Films
Trailer Watch: Frances McDormand Takes on the Police in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
“What’s the law on what you can and cannot say on a billboard?” Frances McDormand asks in a newly released Red Band trailer for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” The Oscar...
Thea Sharrock Being Eyed to Direct “The One and Only Ivan”
Thea Sharrock may be following up a tragic romance with a gorilla story. The “Me Before You” director is in talks to helm Disney’s big screen adaptation of Katherine Applegate’s Newbery...
What Happened to the Women Directors in Hollywood? Part 5: 2000–2017
Mira Nair and Ava DuVernay: Wikimedia Commons/IndiaFM/Bollywoodhungama/usbotschaftberlin by Carrie Rickey This five-part Truthdig series by Carrie Rickey is published in partnership with Women and...
Robin Swicord’s “Wakefield” Acquired by IFC Films
Love “Breaking Bad” and miss watching Bryan Cranston scale new heights of self-destructive behavior? You’re in luck. Robin Swicord’s “Wakefield” has found a home. A press release...
Weekly Update for March 24: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week “Prevenge” Prevenge — Written and Directed Alice Lowe (Opens in NY and LA) Widow Ruth (Alice Lowe) is seven months pregnant when, believing herself to...
MPAA Report 2016: 52% of Movie Audiences Are Women & Other Takeaways
Women continue to make up the majority of moviegoers: According to the MPAA’s recent findings, women comprised 52 percent of all 2016 moviegoers — an increase from 2015’s 51 percent....
Plays from Lucy Kirkwood and Anna Ziegler to Run at Manhattan Theater Club
Manhattan Theater Club is bringing two women-written plays to Broadway. Per The New York Times, Lucy Kirkwood’s “The Children” and Anna Ziegler’s “Actually” will run during the upcoming...
Nicole Kidman and Amy Schumer to Star in Rebecca Miller’s “She Came to Me”
Nicole Kidman and Amy Schumer are set to co-star in a new film. “Maggie’s Plan” hit theaters just last year, but writer-director Rebecca Miller is already lining up a star-studded cast for...
Shared Experience: Crowdfunding Picks
“The Last Partera” International Women’s Day gave women around the country an opportunity to unite for a common purpose and demonstrate their value. Similarly, this round of crowdfunding picks...
Brie Larson to Play First Female US Presidential Candidate in “Victoria Woodhull”
Brie Larson has her eyes set on the White House. The “Room” actress has signed on to play trailblazing women’s rights activist Victoria Woodhull, who made history as the first woman to run for...
Melissa Joan Hart to Direct Anjelica Huston in Lifetime Movie
Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Anjelica Huston are joining forces to make some magic at Lifetime. Melissa Joan Hart will direct the Oscar winner in “Watcher in the Woods,” an upcoming original...
You’re Invited: Women and Hollywood Talks Europe vs Hollywood with German Director Frauke Thielecke
Wondering how women fare in the European film and TV industry compared to Hollywood? You’re in luck. Award-winning German director Frauke Thielecke will speak about her experiences directing film...
Quote of the Day: Jennifer Lopez Says Roles Like “Selena” Are “Few and Far Between”
“It was a meaty role, but it was few and far between, especially for Latinos to have a role like that,” Jennifer Lopez recently told Variety, discussing her Golden Globe-nominated role in...
Evan Rachel Wood to Make Directorial Debut
“Westworld’s” Evan Rachel Wood is stepping behind the camera. After more than 20 years of acting in the business, Wood will make her directorial debut. In an interview with Vulture, Jenny...
Awards, Films, News, Television, Theater
Awards Roundup: Honors for Christina Ricci, Julie Delpy, and Judith Light
Seasoned show business veterans Christina Ricci, Julie Delpy, and Judith Light are all set to be honored this spring. Variety reports that the Vail Film Festival will celebrate women in film during...
Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton’s “Battle of the Sexes” Gets Awards-Friendly Release
Emma Stone just won her first Oscar in February, and the “La La Land” actress may be in running for the 2018 Academy Awards as well. Fox Searchlight has announced an awards-friendly release date...
Toxic Masculinity in “Beauty and the Beast”
“Beauty and the Beast” is doing huge numbers at the box office. Its first weekend in theaters proved — yet again — that women can more than hold their own at the box office. The...
New Play “Offside” Explores British Women’s 50-Year Ban from Soccer
A new play will tell the story of how Britain’s Football Association (FA) banned women from soccer for 50 years, The Guardian writes. Written by Sabrina Mahfouz and Hollie McNish, “Offside”...
“A Woman, a Part” Director Elisabeth Subrin on Making a Movie About a Woman Over 40
Elisabeth Subrin’s critically acclaimed films and video art have screened widely internationally, including at The New York Film Festival, The Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Vienna...
Lillian E. Benson to Be Honored by Motion Picture Editors Guild
This is the kind of herstory we love learning about: Lillian E. Benson was the first African-American female member of the American Cinema Editors (ACE), a prestigious honorary society of film...
