BY Women and Hollywood
Weekly Update for October 30: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Our Brand is Crisis After her Oscar-nominated performance in “Gravity,” Sandra Bullock returns to comedy in “Our Brand is Crisis,” in which she plays a...
Jennifer Lopez’s Cop Drama ‘Shades of Blue’ Gets Premiere Date
Jennifer Lopez’s “Shades of Blue,” about a Brooklyn detective forced into secretly spying on her precinct by the FBI after the agency finds her committing a crime, has gotten a premiere date...
Trailer Watch: Maggie Smith is Cranky Again in Homelessness Drama ‘The Lady in the Van’
“I’m not a beggar! I’m self-employed!” insists Miss Shepherd, played with defiant brio by Maggie Smith. But the fact remains that Miss Shepherd has only a van to call her home, despite an...
Nicole Kidman to Play Stepford Spouse in Thriller ‘The Silent Wife’
Nicole Kidman will headline a thriller about a married woman scorned in the suspense thriller “The Silent Wife.” According to a press release, Kidman will play Jodi, a dedicated wife who,...
Listen: Women and Hollywood Podcast #19: ‘The Armor of Light’ Director Abigail Disney
In “The Armor of Light,” documentarian Abigail Disney journeys to the belly of conservative America to try and understand how you can be “pro-life” and pro-gun. She tracks Reverend Rob...
What to Make of GLAAD’s New Report on the State of LGBT TV
Depending on how you look at the numbers, things are either better or still sorely lacking for LGBT characters on television. GLAAD released its annual “Where We Are On TV” report, and its...
Lionsgate Acquires ‘Dirty Thirty’ Comedy Starring Three of YouTube’s Biggest Stars
YouTube sensations Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart and Hannah Hart are reteaming to make another digital feature. Lionsgate has acquired “Dirty Thirty,” a comedy starring the stream queens. Variety...
Watch: Lena Dunham, Wendy Davis, Janet Mock and Others Pay Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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Emily Ting’s Romance “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong” to Be Released by Gravitas Ventures
Writer-director Emily Ting’s neon-lit romance between a Chinese-American woman and an American expat in Hong Kong has found a distribution deal. Gravity Ventures will release “Already Tomorrow...
Chloe Sevigny to Play Lizzie Borden in New Movie, Kristen Stewart in Talks to Co-Star
Kristen Stewart has received some of the best notices of her career playing opposite more experienced actresses like Julianne Moore in “Still Alice” and Juliette Binoche in “Clouds of Sils...
Trailer Watch: Sally Field is a Lovable Eccentric in Lust in ‘Hello, My Name is Doris’
“Hello, My Name is Doris” has been generating awards buzz for its leading lady since the film premiered at SXSW back in March. The comedy marks Sally Field’s first starring role in almost 20...
Jocelyn Moorhouse’s ‘The Dressmaker’ Leads Aussie Oscar Nominations
The nominations for the Aussie Oscars have been announced, and Jocelyn Moorhouse’s “The Dressmaker” is up for a whopping 12 awards. The revenge comedy-drama starring Kate Winslet as a...
Trailer Watch: High-School Programmer Girls Compete to Change the World in ‘CodeGirl’
Where’s TV’s Golden Age of Equal-Opportunity Sex?
George Lucas Pledges Multi-Million Diversity Endowment to USC Students
“Star Wars” helmer George Lucas is taking a big step towards a more inclusive film and television industry. The George Lucas Family Foundation has announced that $10 million dollars of its 2006...
‘Supergirl’ Ratings Soar in Biggest Fall Premiere of the Year
Looks like the public isn’t suffering superhero fatigue — or maybe they are, and that’s why they’ve embraced a superheroine so warmly. The ratings are in for CBS’s series premiere of...
Listen: Women and Hollywood Podcast #18: Journalist Anne Thompson
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Kerry Washington to Exec-Produce New Shondaland Series About Nannies
Kerry Washington and Katie Lowes are teaming up with their “Scandal” boss Shonda Rhimes, but this time around, they’ll be joining her behind the scenes. The actresses will executive produce an...
