BY Women and Hollywood
Barbra Streisand’s First Directorial Project in 20 Years Will Be Catherine the Great Biopic
One of Hollywood’s most prominent women filmmakers is attached to direct a biopic about one of history’s most powerful women rulers. Barbra Streisand has announced that she’ll helm a movie...
Trailer Watch: British Princesses Let Loose and Celebrate the End of WWII in ‘A Royal Night Out’
When victory over the Germans is announced on VE Day, all of England comes together — including Princesses Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon,”The Amazing Spider-Man 2") and Margaret (Bel Powley,...
‘Transparent’ Returns, in All Its Complicated Glory
Trailer Watch: Pregnant Claire Heads to France to Change History in ‘Outlander’ Season 2
“Outlander” is coming back, but much has changed since the first season concluded back in May. For starters, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is visibly pregnant. Starz has released a sneak peek of the...
Sundance 2016 Competition Lineup Unveiled, Over 40% Directed by Women
Sundance has released the competition slate for the 2016 installment of the festival, and nearly half of the program is women-directed. Of the 54 films that have been announced in competition with a...
Trailer Watch: The ‘Girls’ Contend With Japan, “Gay Emergencies” and a Wedding in Season 5
Stephany Folsom to Pen ‘Thor 3’
Stephany Folsom has been confirmed as the writer for “Thor 3.” That makes Folsom the third female screenwriter for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after Nicole Perlman (“Guardians of the...
‘Carol’ Sweeps NYFCC Awards, Saoirse Ronan and Kristen Stewart Also Recognized by Critics Group
The New York Film Critics Circle gave “Carol” the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography in a major coup for the period lesbian romance. Todd Haynes’...
Deepa Mehta Honored by Toronto Critics, to Bestow $50,000 to Fellow Filmmaker
Indian-Canadian director Deepa Meehta has been named the recipient of the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award by the Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA). Mehta will receive $50,000, which she will...
‘Waitress’ to Make Broadway History
When it begins previews on March 25, 2016, “Waitress” will make Broadway history as the first musical with women in all four key positions. Based on the 2007 film by the late writer-director...
Emma Watson Told Not to Say the Word “Feminism” in Feminist Speech
Since the end of the “Harry Potter movies, one of Emma Watson’s most public roles has been as a women’s rights activist partnered with the UN. Watson’s 2014 HeForShe speech was not only a...
Moving the Needle on Hollywood’s Gender Disparity: 4 Solutions
Under media pressure and the threat of possible government intervention, Hollywood seems to finally be taking its female-protagonist and woman-director problems more seriously. Forty-four industry...
‘Amy,’ ‘Malala,’ ‘Hunting Ground,’ ‘What Happened, Miss Simone?’ Make Oscars’ Doc Shortlist
Three women-directed films and another three women-centric ones have made the 2016 Oscars documentary shortlist. Among the 15 finalists for an Academy Award nomination are Liz Garbus’ “What...
Carrie Fisher Wants Princess Leia Toys, Reveals She Was Told to Lose Weight for ‘Force Awakens’
“Star Wars” fans have been protesting the lack of Leia goodies for ages, and now General Leia herself is weighing in via Twitter. It’s hard to believe that one of the most iconic characters in...
12 of BFI’s Top 20 Films About Girls and Women
It’s been a good year for women at the movies, at least where the arthouse is concerned. That impression is bolstered by the British Film Institute’s list of the top 20 best films of 2015, as...
‘Inside Out’ Dominates Annie Award Nominations with 14 Nods
“Inside Out” leads this year’s Annie Award nominations. The Pixar coming-of-age film, voiced in part by Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Phyllis Smith (“The Office”), scored a whopping 14...
December 2015 Film Preview
Fitting well with the festive spirit of Christmas (if that’s your thing), December brings us a number of women-centric and female-directed films that will help end the year on a high. The...
