BY Women and Hollywood
Why Disney’s Live-Action ‘Mulan’ is So Promising
Guest Post: ‘Younger’: From Novel to TV Show in 527 Easy Steps
The following post was originally published in April 2014. “Younger” debuts today at 10 PM on TV Land. Exactly two years ago today, I got an email from my agent Melissa Flashman at Trident...
Watch: “Be Your Own Hero” During Women’s History Month (and Every Other Month)
Kering to Launch ‘Women in Motion’ Awards and Discussion Series at Cannes
Over the years, the Cannes Film Festival has developed a reputation for not including enough women directors. The years 2010 and 2012 saw no female filmmakers in competition, and only one woman...
Angelina Jolie at Kids’ Choice Awards: “Different is Good”
In her first public appearance since penning an op-ed for the New York Times about her medical decision to remove her ovaries, Angelina Jolie revealed more of her struggles while accepting the award...
Keira Knightley: “Where Are the Female Stories? Where Are the [Women] Directors and Writers?”
Keira Knightley has spoken out once again about the adverse consequences of the film industry’s gender-lopsidedness. “Where are the female stories?” she asked rhetorically in a new interview...
Malala Yousafzai Doc ‘He Named Me Malala’ to be Released by Fox Searchlight
Malala Yousafzai is the subject of a new nonfiction portrait by Oscar-winning documentarian Davis Guggenheim (“Waiting for ‘Superman,’” “An Inconvenient Truth”). Yousafzai became the...
Gillian Flynn to Co-Pen Steve McQueen’s Female Heist Thriller ‘Widows’
Novelist and screenwriter Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) has been tapped to co-pen Steve McQueen’s next film alongside the director. The two will collaborate on the big-screen adaptation of the...
Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep’s ‘Suffragette’ Gets Awards-Friendly Oct. 23 Release Date
“Suffragette” has received an awards-friendly US release date of October 23. Starring Carey Mulligan with Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep, and Anne-Marie Duff in supporting roles, the drama...
Trailer Watch: A Small Town Implodes in the US Spot for JK Rowling’s HBO Miniseries ‘Casual Vacancy’
Weekly Update for March 27: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Women and Hollywood Pick of the Week: 52 Tuesdays — Directed and Co-Written by Sophie Hyde (Opening in New York) Sophie Hyde’s ambitious directorial debut...
What I Learned in India, Part 2: Pune and Mumbai
From my latest Forbes post on the second leg of my State Department trip to India as an American Film Showcase envoy: “The young women (and men) we met — as I said, we were meeting lots of...
Saoirse Ronan and Cynthia Nixon’s Kidnapping Drama “Stockholm, Pennsylvania” to Air on Lifetime
In a clear example of how the distribution market is changing everyday, Nikole Beckwith’s Sundance drama “Stockholm, Pennsylvania” has been slated for a run on the Lifetime channel. Starring...
Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Talks to Produce and Star in ‘Force Majeure’ Remake
National treasure Julia Louis-Dreyfus is planning her big-screen follow-up to “Enough Said.” The actress has been killing it for the past three years on HBO’s “Veep,” of course, which...
Viola Davis and Catalina Sandino Moreno to Star in Big-Screen Legal Drama ‘Custody’
Oscar nominees Viola Davis and Catalina Sandino Moreno are heading to the big screen in the courtroom drama “Custody.” Davis will star as a family-court judge who is deeply affected by one of...
Composer Jeanine Tesori on Her Artistic Process and Rewarding Female Ambition
Cross-posted with permission from The Interval.We want Jeanine Tesori to be our life coach. Really. And not just for the obvious reasons, like that Jeanine holds the most Tony nominations for...
Bullock, Jolie, Lawrence, and McCarthy Among Hollywood’s Highest-Paid Movie Stars
The salaries of Hollywood’s highest paid movie stars have been revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, and fortunately the picture being painted is not entirely one of a boys’ club. After surveying...
