BY Women and Hollywood
Athina Rachel Tsangari to Discuss Career and Screen Double Feature at Film Society of Lincoln Center
The Film Society of Lincoln Center will devote Thursday, September 17, to the career and work of Athina Rachel Tsangari, its 2015 filmmaker in residence. The FSLC’s An Evening with Athina Rachel...
Series Based on Feminist Attorney Gloria Allred in Development at CBS
A legal drama based on famed feminist attorney Gloria Allred is in the works at CBS. Written by Deborah Schoeneman (“Girls,” “The Newsroom”), the untitled show will be fictional but based...
Helena Bonham Carter to Play Literary Editor in ‘Love, Nina’ Miniseries for BBC
Helena Bonham Carter and Faye Marsay will signed on to star in the BBC television adaptation of “Love Nina,” about a young nanny who takes care of the children of the London Review of Books...
Rebels With a (Very Good) Cause: Crowdfunding Campaigns
It’s crowdfunding time again, and this week there are some ingenious projects created by and about women that deserve support. Included in our picks this week is “Free to Laugh,” a short...
Trailer Watch: Chloë Grace Moretz Goes to War with Alien Invaders in ‘The 5th Wave’
Well, this was inevitable: Chloë Grace Moretz is starring in an adaptation of a dystopian YA book. This time around, it’s Rick Yancey’s best-selling “The 5th Wave” that’s getting the...
The Year of the “Strong Women” at the 2015 London Film Fest Lineup
When we learned Sarah Gavron’s “Suffragette” would open this year’s BFI London Film Festival, we were optimistic about the rest of the lineup. The full program for the 59th edition of the...
Fall 2015 Theater Preview: A Step Backward for Women
The2015–2016 Broadway season is underway, and an uproar has already begun overthe question, Where are the women? Their absence comes after a particularlystrong spring when three female...
Trailer Watch: Eddie Redmayne & Alicia Vikander’s ‘The Danish Girl’ Chronicles Early Transgenderism
Gurinder Chadha’s Indian Independence Upstairs-Downstairs Drama “Viceroy’s House” Starts Filming
“Bend It Like Beckham” director Gurinder Chadha has begun rolling on her latest film, “Viceroy’s House.” Set in 1947 New Delhi, the upstairs-downstairs drama will chronicle the tension...
It’s time to fall madly in love with films #DirectedbyWomen
How many films #DirectedbyWomen can we celebrate in a 15-day worldwide film-viewing party? We’re about to find out. Starting September 1st, film lovers around the globe are invited to turn their...
The 10 Most Gut-Punching Moments From BuzzFeed’s Exposé on Sexism in Animation
It’s not news that the animation industry has always been a boys club, but that doesn’t make BuzzFeed’s recent longform exposé on the historical, institutional and ongoing sexism within the...
Quote of the Day: Helen Mirren: “We Have to Start Stealing the Men’s Roles”
http://www.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/tv/2015/08/29/exp-gps-mirren-sot-women.cnn
Study: Adult Women Are the Biggest Demo in Gaming
The gaming world is infamously unwelcoming towards female gamers, but it turns out that rampant misogyny in video-game culture hasn’t kept women away from their consoles. A new study shows that...
Lynn Shelton and Megan Griffiths Producing Family Drama for HBO
Lynn Shelton is joining her former mumblecore collaborators, the Duplass brothers, at HBO. The premium cable network has put into development “Family Drama,” an anthology series to be executive...
September 2015 Film Preview
September sees the premieres of a number of women-centric indie gems we’ve been waiting impatiently for while they’ve been touring the festival circuit. “Misunderstood” by Italian punk-rebel...
The 10 Most Significant (For Better or Worse) Portrayals of Trans Women in Film
It’s no secret that transgender women are having a long overdue moment in pop culture. When even the venerable Time magazine acknowledges we’ve reached a “Transgender Tipping Point,” society...
Weekly Update for August 28: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week The Second Mother — Written and Directed by Anna Muylaert August’s only film with a woman-of-color lead looks to be one of this month’s strongest...
Trailer Watch: Claire Danes Quits the CIA But Can’t Leave it Behind in ‘Homeland’ Season 5
When we last saw Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), she had quit the CIA and seemed committed to taking a more active role in raising her daughter Frannie. A trailer for season five of Showtime’s...
