BY Women and Hollywood
Disney’s New CFO Is the Company’s Highest-Ranking Woman Ever
Disney exec Christine McCarthy is breaking quite a few barriers on her way to the top. Last week she was promoted and became the company’s first-ever female CFO. In her new position, McCarthy...
Say Hello to the Next Phase of Hello Kitty’s World Domination: A Feature Film
Hello Kitty is moving on up in the world, with her very own feature film in the works. Japanese parent company Sanrio is planning a worldwide release of a Hello Kitty film for 2019 with a budget...
Hollywood Turd of the Day: Michael Eisner
Michael Eisner, formerly of Disney, formerly of CAA, currently irrelevant, decided to do what so many men in Hollywood do — stick his foot in his mouth. He knew he was going to get in trouble...
Ava DuVernay Will Not Be Directing ‘Black Panther’ for Marvel
I wasn’t very surprised to read this weekend that Ava DuVernay will not be directing a Marvel movie. Quite frankly, to me, it always seemed like wishful thinking. While last week there were lots...
Katniss Everdeen, Art Heroines and Geek Fashion: Women and Hollywood’s 2015 Comic-Con Preview
Comic-Con is an unavoidable beast, and I use the word “beast” with great affection. Even if you’re not especially into geek-flavored pop culture, the convention is almost certainly on your...
Weekly Update for July 3: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening Amy (Documentary) Despite just two albums to her name, Amy Winehouse is one of the biggest music icons in British history. With a voice oft described as a combination of...
Trailer Watch: Katherine Heigl Doesn’t Let her Family Stop Her Gay Marriage in ‘Jenny’s Wedding’
Lesbian progress on the big screen has come a long way, which may be why “Jenny’s Wedding,” which stars Katherine Heigl and Alexis Bledel as lovers on the verge of tying the knot despite...
July 2015’s New & Noteworthy Women-Created VOD/Webseries: Black Actresses, Desperate Delivery Girls
Both of our VOD picks of the week happen to skew dramatic, focusing on the importance of relationships, be it with your community or your family. Filmmaker Monika Truet’s coming-of-age story “Of...
Films By Women Featured in ‘Indie 80s’ Program by NYC’s BAMcinématek and Cinema Conservancy
BAMcinématek and Cinema Conservancy are teaming up to present Indie 80s, a survey of women-directed films from “the rough-and-tumble early days of modern American independent cinema” that...
Amy Schumer and the Freedom to Be an A — hole
Listen: Women and Hollywood Podcast #14: Liz Garbus on Nina Simone’s Dreams, Talent and Popularity
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Another Bastion of Maledom in Hollywood: Stuntmen Groups
A view of Hollywood’s antiquated gender roles is beginning to take shape, with popular actresses and industry members calling out the lack of childcare, equal pay and diverse roles for women....
July 2015’s New & Noteworthy Women-Created VOD/Webseries: Black Actresses, Desperate Delivery Girls
Both of our VOD picks of the week happen to skew dramatic, focusing on the importance of relationships, be it with your community or your family. Filmmaker Monika Truet’s coming-of-age...
Guest Post: Making Films for and About Canadian Native Women — And Competing at Karlovy Vary FF
SoniaBonspille Boileau is the first female director ofCanadian native origins (Mohawk) to have her debut feature premiere at a majorinternational festival. “Le Dep” premieres this Saturday, July...
Carol Leifer to Adapt Her Memoir ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying’ for TV
Four-time Emmy nominee Carol Leifer will turn her life writing TV comedy into, well, a TV comedy. The stand-up comedienne AND “Modern Family” and “Devious Maids” writer will adapt her 2014...
Watch: Leslye Headland, Jacqueline Bisset, Others Discuss Gender and Hollywood at Nantucket Festival
This past weekend at the Nantucket Film Festival, EPIX presented a panel called Women Behind The Words that offered “stories from Hollywood’s frontlines.” Mystelle Brabbée, the executive...
Misty Copeland Becomes American Ballet Theater’s First Black Female Principal Dancer
Misty Copeland continues to change the face of ballet. On Tuesday, America’s best-known ballerina became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer at the 75-year-old...