Women Take Home Only Acting and Web Series Accolades From 2015 Gothams
A trio of actresses and a web series duo were the only creative female honorees of last night’s 25th Gotham Independent Film Awards. “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” was nominated in four...
‘Supergirl’ Picked Up for Full Season at CBS
You have a lot more “Supergirl” to look forward to. CBS has ordered an additional seven episodes of the series, bringing Season One from 13 episodes to 20. The Hollywood Reporter notes that,...
‘Motley’s Law,’ About an American Lawyer’s Fight for Afghan Human Rights, to Air on Al Jazeera Am
Nicole N. Horanyi’s “Motley’s Law,” a documentary profile of human rights lawyer Kimberley Motley, has found a new home at Al Jazeera America (AJAM). The winner of the Grand Jury Prize at...
Trailer Watch: ‘Agent Carter’ Gets a New, Violent Hobby and Relocates to LA in Season 2
Peggy Carter is back, but Season Two of “Marvel’s Agent Carter” will see the secret agent working in a new locale. Like so many mid-century dreamers and schemers, she’s moving from New York...
Reese Witherspoon to Produce Movie About Barbie Inventor Ruth Handler
Reese Witherspoon has optioned a biography about Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll. It is being considered as a starring vehicle for the Oscar-winning actress. Author Robin Gerber’s...
Jennifer Lawrence to Direct, Continues to Speak Out Against Sexism
Katniss Everdeen is reigning over the box office for the second week in a row in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2,” but we’re currently most inspired by her real-life counterpart,...
Carol Morley Wins 2015 Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Fellowship
Carol Morley has been named the 2015 Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Fellowship recipient. Best known as the writer-director of the 2014 fainting-epidemic drama “The Falling,” Morley also penned...
Weekly Update for November 25: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Janis: Little Girl Blue (Documentary) — Directed by Amy Berg (Opens November 27) Musician Cat Power narrates this documentary on Janis Joplin’s evolution...
Spirit Award Nods Announced: ‘Carol,’ ‘Tangerine,’ ‘Diary of a Teenage Girl’ and More
The nominations for the Film Independent Spirit Awards are in, and while the indie film world — including its own awards circuit — is slightly more hospitable to female filmmakers than...
Films by 15 Queer Female Filmmakers To Stream This Thanksgiving
With the prospect of a long holiday weekend surrounded by family and/or loved ones ahead, the question naturally arises of what to do with all that free time after digesting your turkey (or Tofurky,...
Listen: Women & Hollywood Podcast #21: ‘Hunger Games’ Producer Nina Jacobson
Nina Jacobson is best known as a producer of the four “Hunger Games” films, the three “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movies and FX’s “American Crime Story.” Women and Hollywood spoke with...
“The Hunting Ground,” “Meru,” “Something Better to Come” Nominated for PGA’s Top Doc Award
Two documentaries directed/co-directed by female filmmakers have been nominated for the Producers Guild of America’s nonfiction award. Hanna Polak’s “Something Better to Come,” a portrait...
THR Roundtable Actresses on Ageism, the Pay Gap and Playing “Strong Women” & Gender-Swapped Roles
Much of the response to The Hollywood Reporter’s 2015 actress roundtable, published last week, focused (rightly) on the all-white line-up. But the roundtable participants — Jennifer Lawrence,...
Trailer Watch: Samantha Bee Can’t Harness The Force in Star Wars-Themed ‘Full Frontal’ Spot
A new spot for “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” has been released, and the setting isn’t exactly what you’d associate Bee with: She’s in a galaxy far, far away from the “Daily Show”...
Isabel Coixet’s Production Company Announces 5 Upcoming Women-Directed Titles
The upcoming slate of “Learning to Drive” director Isabel Coixet’s production company, Miss Wasabi Films, has been unveiled. Among the titles will be five female-helmed features, including...
Black Female Friendship and Women’s Suffrage Revisited: November 2015’s Crowdfunding Picks
This month’s crowdfunding picks all feature women breaking glass ceilings in male-oriented fields. “Mothers of Men” is a newfound 1917 suffrage film about a woman running for governor in...
