BY Women and Hollywood
Trailer Watch: A Bronze Medal Isn’t Enough For This ‘Veep’
Leave it to Julia Louis-Dreyfus to ask a room full men how they’d choose between their “cock and balls.” But what else can we expect from one of the brassiest female-led comedies on...
Listen: Women and Hollywood Podcast #25 — ‘Consumed’ Star, Co-Writer and Producer Zoe Lister-Jones
Women and Hollywood spoke with the star, co-writer and producer of “Consumed,” Zoe Lister-Jones. The film addresses a hot topic — Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Typically we see...
Kering and Cannes Film Festival Will Present Second ‘Women in Motion’ Program
Kering, the high-end French luxury goods holding company, will once again present the “Women in Motion” Program at the Cannes Film Festival this year. The program launched at last year’s...
Weekly Update for March 18: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week The Divergent Series: Allegiant The third installment of the blockbuster Divergent series franchise, “Allegiant” takes Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo...
Happy Friday: Watch Emma Watson Beatbox For Gender Equality
Emma Watson continues to work her magic. The “Harry Potter” alum plans to take a year off from acting but she’s making amazing use of her time away from Hollywood: The UN Women Goodwill...
Quote of the Day: Melissa McCarthy Says ‘It’s Incredibly Important’ To Have More Women Directing
At a press conference for her upcoming comedy, “The Boss,” actress Melissa McCarthy emphasized the need for more female filmmakers in Hollywood. “I think it’s incredibly important,” she...
The Mission to Get Female Composers More Visibility
Women are underrepresented in many positions in the film industry, and while the press is finally starting to pay attention to the unacceptable numbers of films by and about women, there hasn’t...
Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer to Star in Guillermo del Toro Cold War Drama
Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer are headed for Guillermo del Toro’s next project, a Cold War drama set in 1963. According to Deadline, Hawkins is set to star and Spencer is in talks to join the...
‘Heathers’ Anthology Series is Coming to TV
How very. The bolder, crasser older sister of 2004’s “Mean Girls” is coming to television. Beloved 80s cult classic “Heathers” is being made into an anthology series. TV Land ordered the...
Playwright of the Moment: Danai Gurira Has Two Plays Running in NYC
If you’re only familiar with Danai Gurira from her role as Michonne on “The Walking Dead,” AMC’s hit zombie apocalypse drama, it’s time to familiarize yourself with her other works, namely...
‘The Middle’ Star Eden Sher Is Writing a Book for Kids
Get your Kleenex ready and fire up your imagination because it’s about to get “Emotionary.” “The Middle” star Eden Sher has signed a book deal with Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Young...
Patricia Riggen’s ‘Miracles From Heaven’ Opens with Promising Numbers
Without fanfare or bluster, Patricia Riggen has forged an impressive path as a woman director. The Mexican filmmaker helmed two studio films released within six months of each other, and it looks...
The Secret Lives of Women: March 2016’s Crowdfunding Picks
This month’s crowdfunding picks include a number of intriguing documentaries, plus two psychological thrillers. But what all these films have in common is their mission to bring to light the lives...
Trailer Watch: Amy Schumer Can’t Help But Expose Herself in ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ Season 4
There’s no denying that Amy Schumer was practically everywhere in 2015. Season 3 of her Comedy Central series “Inside Amy Schumer” was a hit. It won Outstanding Variety Sketch Comedy Series at...
Fierce, Funny and Feminist: Nora Ephron in ‘Everything is Copy’
The new HBO documentary about the inimitable Nora Ephron is a lovely, wide-ranging portrait, with as many high-profile talking heads as you could possibly want (Meryl Streep analyzes her; Rob Reiner...
Michelle Obama Addresses Female Empowerment and Education at SXSW Panel
On Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at a panel at SXSW where women’s empowerment was the main focus. Joined on stage by actress Sophia Bush (Chicago P.D.), songwriter Diane Warren and...
Agnieszka Holland to Helm Psychological Thriller About a Female Killer
Agnieszka Holland has a new project in the works. The Polish director will helm the memorably titled “The Kind Worth Killing,” a psychological thriller based on a 2015 novel of the same name....
