directed by Mimi Chakarova
The Price of Sex is one of those films that haunt you. I watched it over a week ago and I still cannot get it out of my mind. The film painstakingly depicts the brutal reality of how easily women and...
Women and Hollywood in the News — June 2011
Forbes Woman named Women and Hollywood one of the 100 best websites for Women. Check out page 6 of the story Here’s the description: Women are more than 50% of the population, film ticket buyers...
Trailer Alert: LA Film Festival — Salaam Dunk
Salaam Dunk is playing this evening at the LA Film Festival. Details here.
Riding the Bridesmaids Wave
Women in Hollywood are finally feeling a little love after the unexpected success of Bridesmaids. The film has now grossed $140 million and counting and for the first time in a long time women’s...
Guest Post: We Want More Female-Written Plays! by Katherine Bowman
The Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative (LA FPI) recently conducted a study on the number of female-written plays produced in LA. The number is a disappointing yet unsurprising 20%. In...
LA Film Festival: Somewhere Between — Directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Producer Linda Goldstein Knowlton who produced one of my favorite films ever — Whale Rider — steps behind the camera to direct a film for her daughter Ruby whom she adopted from China....
Academy Invites for 2011: The Women
The Academy of Arts and Sciences sent out 178 invitations to join its ranks. Out of the 178 there are 55 women (56 if you count an associate member). There were no women nominated in the Visual...
Trailer Watch: Season 2 Preview of The Big C
Show stars Laura Linney and some guests stars this year include Cynthia Nixon, Parker Posey and Gabourey Sidibe. The Big C was created by Darlene Hunt and the showrunner is the amazing Jenny Bicks....
LA Film Festival: Renee
I watched a fascinating and sad documentary on Renee Richards over the weekend. It is now playing at the LA Film Festival (after it played at Tribeca last month) with another screening this evening...
Films to Watch for This Fall on the Film Fest Circuit: The Women
The intrepid folks at IndieWIRE have put together a wish list for films they want to see this fall on the film fest circuit. Here are the women centric and women directed ones on the list. (all...
The Press for Transformers 3 Starts With Bashing Megan Fox
I’m sorry, but how did Megan Fox’s departure from Transformers 3 become a big press hook for the movie? Is the movie so bad that they need to distract from the actual movie to events that...
The Killing Ends Its First Season
The Killing ended its first season last night and surprise! it did not wrap up anything and only created more questions. I really thought we would get some closure but I am impressed that people were...
Julie Taymor Talks Spiderman at LA Theatre Conference
I’m a bit obsessed about the Julie Taymor/Spiderman situation. Mostly I’m obsessed because of what this will mean for her career, but also what it will mean for other women’s careers. Since her...
Sex Crimes Unit — Directed by Lisa F. Jackson
Monday night, HBO will air a behind the scenes look at the NYC Sex Crimes prosecution unit. These are the lawyers who go to court to fight for the women (yes, it is mostly women) who have been raped...
Page One — Where are the Women?
As the film Page One — Inside the NY Times made its way through the festival circuit this spring there was not a lot of noise made about the lack of females in the film. Anyone who saw the...
Guest Post: The Case for Watching Pretty Little Liars by Emilie Spiegel
As someone who spends her time watching media portrayals of young women, I’m here to say… I LOVE Pretty Little Liars (Tuesdays, 8pm EST, ABC Family). This week was the second season’s premiere,...
An Unpublished Laura Ziskin Interview
I have no idea why this interview was not published by The Hollywood Reporter, but it wasn’t. This interview was conducted last September and has some really good points about women and the...
Goldie Hawn to HBO
It looks like another leading lady of the screen is heading to the tube. Darren Star (Sex and the City) is adapting the book The Viagra Diaries by Barbara Rose Brooker as a starring vehicle for...
Trailer Watch: Wish Me Away — directed by Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf
This doc about country star Chely Wright premieres at the LA Film Festival on Monday- June 20 “Wish Me Away is the poignant story of Chely Wright, the first country music star to ever come out as...
Guest Post: The UCLA Festival of New Creative Work by Amy French
The UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television held its Festival of New Creative Work in Los Angeles from June 4th to June 9th. The event showcased the best live action and animated films, scripts,...
Call for Submissions for 2012 Athena Film Festival
As you may know, I am the artistic director of the Athena Film Festival. The second festival will take place from February 9–12, 2012. We are opening our call for submissions today. Read the...