Jennifer Cho Suhr to Write/Direct Estranged Korean-American Sisters Tale ‘You & Me Both’
Jennifer Cho Suhr will make her directorial debut with “You & Me Both,” a road-trip movie about two estranged Korean-American sisters in search of their birth mother. After the death of their...
Trailer Watch: A Mom Attempts to Rejoin the Family She Abandoned in ‘Krisha’
“I have tried to become a better person,” says Krisha (Krisha Fairchild) to explain why she abandoned her family years ago. “I have stayed away while I was healing myself,” she adds...
Jennifer Cho Suhr to Write/Direct Estranged Korean-American Sisters Tale ‘You & Me Both’
Jennifer Cho Suhr will make her directorial debut with "You & Me Both," a road-trip movie about two estranged Korean-American sisters in search of their birth mother. After the death of...
Leena Yadav’s ‘Parched’ Wins Stockholm Impact Award Recognizing “Headstrong Filmmakers”
Writer-director Leena Yadav’s “Parched,” about four rural Indian women fighting against sexist traditions, has received the inaugural Stockholm Impact Award. Granted by the Stockholm...
Mainstreaming the Conversation About Discrimination Against Women Directors
The New York Times has written about Hollywood sexism before. Last year, we saw a three-part series from ManohlaDargis on the institutional discrimination against women directors in the industry. But...
‘Wonder Woman’ Movie Begins Filming
The most anticipated female superhero movie has begun production. Over the weekend, star Gal Gadot tweeted the picture above with the caption “Almost 75 years in the making… #WonderWoman is...
Amy Pascal, Elizabeth Cantillon Option Eve Babitz Memoirs for TV Adaptation
Eve Babitz’s quadrilogy of memoirs, which chronicle LA in the ’60s and ’70s from the POV of a young bohemian, has been optioned by former Sony execs Amy Pascal and Elizabeth Cantillon. TriStar...
Trailer Watch: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell Take Over the Brownie Business World in ‘The Boss’
Chicken & Egg Pictures Launches New Diversity Initiative and Announces Inaugural Fellows
Chicken & Egg Pictures, longtime champion of women directors, has launched a new diversity fellows initiative and announced its first batch of participants. The organization will support seven...
Weekly Update for November 20: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 Three years have passed since Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) fired her first arrow in “The Hunger Games.” She...
5 Women-Centric Pop Culture Essentials This Weekend
Thanksgiving is still a week away, but there’s a lot to feast on in the next few days, especially if you’re looking for female-centric entertainment. Everywhere you look — the multiplex,...
Quote of the Day: Lou Diamond Phillips Feels “Incredibly Fortunate” to Work With Women Directors
Former “Numb3ers” and current “Longmire” star Lou Diamond Phillips has had great experiences working with women directors, and he recently shared some insight into why that’s the case with...
‘Mustang’ Director Deniz Gamze Ergüven on Creating a Sisterhood, Representing France at the Oscars
“Mustang” is both a powerful coming-of-age story and a touching tribute to sisterhood. The story follows five sisters in Turkey who cause a stir in their ultra-conservative village when...
Trailer Watch: Maura Considers Gender-Reassignment Surgery in ‘Transparent’ Season 2
Apply for the Roger Ebert Fellowship for Film Criticism
During the press tour for “Suffragette,” Meryl Streep brought renewed attention to the gender lopsidedness plaguing film criticism. Here’s one way emerging female (and male) critics can get...
Listen: Women & Hollywood Podcast #20: Producers Liz Karlsen and Christine Vachon on ‘Carol’
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Trailer Watch: A Gymnastics Diva Returns Home, Refuses to Mellow Out in ‘The Bronze’
The All-White THR Actress Roundtable Is a Perfect Example of #HollywoodSoWhite
Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter postedits annual actress roundtable, and not surprisingly — but certainly disappointingly — all of the eight performers on the cover were white. Steven...