Young Women in STEM Can Win Internship at Marvel Studios
Female Avengers, assemble! Disney, Marvel Studios, Dolby Laboratories, Synchrony Bank, Broadcom MASTERS and Science & Entertainment Exchange, a program of The National Academy of Sciences, are...
BFI Poll Names ‘Carol’ the Best LGBT Film of All Time
“Carol” has been named the top LGBT film of all time by a panel composed of 100 film experts. The British Film Institute conducted the poll, described as the first major critical survey of LGBT...
‘Wicked’ Passes $1 Billion Benchmark in Record Time
“Wicked” just broke a big record. The 10th-longest running production in Broadway history has officially earned more than $1 billion at the box-office, making it the third-ever show to do so....
Showtime Will Produce a Whitney Houston Documentary
Showtime Documentary Films has announced the start of a project examining the life and career of legendary singer Whitney Houston. Deadline reports that production kicked off this week. Houston was...
A Change of Culture Is Necessary for Hollywood Diversity Measures to Succeed
Yesterday, several prominent Asian-American Academy members, including Freida Lee Mock, Ang Lee, Sandra Oh and George Takei, sent a letter to the Academy’s Board of Governors protesting the...
Chelsea Handler Announces New Show’s Premiere Date with Hilarious Self-Written Note
Just how will a talk show on Netflix work? We’re about to find out. Chelsea Handler has announced, in a hilarious, self-written press release, that her new show will premiere on May 11 on the...
TV Vet Marti Noxon to Make Big Screen Directorial Debut
Marti Noxon has one helluva TV career, and now the writer-producer-director is poised to make her mark on the big screen. The “UnReal” co-creator has signed on to make her feature directorial...
San Francisco Film Society Announces Films in Competition for Golden Gate Awards, 35% Female-Helmed
The San Francisco Film Society has announced the films in competition for the Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature Golden Gate Awards, which will be presented at the San Francisco International...
Jodie Foster’s ‘Money Monster’ to Screen at Cannes
It’s looking as though Jodie Foster’s “Money Monster” will make its world premiere at Cannes. The drama, starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, hasn’t officially been confirmed as part...
‘Zoo’ Writer Rebekah F. Smith Will Pen Big Screen Adaptation of ‘Flawed’
The Warner Bros. adaptation of Cecelia Ahern’s novel “Flawed” is moving forward, with “Zoo” writer Rebekah F. Smith penning the script, according to Variety. “Flawed” is the first Young...
Women Dominate Inaugural Industry Academy International
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Locarno International Film Festival have announced the participants the inaugural Industry Academy International U.S. and the group includes eight women out...
Naomi Kawase to Head Cinefondation and Short Film Jury at Cannes
The youngest-ever winner of the Camera d’Or continues to make waves at the Cannes Film Festival. Naomi Kawase has been named as the president of both the Cinefondation section and Short Film...
Documentarian Liz Garbus in Talks to Direct Her First Narrative Feature
Fresh off of the Academy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Documentary Feature for “What Happened, Miss Simone?” director Liz Garbus may soon make the switch to narrative film...
Trailer Watch: ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ is Dark and Twisty
Stand aside, Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” is a little bit weirder, a little bit darker and features the wondrous Eva Green...
Cannes Film Festival – 2015
The Cannes festival began with a meeting on May 18 organized by the Créteil Women’s Film Festival and the Society of Dramatic Authors (SACD) entitled “Women Make Great Movies: Strategies for...
A Conversation with Ava DuVernay
Hollywood Reporter: Ava DuVernay Will Be Keynote Speaker at BlogHer Conference Hollywood Reporter: Ava DuVernay’s Advice on Hollywood: “Follow the White Guys, They’ve Got This Thing...
Welcome Casey Cipriani to Women and Hollywood
I just wanted to do a big Women and Hollywood welcome to our new news editor, Casey Cipriani. Casey Cipriani is a New York-based arts and entertainment journalist with a passion for sci-fi, fairy...
Trailer Watch: Sarah Follows in Beth’s Footsteps in ‘Orphan Black’ Season 4
The clone club survived Season 3 of “Orphan Black,” but they’re far from unscathed in the aftermath of clone gate. A new, action-packed trailer has arrived for the fourth season of BBC...
