BY Women and Hollywood
The Big O: The Oscar Season Kicks Off
Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Big O, Women & Hollywood’s new Oscar column. Not that there is any lack of web outlets that engage in prognostication and updates on the status of...
2013 BFI London Film Festival Unveils Full Lineup
The programme for the 2013 BFI London Film Festival has been announced to great fanfare in Leicester Square. When it comes to women filmmakers, the news is as usual a bit scarce, but there...
Sarah Siegel-Magness to Direct Castro’s Daughter
Sarah Siegel-Magness will direct Castro’s Daughter, based on the memoir written by Alina Fernandez. She will be replacing Michael Radford on the project. Fernandez was born in 1956,...
Women and Hollywood Events in Toronto 2013
I’m heading up to the Toronto Film Festival for the third time and again the anxiety of creating a decent schedule has set in. We will have a new feature on the site this year –...
You Can Decide – The European Film Awards People’s Choice Award
The European Film Academy has announced the nominees for its People’s Choice Award, the winners of which will be feted at the EFA ceremony on 7th December in Berlin. Academy Award winning...
Trailer Watch: Divergent – Starring Shailene Woodley
The first trailer for Divergent, based on the first novel in Veronica Roth’s trilogy, was released last week. Starring Shailene Woodley as Beatrice “Tris” Prior, the film is set...
Happy Birthday Women and Hollywood – This is What 6 Looks Like
I can’t believe it but Women and Hollywood is entering its 7th year. (And for the record I got a little bit ahead of myself – it’s our 6th birthday and we are going into our...
The Weinstein Company Acquires Women Centric Tracks
The Weinstein Company, as of late, has been nabbing some high profile women centric titles. In May, they picked up the Judi Dench starrer, Philomena, about a woman who looks for the son she was...
Dakota Johnson to Star in Fifty Shades of Grey
The highly anticipated casting news of who will play Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey in the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation was announced yesterday. Dakota Johnson, of Fox’s...
While We Were Away…Some Links of Interest
Here are some links from when we were away that might interest people: Summer Stories Hollywood is in Trouble, and We’re All Going to Pay (New Republic) Good News And Bad News Of 2013 Summer...
Inspirational Woman of the Day: Diana Nyad
There is no better way to start the fall off than with a dose of some serious inspiration. Diana Nyad, on her fifth attempt (the first one was in 1978), accomplished a lifelong dream —...
Weekly Update for August 23 & 30: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Check out the women centric, directed and written films playing near you in the next two weeks. Films About Women Opening This Weekend August 23: Short Term 12 ...
Summer’s Final Thoughts: Wonder Woman, Strong Women, Indie Women and All the Women in Between
This summer will be remembered for, among other things, the fact that male superheroes and male non superheroes were practically all the we saw onscreen. For all the box office fatigue —...
Interview with Jill Soloway – Writer and Director of Afternoon Delight
Women and Hollywood got the chance to interview Jill Soloway about her film Afternoon Delight, which she wrote and directed. Afternoon Delight opens in theaters on August 30th. Women...
Cross Post: Meet The Butler’s Powerhouse Producer
Sheila Johnson is a highly successful businesswoman, entrepreneur, producer, and philanthropist, with achievements and accolades far too numerous to list. I have the honor of serving on the...
Listless Women and Life Realizations in The Lifeguard and Afternoon Delight
Entering into the late twenties–one becomes increasingly accustomed to seeing life’s so-called major plot points swelling around them–high school reunions, careers,...
Trailer Watch: The Book Thief
The Book Thief, based on Marcus Zusak’s bestselling novel, follows a young foster girl, Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) living with her foster parents outside Munich during the horrors of WWII. Liesel...
SXSW Rerun: Interview with Brie Larson – Star of Short Term 12
Originally published on March 26. Short Term 12 is in theaters today. Short Term 12 , written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, was hands down one of my favorite films I saw at SXSW....
Interview with Liz W. Garcia – Writer and Director of The Lifeguard
Women and Hollywood got the chance to speak to Liz W. Garcia, writer and director of The Lifeguard, which opens in theaters on August 30th. The film is also available on ITunes now. Women and...
GLAAD Releases First Annual Studio Responsibility Index
GLAAD, the nation’s leading LGBT media advocacy organization, released their first annual Studio Responsibility Index, which looks at the quantity, quality and diversity of images of LGBT...
Trailer Watch: Plush – Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
As of late, there hasn’t been much news about Catherine Hardwicke’s upcoming, Plush, her first film since 2011’s Red Riding Hood. This week, a trailer and stills for the film...
TV Pilot Roundup for August 22: New Shows from Rashida Jones, Lauren Graham and Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland
Here’s some of the most notable news from this week about TV pilot pickups. Lauren Graham’s adaptation of her YA novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe, has been picked up by The CW. ABC has...
Trailer Watch: Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters
Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters is the latest in paranormal YA adaptations wanting to take the spot Twilight once held. Adapted from Richelle Mead’s bestselling series, the film follows Rose...
Guest Post: For Life
In my country, a female director is a rare exception (but fortunately not for long). In the Middle-East, some consider that a miracle and others a heresy. On the set of Inch’Allah,...
Up and Comer to Watch: MJ Delaney
MJ Delaney came to our attention as the precocious directing talent behind a parody of Alicia Key’s New York State of Mind – the young filmmaker (25) scored over 2 million hits...
Patricia Clarkson as Katha Pollitt in Isabel Coixet’s Learning to Drive
Patricia Clarkson will play writer Katha Pollitt in Learning to Drive, a film based on Pollitt’s 2002 essay in The New Yorker. The film directed by Isabel Coixet and adapted by Sarah...