Trailer Watch: Malala Yousafzai is Both a Heroine for the Ages and “Still a Teenager” in New Doc
“I want people to learn from the experience I had,” says Malala Yousafzai in the trailer for “He Named Me Malala,” the upcoming documentary about one of the coolest teen rebels in history....
Angelina Jolie’s ‘By the Sea’ the First Woman-Directed Film to Open AFI Fest in At Least a Decade
“By the Sea,” Angelina Jolie’s third narrative feature as a director, will open this year’s AFI Fest (November 5–12). The drama about a husband and wife (played by Jolie Pit and her...
Listen: Women & Hollywood Podcast #16: Paul Weitz on ‘Grandma’
https://medium.com/media/5f28a898091cd20b2028ea213e89fd59/href
Profitable Personal Films: Nicole Holofcener’s ‘Walking and Talking”
In high school, I caught by chance Nicole Holofcener’s “Walking andTalking” (1996) on cable. I would turn on IFC and get glimpses of these amazingindie movies from the ’90s. I was a quiet...
‘The Second Mother’ Director Anna Muylaert on Why It Took 20 Years to Make Her Award-Winning Drama
Anna Muylaert is a Brazilian film and television director and screenwriter. Her first feature film, “Durval Discos” (2002), won seven awards at Festival de Gramado, including Best Film and Best...
Pilots from Shonda Rhimes and Julie Bowen Tackle Nuns, a Terminal Diagnosis, Mother-in-Laws in Love
Women created just 20% of all the shows during the 2013–2014 TV season. If you’re on the lookout for new series with women creators, you’ll be glad to hear three new women-created and/or...
Guest Post: From Day Job to Dream Job: How This Cupcake Girl Got a Feature Film in 6 Easy Steps
A lot ofpeople in Hollywood have a day job and work as writers, actors, directors, etc., by night. Well, I was justthe same, working at Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills, when it occurredto me...
Trailer Watch: Diane Keaton Dreams of a Perfect Christmas in ‘Love the Coopers’
For many, the holidays are laughably far from being the most wonderful time of the year. There’s nothing magical about overcrowded airports, the stress of choosing perfect gifts (and maxing out...
Cate Blanchett to Receive BFI’s Highest Honor
Cate Blanchett will be presented with a British Film Institute Fellowship, the BFI’s highest honor, at the London Film Festival’s annual awards ceremony on October 17. One of the actress’s two...
Seattle Hero Edith Macefield, Owner of the ‘Up’ House, to Get Biopic Treatment
A new biopic is in the works about Edith Macefield, the Seattle woman who became a symbol of resistance against gentrification. Macefield refused to sell her 100-year-old house to developers, who...
Anne Hathaway to Headline and Produce Alien Invasion Sci-Fi Comedy Based on Black List Screenplay
Anne Hathaway has signed on to star in and produce “The Shower,” about a baby shower that gets party-crashed by alien invaders. The sci-fi comedy — which is being compared to...
16% is Not a Win: Parsing the DGA’s Latest Stats on Women and Minority Directors in TV
“Female TV directors make gains,” proclaimed mainstream headlines following the DGA’s release yesterday of a report on female and minority directors in TV. If this is progress for women, color...
Lois Vossen to Lead PBS Doc Series ‘Independent Lens’
Longtime “Independent Lens” supervisor Lois Vossen has been promoted to executive producer of the PBS documentary series. This new role means that Vossen will be among the top-ranking overseers...
Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence Writing Comedy Screenplay Together
While on the press tour for the final “Hunger Games” movie, Jennifer Lawrence revealed that she and Amy Schumer, who first met just a couple of months ago, have been working on a comedy...
Lorene Scafaria’s ‘The Meddler’ Picked Up in Advance of TIFF Premiere
Looks like TIFF 2015 is going to be a victory dance for writer-director Lorene Scafaria. Sony Pictures Classics has bought the rights to “The Meddler,” Scafaria’s follow up to her directorial...
Marti Noxon Developing High-Stakes Soap Opera Set in NYC’s Restaurant Scene for Fox
Marti Noxon continues to expand her TV empire. While heading Lifetime’s “UnReal” and “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce,” Noxon has been EPing Marcia Gay Harden’s upcoming medical drama...
Lesbian Mobsters and Google’s Next Big Thing: August 2015’s VOD and Web Series Picks
Girls just want to have fun, but how much fun is it the next day, waking up with a massive hangover and no recollection on how one ended up on a lawn, in a bathtub or on a boat in the middle of the...