Trailer Watch: Elizabeth Bennet Won’t Give Up Her Saber in ‘Pride & Prejudice & Zombies’
A new, full-length trailer has been released for the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling novel “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” This gory take on Jane Austen’s 19th-century romance...
Rom-Com Doc ‘Meet the Patels’ to Be Remade as Rom Com for Fox Searchlight
The crowd-pleasing “Meet the Patels” is best described as a nonfiction romantic comedy. After breaking up with his girlfriend of two years because she’s not Indian, 30-year-old Ravi allows his...
Elizabeth Banks to Direct ‘Pitch Perfect 3’
Elizabeth Banks is taking the Barden Bellas to trilogy town. After making her directorial debut with “Pitch Perfect 2,” which grossed $285 million worldwide on a $29 million production budget,...
Kate Winslet to Be Honored at the British Independent Film Awards
Kate Winslet is getting another award she can store in her bathroom. The “Steve Jobs” star is set to receive The Variety Award at the 2015 Moet British Independent Film Awards on December 6. The...
Women of ‘Wild’ to Reunite for HBO Series
The stars of last year’s “Wild,” Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, are collaborating with the author of the film’s source material, Cheryl Strayed, on a HBO series. Witherspoon, Dern,...
Watch: Chicken & Egg Pictures Celebrates 10 Years of Supporting Female Filmmakers
Since its founding in 2005, Chicken & Egg Pictures has awarded nearly $4 million in grants and offered 5,200 hours of mentorship to over 190 films. And now the only non-profit film fund...
‘Bad Moms’ Gets New Title and Cast; Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Christina Applegate On Board
A moms-gone-wild project has undergone a makeover with a new title and cast. Previously named “Bad Moms,” the currently untitled comedy project is slated to star Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and...
Study: 2014’s Top 700 Films Confirm That Women Hire Women
A new study looking at the top 700 domestic films of 2014 concludes that women directed 13% of last year’s theatrical releases and demonstrates that female filmmakers are much more likelier than...
The Love of Fangirls and the Hate of Online Harassers: October 2015’s Crowdfunding Picks
While teenage girls pour their hearts out to their chosen boy band in the documentary “I Used to Be Normal,” another (as-yet-untitled) documentary spotlights the hatred certain men express...
Trailer Watch: Pakistani Musicians Preserve Their Culture and Defy the Taliban in ‘Song of Lahore’
A trailer has been released for “Song of Lahore,” Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s new documentary. The Oscar-winning co-director of 2012’s “Saving Face,” an account of two Pakistani women...
33% of 2015 Oscar-Submitted Docs Directed by Women
Of the 124 documentary features submitted for the 2016 Oscar race, 41, or exactly a third, are directed or co-directed by women. Nine of thosee 41 films are co-directed with a male helmer. Half of...
Research Shows Box-Office Hits with Female Protagonists Outearn Blockbusters With Male Leads
More data has been released comparing the box-office success of movies about women versus movies about men, and the results reinforce what we’ve been saying for ages: female-led movies not only...
Alexandra Shiva on ‘How to Dance in Ohio,’ Her Coming-of-Age Doc About Teens with Autism
“How to Dance in Ohio” is a portrait of young adults on the autism spectrum in the months leading up to a formal dance. After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, it will...
What It’s Like to Be a Woman in Film School
The following cross-post was originally published on Victoria Rozler’s blog. It has been lightly edited. For the past two days, I have been more than prepared to flex my feminist muscles. Whether...
America Ferrera Launches Production Company, Quickly Sells Two Projects
Former “Ugly Betty” star America Ferrera has launched a new production company called Take Fountain. The Emmy-winning star of the upcoming NBC comedy “Superstore” signed an overall deal with...
Where Does This Diverse Broadway Season Leave Women of Color?
Viola Davis said in her Emmy speech last month, “The onlything that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You can’twin an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.” The...
Producer Mehret Mandefro on How Her Bride-Abduction Drama ‘Difret’ Shows that Change Can Happen
In “Difret,” 14-year-old Hirut (Tizita Hagere) is kidnapped while walking home from school and forced into marriage by an older man she doesn’t know — and who’s willing to do whatever...