Cross Post: Legendary Passed On Red Reaper Because It Has a Female Action Hero
When Tara Cardinal’s labor of love and sweat and tears, the fantasy/action feature Legend of the Red Reaper, was written, it was shopped at various distributors and production...
Watch This: Say Yes – Directed by Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay has had a huge year so far–winning awards for Middle of Nowhere and being invited to join the Academy. That doesn’t even touch upon DuVernay’s increasingly prolific...
There is Still Time to Submit Your Film to the Athena Film Festival
This summer I have had the privilege with working with three amazing young Barnard students — Jo Chiang, Lili Safron and Caroline Moore — who have been helping me find the movies that we...
The 99ers Premieres Tonight on ESPN
I am a product of Title IX. I grew up playing soccer. It was the late 70s and early 80s and pretty much everyone I knew played soccer so I thought all girls did. It wasn’t...
Forbes Names Women and Hollywood One of the 100 Best Websites for Women
Here’s some great news. Women and Hollywood was just named one of the 100 Best Websites for Women by Forbes. We are incredibly honored and humbled by this honor for the third year...
Tina Fey Nabs Second TV Deal in One Week
As we reported last week, NBC picked up a comedy produced by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock from 30 Rock writer Colleen McGuinness–a workplace set comedy about a young woman who is looking to...
Trailer Watch: Una Noche – Written and Directed by Lucy Mulloy
Lucy Mulloy’s feature debut (she previously directed the short documentary This Morning) is Una Noche. The film centers on Raul (Dariel Arrechaga) who is desperate to leave Havana to go and...
The Women Directed Films at 2013 New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival announced their 2013 main lineup. New films from Catherine Breillat, Claire Denis and Agnieszka Holland are in the line up. Of the 32 films in the lineup (not including...
Director Laura Poitras Is at the Center of the Biggest Political Story of the Year
Unless you live under a rock you know that one of the biggest, if not the biggest, political stories this year is the release of classified documents by Edward Snowden about the US government and...
Political Women on the Small Screen: Barbara Hall’s Secretary of State TV Show and Hillary Clinton Miniseries Update
CBS is working with Barbara Hall, co-executive producer of Homeland, on a series about a female secretary of state. Entitled Madame Secretary, the series will follow a female secretary of state as...
Blue is the Warmest Color International Trailer Hits
Palme d’Or winning film, the controversial, Blue is the Warmest Color will also play at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. The film about two young lesbians won the top award at Cannes...
Weekly Update for August 16: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Weekend Austenland – Written and Directed by Jerusha Hess, Adapted for the Screen by Jerusha Hess and Shannon Hale Keri Russell plays unlucky in love Jane Hayes,...
Interview with Jerusha Hess – Writer and Director of Austenland
Women and Hollywood: Can you talk a little bit about what drew you to this project? Jerusha Hess: I got the book from the author. I had no idea about the book. I was interested in another project...
Tips from Gale Anne Hurd on Success
Gale Anne Hurd, executive producer of The Walking Dead, spoke with Media Bistro about her career in Hollywood. Hurd, who received the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Athena Film...
Five Plays by Lucy Thurber to Open Simultaneously in New York
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater is putting on a festival dedicated to the playwright Lucy Thurber this month. Thurber’s series of 5 plays, The Hill Town Plays, will be staged...
TV Pilot Roundup for August 16th: New Shows from Shonda Rhimes, Tina Fey and Nahnatchka Khan
Here’s a roundup of some of the most notable pilot news from the last week. Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers’ production company just nabbed a comedy from Cougar Town co-producers Christine...
Samuel Goldwyn Films Acquires Anita Hill Documentary
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired the U.S. rights to Anita, the documentary about Anita Hill. Directed by Freida Mock, Anita follows the life of Anita Hill–looking at her experiences...
How Pop Culture Can Enhance Our View of Hillary Clinton
It’s no real surprise that the moment NBC announced that it had ordered a fictionalized mini-series about Hillary Clinton written by Courtney Hunt and starring Diane Lane, and CNN...
Interview with Golshifteh Farahani – Star of The Patience Stone
This is from Toronto Film Festival in 2012 The Patience Stone was the movie in Toronto that two separate women told me I needed to see. And boy was it worth it. It is basically a monologue...
Cross Post: In ‘Planes’ Males Soar, Females Get Grounded
I’ve blogged twice about the sexist preview for “Planes,” and after seeing the movie today, I’m afraid I’ve got to blog about this awful scene once more. The sexist...
Trailer Watch: How I Live Now – Co-Written by Penelope Skinner
How I Live Now, based on the novel by Meg Rosoff, stars Saoirse Ronan as Daisy, who is sent to live with her family in the English countryside. She falls for the boy next door just as World War III...
Jennifer Lawrence Covers the September Issue of Vogue
Jennifer Lawrence covers Vogue’s coveted September issue (consisting of a backbreaking 665 pages). In a seven hour interview with Jonathan Van Meter, Lawrence spoke about The Hunger Games,...
Susanne Bier and Julie Delpy Line Up New Gigs
Susanne Bier and Julie Delpy are in talks for two exciting and high-profile projects. Bier is getting set up to direct Saoirse Ronan in Mary Queen of Scots. Penelope Skinner alongside Michael Hirst...
Trailer Watch: Inch’Allah – Directed and Written by Anais Barbeau-Lavalette
Anais Barbeau-Lavalette’s Inch’Allah follows Chloe (Evelyne Brochu) a young Canadian obstetrician working in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank. Chloe is face to face with...
Pixar to Release Inside Out – Set Inside an Adolescent Girl’s Brain
Over the weekend at the D23 Expo, Pixar discussed details, showed footage and introduced the cast of their new project Inside Out. Directed by Up and Monster’s Inc. director Pete Docter,...