Emmy-Winning Screenwriter Abi Morgan to Adapt Reese Witherspoon-Produced ‘Ashley’s War’
Abi Morgan — the Emmy- and BAFTA-winning screenwriter behind “The Iron Lady,” “Shame,” “The Hour,” “The Invisible Woman” and the upcoming “Suffragette” (and that’s just...
ArcLight Cinemas Spotlights “Exceptional” Women-Directed Docs in Summer Series
Four nonfiction films directed or co-directed by women have been selected to be screened as part of ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood’s summer series on female filmmakers. Starting Tuesday, July 7, the...
ACLU to Meet With Government Agencies to Discuss Bias Against Women Directors
Here’s some progress: The ACLU has announced that it will meet next month with the three government agencies it asked to investigate gender discrimination in the film and TV industries. Melissa...
Trailer Watch: A Female Friendship Shatters Apart and Destroys Everything Around It in ‘Breathe’
As much as we love movies about female friendships, let’s get real — sometimes they fall apart, especially when teenagers are involved. In “Breathe,” French actress Melanie Laurent’s...
No Women Directors for ‘Game of Thrones’ Seasons 5–6, Mostly Women Directors for ‘Transparent’ Season 2
Jeremy Podeswa, Daniel Sackheim, Jack Bender, Mark Mylod and Miguel Sapochnik have been announced as the directors of “Game of Thrones” Season 6, with each helming two episodes each next year....
Cynthia Nixon to Direct Staceyann Chin’s Play ‘MotherStruck,’ Rosie O’Donnell to Produce
Staceyann Chin’s “MotherStruck,” an autobiography on stage of the playwright and performer’s journey toward motherhood as a single black lesbian, will make its world premiere at NYC’s...
Trailer Watch: Comedienne Tig Notaro Fights Cancer and Heartbreak with Humor in Netflix Doc
2012 was a hell of a year for Grammy-nominated comedienne Tig Notaro. After steadily growing her fanbase and platform over the span of her career, Notaro was busier professionally than ever before....
Issa Rae’s HBO Comedy ‘Insecure’ Finds Pilot Director in Melina Masoukas
Issa Rae’s transition from YouTube to prime time continues. Rae’s HBO comedy “Insecure” has found a pilot director in music-video helmer Melina Masoukas. “Insecure” will mark...
Women Are 25% of Academy’s New Members; Only Three Female Filmmakers Invited to Directors Branch
Since women are pushing for seats on the Academy board in record-breaking numbers, we hoped that, after being faced with a whole lot of very warranted criticism, the Academy would show an effort to...
Claire Denis to Team Up With Zadie Smith for Futuristic Space Adventure
French film icon Claire Denis will direct an untitled sci-fi adventure set in a “future that seems like the present” based on a screenplay by Zadie Smith and her husband Nick Laird. The project...
Catherine Hardwicke to Direct $50 Mil China-Set Romantic Epic
Mark this in the Mixed Blessings column: Catherine Hardwicke, one of Hollywood’s few women studio directors and a vocal proponent on behalf of female filmmakers, has just landed her biggest...
July 2015 Film Preview
July brings us heat waves and hyped films, with reboots of big action franchises (“Terminator: Genisys”), projects that are predicted to bring a star on the cusp to full-blown supernova status...
Watch: Earth Has a New Hero in Extended Promo for ‘Supergirl’
A new 2-minute trailer for CBS’s “Supergirl” concludes with Kara Danvers/Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) proclaiming, “Earth doesn’t have just one hero anymore.” When Supergirl swoops onto...
More of June 2015’s Noteworthy Women-Centric Crowdfunding Projects: Black Beauty, Life After Death
This week’s featured women-centric crowdfunding projects may differ in style, message, and tone, but each one focuses on the self. Whether it’s finding the person you are or leaving behind the...
Weekly Update for June 26: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week A Little Chaos — Co-Written by Alison Deegan A drama following Sabine (Kate Winslet), a strong-willed and talented landscape designer who is chosen to build...
Women Push For Seats On the Academy Board In Record-Breaking Numbers: DuVernay, Cholodenko & More
Oscar voters are predominantly old white men. This year’s very white and male-dominated Oscars were an ugly reminder of the Academy’s lopsided constituency. This year, women in Hollywood are...