Cate Blanchett is Unsurprised by Female-Driven Successes, Hollywood’s Pay Gap
Cate Blanchett is optimistic about the future of women in Hollywood. The famously outspoken actress believes that we are closer to achieving gender equality in the movie business — a change...
SXSW Film Head Janet Pierson Puts Her Stamp on the Austin Festival
In 2009, Janet Pierson took over the South by Southwest Film Festival from longtime fest head Matt Dentler, stepping boldly into her new role — but not without a little trepidation. Dentler,...
Sam Taylor-Johnson Exits ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Franchise
After making “Fifty Shades of Grey” Universal’s eighth highest-grossing film ever, director Sam Taylor-Johnson has announced her decision not to return for the bondage-romance sequels. The...
Sutton and the City in ‘Younger’
Trailer Watch: Female Friendship is the Be All and Especially the End All in Melanie Laurent’s ‘Breathe’
Ronit Elkabetz to Serve as President of Cannes’ Critics’ Week
Ronit Elkabetz, the star and co-director of “Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem,” will preside over Cannes’ Critics’ Week jury. She follows British filmmaker Andrea Arnold in the position....
Distribution Deals: Milla Jovovich’s “Alchemy,” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Climbing Doc “Meru”
Two action thrillers with women in prominent roles have found distribution. Milla Jovovich’s latest vehicle, about a diplomat on the run after being framed, has been acquired by Alchemy. Set in...
Two New Films About Girls — One a Dystopian Sci-Fi, the Other a Gritty Indie — Announced
Two vastly different films about girls will begin shooting soon. The UK-based Altitude Film Sales will adapt Mike Carey’s bestselling novel “The Girl With All the Gifts,” about a 10-year-old...
Elizabeth Banks Chosen as CinemaCon’s Breakthrough Filmmaker of the Year
Elizabeth Banks, who will make her feature directorial debut with “Pitch Perfect 2,” has been named CinemaCon’s Breakthrough Filmmaker of the Year. CinemaCon is the official convention for...
Singer Robyn Launches Tech Festival for Girls
Swedish dance-pop singer Robyn, best known for her 1997 singles “Do You Know (What It Takes)” and “Show Me Love,” has announced that she’ll inaugurate a tech festival for teenage girls....
Trailer Watch: ‘Armor of Light’ Explores the Intersection of Gun Culture and Evangelical Christianity
“Almost two children are killed every week in unintentional shootings,” wrote Reverend Rob Schenck in an USA Today editorial earlier this year. “The presence of a gun in the homes of women and...
Gina Rodriguez: “I Am Constantly Being Told, ‘You’re Not Skinny Enough. You’re Not Ethnic Enough’”
“I work in an industry where I am constantly being told, ‘You’re not skinny enough. You’re not tall enough. You’re not ethnic enough,’” reveals Gina Rodriguez, the titular star of...
Tribeca Film Institute All Access Grant Herald New Projects From Haifaa al-Mansour, Lana Wilson
“Wadjda” director Haifaa al-Mansour and “After Tiller” co-director Lana Wilson were among this year’s 15 awardees for the Tribeca Film Institute All Access grant. The program provides cash...
History Lesson: Female Superheroes Were Not Created to Excite Men
Comic book writer B. Clay Moore is urging fans of comics to revisit the history of female superheroes and their costumes. Best known for the “Hawaiian Dick” series, Moore wrote a Facebook post...
SXSW 2015 Roundup: Field, Schumer, and Garcia Gave Austin Fest “More Girl Power Than Ever”
As the sun sets on this year’s SXSW, the time has come to reflect on some of the biggest stories — and winners — to come out of the film festival, which Variety claimed “had more...
Paramount Options Jasmine Warga’s YA Novel About Suicide Pacts
If you thought “The Fault in Our Stars” required a box of tissues, gird your heart for Jasmine Warga’s “My Heart And Other Black Holes.” Paramount has bought the rights to the...
Sony to Adapt Broadway’s ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ into Movie
Broadway’s “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” will soon be translated for the multiplex. The stage production focuses on King’s early career and includes songs like “Will You Love Me...