Kari Lizer’s Girls’ Soccer Comedy ‘Dream Team’ Sold to ABC
TV comedy vets Kari Lizer and Bill Wrubel have received a pilot production commitment from ABC for their new single-cam series set in the world of girls’ soccer. Written and EP’d by Lizer and...
TIFF Announces In-Depth Convos with Moore, Hayek, Silverman; Adds Women-Centric Series of Talks
TIFF 2015 is just over two weeks away, and the festival is still releasing a steady stream of announcements. Earlier today, the fest revealed the lineup for the In Conversations With… program,...
NYFF ’15: World Premieres from Laura Poitras, Docs About Nora Ephron, Ingrid Bergman, Kitty Genovese
The 2015 edition of the New York Film Festival (September 25 to October 11) will host the world premiere of Laura Poitras’ follow-up to her Oscar-winning documentary “CITIZENFOUR,” as well as...
Trailer Watch: Meryl Streep Narrates ‘Shout Gladi Gladi’ Doc About Maternal Care for African Women
The trailer for “Shout Gladi Gladi,” a new doc narrated by Meryl Streep, includes a startling statistic: In Africa, one in 39 women die during childbirth. “Shout Gladi Gladi” focuses on the...
Niki Caro to Direct Jessica Chastain in Holocaust Drama ‘The Zookeeper’s Wife”
Director Niki Caro seems to have put her Maria Callas biopic (to star Noomi Rapace) on hold to helm “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” based on the historical best-seller by Diane Ackerman. Featuring...
An Open Letter to Colin Trevorrow
Dear Colin, Congratulations on the huge box-office success of “Jurassic World” this summer. It must feel good to be the king of the world. Interestingly, while you said several months ago that...
Internet Uproar Prompts NY Theater to Announce Woman-Written Play Early
The Manhattan Theatre Club has been announcing its season piecemeal since December, but an uproar over the lineup caused the company to reveal the play filling its final spot before contracts have...
Embracing Gender and Racial Diversity Pays Off (And Then Some) for Universal Pictures
Summer’s big success story isn’t just “Straight Outta Compton,” which topped the box office for the second week in a row this past weekend, but also its studio, Universal Pictures. Without...
Jasmila Zbanic Reveals Info About Her Upcoming Srebrenica Massacre Film
Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic has revealed what to expect from her upcoming drama about the Srebrenica massacre, a genocide that took place during the Bosnian War in that country’s eastern...
Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers Developing Divorce Comedy for ABC With ‘Trophy Wife’ Creators
Divorced women may be TV’s next big trend. Lifetime has renewed Marti Noxon’s “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce,” starring Lisa Edelstein, while Sarah Jessica Parker will make her...
Flying Headscarves, Trans Dating, and Plus-Size Models: Crowdfunding Projects of August 2015
The dating lives of transgender women. An Arab-American girl searching forfreedom on her motorcycle. Plus-size models rebelling against size-zero tyranny.If you want to see films about women defying...
Jocelyn Towne and Simon Helberg Sign Deal With Warner Bros. TV
The husband-and-wife team of writer-director-actress Jocelyn Towne and “Big Bang Theory” star Simon Helberg has signed an exclusive two-year deal with Warner Bros. TV. Via their Wildline...
Weekly Update for August 21: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This WeekGrandma — Women and Hollywood’s Pick of the Week It’s Lily Tomlin’s year: She received an Emmy nomination for the first season of her Netflix series...
Quote of the Day: Maisie Williams Is Fed Up With Female Characters Being Just the “Hot Piece”
Last month, “Game of Thrones” star Maisie Williams declared, “It’s time for society to stop telling girls what they should and shouldn’t do.” In a new interview with the Evening...
Adrianne Palicki to Star as Mockingbird in ABC’s ‘Marvel’s Most Wanted’
Former “Friday Night Lights” actress Adrianne Palicki is set to star in a new Marvel series on ABC. The alphabet network has given a pilot order for “Marvel’s Most Wanted,” which will give...
Win an Online Master Class with BAFTA-Winning Director Amma Asante
BAFTA-winning director Amma Asante is offering three emerging women directors the opportunity to take part in a master class with her. Asante helmed the wondrous period romance “Belle” and the...