Watch: Amy Everson Asks Her Friend to Be Her Superhero Sidekick in Eerie, Heartbreaking ‘Felt’ Clip
There’s probably a much better way of asking your friend to join you in making the world a better place than prancing around in the woods with a giant rubber schlong swinging out of your...
Ten Lesbian Films for Pride Month That Show How Far We’ve Come
We’ve come a long way, baby. As celebrations continue across the country for LGBT Pride Month (especially after the Supreme Court decision making gay marriage legal in all fifty states), it’s a...
Trailer Watch: Sex Addicts Fall in Uneasy Love in Leslye Headland’s ‘Sleeping With Other People’
Romance blooms between a serial cheater and a womanizer in the trailer for “Sleeping with Other People,” the latest offering from “Bachelorette” writer-director Leslye Headland. More than a...
Cinedigm to Distribute Olivia Wilde Tragedy ‘Meadowland’
“Frozen River” and “The Skeleton Twins” cinematographer Reed Morano’s directorial debut, “Meadowland,” has been acquired by Cinedigm. The film will be released in October. Starring...
‘Blackfish’ Helmer Gabriela Cowperthwaite to Make Narrative Debut with Action-Thriller ‘The Search’
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite (“Blackfish”) is returning to nature in her narrative feature debut. The documentary filmmaker will helm “The Search,” an action-thriller based on a Black...
Watch: Margaret Cho Imagines Women Running Hollywood in New Funny or Die Skit
Comedy pioneer Margaret Cho has reimagined Hollywood as a girl’s club in a bitingly hilarious new video for Funny or Die. The former “Drop Dead Diva” star’s skit takes place in a writer’s...
Trailer Watch: A Preteen Contemplates Tradition and TV Stardom in Alice Rohrwacher’s ‘The Wonders’
Alice Rohrwacher’s “The Wonders” was one of two female-directed films to compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year. The coming-of-age story, set in the quiet and beautiful Umbrian...
Rose McGowan Clarifies Claim She Was Dropped by Agents for Speaking Out Against Sexism (UPDATED)
Newcomer Rebecca Thomas to Direct Adaptation of John Green’s ‘Looking for Alaska’
It’s not often that a fledgling female filmmaker is given the reins to even a mid-budget studio pic, so news that up-and-comer Rebecca Thomas will helm “The Fault in Our Stars” author John...
Jill Soloway Gets Third Season of ‘Transparent,’ Exclusive Development Deal from Amazon
Amazon Studios is smartly deciding to do more business with its best creative mind. The up-and-comer in the original-programming arena has signed off on a third season of “Transparent,” as well...
“There Aren’t Any Civil Rights”: The Sad, Topical “What Happened, Miss Simone?”
Gina Rodriguez to Write Book of Her Father’s Advice
When Gina Rodriguez won a Golden Globe earlier this year for her performance on CW’s “Jane the Virgin,” she dedicated a part of her thank-you speech to her dad. “My father used to tell me to...
NYC Readers: You’re Invited to a Screening of Kimberly Levin’s Acclaimed Directorial Debut ‘Runoff’
The Fox Global Directors Initiative is hosting a special screening of Kimberly Levin’s “Runoff” on Saturday, June 27, at the Village Cinema Theatre in NYC, and Women and Hollywood’s readers...
Trailer Watch: Naomi Kawase’s Palme d’Or Contender ‘Still the Water’
Guest Post: It Starts With a Pronoun
On June 23, my documentary, “A Self-Made Man,” aired onAmerica Reframed. After a successful festival run, this was its broadcast premiere. I used to get quite nervous when I had to speak about...
Trend of Women-in-War Films Continues With Planned Adaptation of Air Force Memoir ‘Shoot Like a Girl’
Expect to see more leading ladies in uniform over the next couple of years. After facing off with a number of other interested parties, TriStar Pictures has secured the film rights to Air Force...
Senator Barbara Boxer Fights for Women Directors
Outgoing senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) got involved in the cause for women directors earlier this week by praising Warner Bros. for hiring longtime producer Denise Di Novi to direct the female-led...
Meryl Streep Urges Congress to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
Meryl Streep is working to get the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) back on Congress’s agenda. The actress sent every House rep and senator a letter asking for the legislative body to (finally) make...