Exclusive: Release Date Set for Maya Vitkova’s Debut ‘Viktoria’
Maya Vitkova’s 2014 Sundance hit “Viktoria” is finally hitting U.S. theaters and Women and Hollywood has the exclusive release date. The film will premiere in New York on April 29, distributed...
Ghetto Film School L.A. Introduces New Program for Female Students
Ghetto Film School L.A. is adding a new program to its curriculum. A new class, “Iris-In: A Ghetto Film School Program for Young Women,” will be offered to female students. The nonprofit will...
Sony Pictures Television Backs Faye Ward’s Fable Pictures
Sony Pictures Television has taken a minority stake in “Suffragette” producer Faye Ward’s new U.K. film and television production company, Fable Pictures. Fable will specialize in high-end...
Working Title Acquires Film Rights to Jessica Swale’s Hit Play ‘Nell Gwynn’
Working Title has acquired the film rights to Jessica Swale’s hit play “Nell Gwynn.” The period comedy is now running on London’s West End with Gemma Arterton (“Gemma Bovery”) in the...
Actress and Producer Roma Downey to Receive Inaugural Irish Diaspora Award
Roma Downey has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the “Irish Diaspora Award,” presented by the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) in association with the Office of the Minister...
It Was a Great Weekend for Women at the Box Office
It was a good weekend for women at the specialty box office. The Helen Mirren thriller “Eye in the Sky” and Sally Field comedy “Hello, My Name is Doris” both performed well, according to...
Strategies for Success: The Swedish Model for Gender Equity in Film
“Strategies for Success: The Swedish Model for Gender Equity in Film” a dialogue between Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film (SFI) Institute and Melissa Silverstein of Women and Hollywood. The...
Trailer Watch: Christmas Comes in April with ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ Season 2 Trailer
They alive dammit! A new trailer for Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” has just hit the web and we’ve never been more excited to visit a year-round Christmas store. According to the...
Warner Bros. Launches Directors Workshop for Underrepresented Directors
Last year, a study conducted by the Los Angeles Times revealed that, among the major studios, Warner Bros. hired the least women directors. An embarrassing claim to fame, period, but especially in...
Eileen Meyer Awarded the 2016 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship
Eileen Meyer has been awarded the 2016 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship. Meyer edited the award-winning 2015 documentary “Best of Enemies,” an exploration of pundit politics. The editor...
‘Parisienne’ Director Danielle Arbid on Telling A Positive Story About a Foreigner Living in Paris
Danielle Arbid been directing films since 1997. Selected for numerous festivals in France and abroad (Cannes, New York Film Festival, San Francisco, Locarno, Pusan, Tokyo Filmex, etc.), her narrative...
Weekly Update for March 11: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Lolo — Directed by Julie Delpy; Written by Julie Delpy and Eugenie Grandval (Opens in NYC) Violette (Julie Delpy), a 40-year old workaholic with a career...
Happy Friday: Watch the Women of ‘Hamilton’ Sing and Rap About Feminism for Women’s History Month
Dying to see “Hamilton” but can’t score tickets? You’re not alone. The Broadway sensation is sold out for months to come, but fortunately we have something to tide us over: The female cast of...
SXSW 2016 Women Directors: Meet Stella Meghie — ‘Jean of the Joneses’
Stella Meghie has a blind script deal at Warner Brothers, a pilot in development with John Wells Productions, a comedy optioned by BET and a deal to pen a feature script for VH1. Meghie is a Tribeca...
Amy Ryan to Topline Nicole Holofcener Comedy Series
Nicole Holofcener is coming to TV, and she’s taking Amy Ryan (“Birdman”) with her. The “Enough Said” helmer is looking for a straight-to-series order for a new half-hour, untitled comedy...
Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Produce HBO Miniseries Portraying Female Friends in the National Guard
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is working on another project with HBO, the home of her Emmy-award-winning series “Veep.” Louis-Dreyfus is producing a miniseries based on Helen Thorpe’s non-fiction book...