Wendi Deng Murdoch Becomes a Producer
Rupert Murdoch’s wife Wendi is venturing into producing with the new film Snow Flower and the Secret Fan based on the best selling book by Lisa See. Ms. Deng Murdoch read the book several years ago...
A Class Act: Julie Taymor Appears Onstage at the Opening of Spiderman
After being thrown under the bus and fired several months ago and not being paid for her work (she is now in arbitration with the show to get back pay), Julie Taymor was welcomed onstage following...
Guest Post: Step One: Finding the Right Producer by Zoje Stage
In 2008, I won a Fellowship in Screenwriting from the New York Foundation for the Arts. As I left the party in my strapless black dress and uncomfortable shoes I had one thought: “Please dear gods...
Trailer Alert: Damages Season Four
Last time I checked this show stars Glenn Close. Can’t tell from this video. Show will air only on Direct TV (no network crossover like there was with Friday Night Lights), Show returns on...
Guest Post: Fighting Fish — The Story of Making an Ultra-Low-Budget Indie by Annette Apitz
A very wise woman said to me after I finished my first feature film, “Congratulations. With independent films, you really have to will them into existence.” Making my first feature film was...
In Their Own Voices: The Female Tony Winners
Frances McDormand — she won for best actress in a play for Good. I love the denim jacket. Sutton Foster — best actress in a musical — she won for Anything Goes Nikki M....
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
This is the panel entitled “New Faces of Indie Film” that the Film Society at Lincoln Center hosted this past Saturday to celebrate the opening of their new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. If...
Natalie Portman Talks Microenterprise
This is how women get out of poverty and support their families. Way to use your superpowers for good.
Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Nia Vardalos
I had the opportunity to meet Nia Vardalos recently at an event in LA and she was so impressive. She has written a terrific piece about the horrible homophobic comments that 30 Rock Tracy Morgan star...
Cross-Post: Super 8 & Spielberg’s Chick Issue by Thelma Adams
If Super 8 is truly a mash note to Steven Spielberg, as my husband says, then it also echoes some thing I detest about SS. He’s horrible on the women issue. His immediate reaction to the opposite...
In Memoriam: Laura Ziskin
While most producers names are not known, Laura Ziskin is not one of them. Yesterday, at 61 she lost her battle with breast cancer. She was a woman who came into the business like other women in the...
Tony Awards Winners: The Women
It was a sucky season for women creatives (meaning playwrights and musical creators) at the Tonys this year. Don’t only take my word for it. Here’s another piece by Princeton academic Jill Dolan...
Trailer Watch: Pariah — Written and Directed by Dee Rees
No release date yet. Focus says Winter 2011.
The Lilly Awards: Saving Women From Disappearing in Theatre
The Tony Awards are on Sunday night. There are very few female nominees. Even the NY Times is starting to think this is a problem. (Note to NY Times theatre writers and reviewers — don’t...
Interview With Sarah Siegel Magness: Producer of Judy Moody And the Not Bummer Summer
Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer opens today. It’s a great hoot for the young — both boys and girls. Producer Sarah Siegel Magness answered some questions about being a producer in...
Talking 20 Years of Thelma and Louise
Here’s my interview on the BBC Scotland’s Movie Cafe on the 20th Anniversary of Thelma and Louise. If you don’t want to listen to the whole show, start at 34 minutes in.Movie Cafe It will be...
Martha Coolidge Talks Valley Girl and Female Directors
Martha Coolidge will be in NYC this weekend for a Saturday screening of Valley Girl at the opening of the new film center at Lincoln Center. The film is presented by director Kevin Smith who picked...
The Help: Featurette
I know that people have issues with this film (I am planning on reading the book before it’s release in August) but I am down with any movie where Viola Davis talks about making invisible women...
WIF’s 2011 Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards To Be Awarded June 16
Hotter than hot Melissa McCarthy will host the annual Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards in Los Angeles on June 16. Awardees are: Annette Bening (for excellence in film), Nina Tassler (for...
Hillary Clinton Supports Women’s Sports As the US Women Prepare for the World Cup
Sports are a part of pop culture and this is an exciting year as the US women get ready to head to Germany to try and take back the World Cup trophy. Mind you if they played as bad as they played on...