Trailer Watch: Krysten Ritter is an Anti-(Super)Heroine in ‘Marvel’s Jessica Jones’
A full trailer for “Marvel’s Jessica Jones” has landed, and it begins with the eponymous character telling us, “A big part of the job is looking for the worst in people. Turns out I excel at...
Reed Morano on ‘Meadowland,’ Working with Olivia Wilde and Motherhood Discrimination
When cinematographer Reed Morano was invited to join the prestigious American Society of Cinematography (ASC) in 2013, she became their youngest-ever member. The revered director of photography...
Agnieszka Holland Announces Next Feature: Polish Murder Mystery ‘Game Count’
A series of grisly murders and the “quirky old lady” the police keep coming back to in their homicide investigation will form the basis of “Game Count,” Agnieszka Holland’s next feature...
(A Celebratory) Weekly Update for October 23: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
It’s a great week for women at the movies. It’s not often that we can say that, but this lineup of new releases by and about women is well worth celebrating. The story behind women’s...
Rebecca Rhine Becomes Int’l Cinematographer Guild’s First Female Leader
Last year, women comprised just 5% of cinematographers in the top 250 grossing films — a paltry figure that actually marked an improvement from the 3% rate in 2013 and the 2% rate in 2012....
New Canadian Research Reveals a Cold Shoulder to Women in Film and TV Up North
Blame Canada. Or, at the very least, hold Canada accountable. A report released this week reveals that, like the American entertainment industry, women are still incredibly underrepresented behind...
Seeking Our Story: The Making of an Oscar Winner: Kathryn Bigelow and “Near Dark”
Kathryn Bigelowand female filmmakers in general had much to celebrate after the “Hurt Locker” director’s history-makingOscar win in 2010. But misperceptions — that Bigelow only makes...
Happy Friday: Ava DuVernay’s Glorious Speech at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards
Ava DuVernay gave one hell of a speech at the 22nd annual ELLE Women and Hollywood Awards this week. The “Selma” director, who was honored at the event, echoed Toni Morrison’s description of...
Women & Hollywood Podcast #17: ‘Suffragette’ Director Sarah Gavron
Women and Hollywood spoke with director Sarah Gavron about her new film “Suffragette,” which we endorse with the utmost enthusiasm and appreciation. Written by Abi Morgan, the historical drama...
‘Supergirl’ Bares Feminist Conflicts, Not Abs
Fernanda Coppel to Adapt Her Play About Female Sports Agent for Showtime
Showtime is bringing playwright Fernanda Coppel’s “King Liz” from the stage to the screen. Coppel will adapt her off-Broadway play, centered on fictional sports agent Liz Reco, for the premium...
Director Leslee Udwin Discusses Censored ‘India’s Daughter’ and the “Disease” of Global Rape Culture
Leslee Udwin is a British filmmaker and human rights activist. Most recently, she has written, directed and produced the critically acclaimed documentary “India’s Daughter” — a film that...
Tribeca Enterprises and Chanel Launch New Program for Women Filmmakers, Participants Announced (UPDATED)
UPDATE: Anna Martemucci won the $75,000 Tribeca Chanel grant to make her short, “One Cambodian Family Please for My Pleasure.” The deciding jury included Julianne Moore, Patricia Clarkson, Mary...
Proud and Out(spoken): LGBTQ History Month 2015’s VOD and Web Series Picks
It’s exhausting enough that women are all-too-often underrepresented and excluded on and off screen. But for queer women, this situation is exacerbated to the point where our community (writing as...
2015 Gotham Nominations: ‘Diary of a Teenage Girl,’ ‘Carol,’ ‘Tangerine’ Lead With Most Nods
The 2015–16 award season kicked off this morning with the announcement of the nominations for the 25th Gotham Independent Film Awards. Leading the pack with four nominations is Marielle...
A Scholar’s Reflections on Women Directors: Discrimination and Mentorship, Then and Now
October is WomenDirectors Month on Turner Classic Movies, and my stint as a co-host has been awonderful excuse to revisit over 100 years of women directors and their films. Forthe first 20+ years of...