‘Insurgent’ Opens With $101 Million Intl’l Box Office, Continues 2015’s Trend of Female-Centric Hits
Female moviegoers have made “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Cinderella,” and now “Insurgent” the three biggest live-action openings of the year so far. The “Divergent” sequel raked in $54...
‘Pretty Woman’ at 25: 10 Reasons Why This R-rated Cinderella Still Works Its Magic
The two biggest box-office openings so far in 2015 are a pair of fantasies aimed squarely at the female movie-going population: “Cinderella” and “Fifty Shades of Grey.” That their main...
Disney Channel Developing TV Movie About Pitcher Mo’Ne Davis
Mo’Ne Davis, the 13-year-old who became the first girl ever to pitch in the Little League World Series, will be the subject of a Disney Channel movie. The inspirational “Throw Like Mo” will...
Weekly Update for March 20: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week The Divergent Series: Insurgent “Insurgent” raises the stakes for Tris as she searches for allies and answers in the ruins of a futuristic Chicago. Tris...
Ann Hui Wins Multiple Hong Kong Directors’ Guild Awards for ‘The Golden Era’
The Hong Kong Directors’ Guild named Ann Hui Best Director in an awards ceremony Thursday night for her war biopic “The Golden Era.” The picture also won the Best Film and Best Actress...
Anonymous Actress Stands Up To Hollywood for Sexist Casting Practices
An actress using the pseudonym Miss L has launched a project targeting sexist casting calls and exposing the pressure she and her female colleagues face to appear in nude scenes. Miss L has chosen...
Ashley Judd and New SXSW Doc ‘GTFO’ Battle Misogynistic Trolls
Warning: This post contains graphic language about sexual violence. Ashley Judd is firing back against misogyny in the Twittersphere. In a brave and revealing essay for Identities.Mic, the...
Noteworthy Women-Centric VOD Films and Webseries
The internet has revolutionized the way that stories can be told and who can tell them. Easy access to audiences and the capability to make a product available with just a single upload have opened...
Guest Post: Meet Sally Pacholok, the Next Erin Brockovich
In 2012, I bought the life-story rights of a nurse who took on the medicalestablishment when she uncovered an epidemic of misdiagnoses. I had alwayswanted to produce a feature film, and I finally...
Amy Schumer to Receive CinemaCon’s Breakthrough Performer Award
Amy Schumer, star and screenwriter of “Trainwreck,” has been selected as CinemaCon’s Breakthrough Performer of the Year. Schumer is set to receive the award at Caesars Palace on April 23....
Writer Annie Neal to Transform Agatha Christie into a Swashbuckling Sleuth in Action-Adventure Film
What do Sherlock Holmes, Abraham Lincoln, and Agatha Christie have in common? They’re all big-screen action heroes in period drapery, at least if Paramount’s “Agatha” makes it to theaters....
Trailer Watch: Hailee Steinfeld is a Trained Assassin with a Curfew in ‘Barely Lethal’
In the international trailer for “Barely Lethal,” Hailee Steinfeld shows true grit as an orphan who attends a special school dedicated to training its young students to kill. The “Pitch...
Biopic of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Development
A movie about the personal and political lives of Angela Merkel, the popular leader of Germany, is been slated for a 2017 release. The biopic will hit theaters during an election year, in which...
Quote of the Day: Sally Field: “They Don’t Write Roles for Women of Age and Women of Color”
Sally Field spoke candidly about the lack of roles for women — particularly older women and women of color — in Hollywood during a recent interview with Variety. The Oscar-winning...
Sarah Polley, Amy Pascal to Team Up for ‘Little Women’ Remake
“Little Women” is headed back to theaters, this time with a script from Sarah Polley and the producing might of Amy Pascal. Two decades after director Gillian Armstrong’s retelling of Louisa...
‘One Big Happy:’ Lesbians Can Be Lame, Too
Novelist Louise Erdrich to be Honored by Library of Congress
Louise Erdrich will be awarded this year’s Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. The renowned author is perhaps best known for her novels “Love Medicine” and “The Round House,”...