Firelight Media Launches Impact Producer Fellowship & Names Inaugural Honorees
Firelight Media has introduced the Impact Producer Fellowship and announced the initiative’s inaugural participants, Shadow and Act reports. “The first-ever training program dedicated to...
Artemis Women in Action Film Festival Announces 2017 Honorees
The Artemis Women in Action Film Festival has announced the honorees for its 2017 edition. Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Cynthia Rothrock, Gina Carano, and Luci Romberg will be celebrated in April, a press...
Salma Hayek to Be Honored with CinemaCon Vanguard Award
Salma Hayek has been named as the recipient of CinemaCon’s 2017 Vanguard Award. The Oscar-nominated actress will receive the honor March 30 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, ScreenDaily...
All Female “Juno” Live-Read Announced to Benefit Planned Parenthood
If there was ever a time we needed a feel-good comedy about a young woman owning her sexuality and reproductive autonomy, it’s now. So, we’re pleased to tell you that a tenth anniversary...
Tamara Jenkins to Direct “Private Life,” Starring Kathryn Hahn and Molly Shannon
It’s been a decade since Tamara Jenkins released her last film, but the writer-director has a project on the way, and it sounds amazing: “Private Life,” a Netflix original film, will star...
Variety’s Power of Women Honors Jessica Chastain, Blake Lively, Audra McDonald, & More
The guest list at this luncheon is going to be stacked. Once again, Variety is celebrating the philanthropic work of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The outlet has announced the honorees for...
“Beauty and the Beast” Wins U.S. and Global Box Office and Smashes Records
Turns out Belle’s life is anything but provincial. The Emma Watson-led “Beauty and the Beast” opened huge this past weekend, earning $170 million in North America and $350 million globally. If...
Mila Kunis & Kate McKinnon in Talks for Susanna Fogel’s “The Spy Who Dumped Me”
Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon may be teaming up for a woman-directed comedy. The actresses are in talks to star in Susanna Fogel’s “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” Deadline reports. If they sign on...
Trailer Watch: Emilia Clarke Is in Major Trouble in Creepy “Voice from the Stone”
Looks like Emilia Clarke will need to summon her inner Khaleesi. A trailer has been released for the “Game of Thrones” actress’ next film, “Voice from the Stone,” and the footage suggests...
What Happened to the Women Directors in Hollywood? Part 4: 1984–1999
by Carrie Rickey This five-part Truthdig series by Carrie Rickey is published in partnership with Women and Hollywood. The series considers the historic accomplishments of women behind the camera,...
Film About Olympian Swimmer and Syrian Refugee Yusra Mardini in the Works
In 2015, Yusra Mardini and her sister Sara saved themselves and the fellow refugees on their dinghy by jumping into the freezing Aegean Sea and swimming the boat to safety. The Mardini sisters had...
Hillary Seitz to Adapt Ruth Ware’s “The Woman in Cabin 10”
“The Woman in Cabin 10” is headed to the big screen. “Eagle Eye” and “Insomnia” screenwriter Hillary Seitz has signed on to pen an adaptation of the Ruth Ware mystery thriller, Variety...
Weekly Update for March 17: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Beauty and the Beast” Films About Women Opening This Week Beauty and the Beast Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” a live-action retelling of the studio’s animated classic, refashions...
Trailer Watch: A Young Woman Is Pushed Over the Edge in “I, Olga Hepnarova”
“To commit suicide you need a strong will, my child. Something you certainly don’t have. Accept it.” Yikes. This is definitely not what someone needs to hear after a suicide attempt lands them...
Feminism Paying Off at the Box Office with “Beauty and the Beast”
Between 1980 and 2016 only four women-centric movies topped the U.S. domestic box office: 1997 with “Titanic”; 2013 with “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”; 2015 with “Star Wars: The Force...
Hot Docs Special Presentations Lineup: Dance Teams, Indigenous Musicians, & Animal Rights Activists
Hot Docs has announced the lineup for their Special Presentations program. Nine of 26 films are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to about 35 percent of the high-profile slate. According...
Trailer Watch: Melissa Leo Is an Atheist with a Cause in “Most Hated Woman in America”
Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins — these are the names most closely associated with atheism in the United States. But this wasn’t always the case. It was in fact a woman who...
Apply Now for the Producers Guild’s Power of Diversity Master Workshop
The deadline for the Producers Guild of America’s (PGA) 14th annual Power of Diversity Master Workshop has been extended, the PGA announced in a press release. Applications will now be accepted...
Jennifer Aniston and Anne Fletcher Team Up for Teen Comedy
Jennifer Aniston played a Prom Queen and Homecoming Queen in “Friends,” and now she’ll take on the role of a former beauty queen. Variety reports that the expert tiara-wearer has joined the...
Women Directors Dominate Nominations for German Film Awards
Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” is the film to beat at the Lolas, Germany’s equivalent to the Academy Awards. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the daughter-father comedy garnered six...
Trailer Watch: Oprah Demands Justice in “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
“What you don’t understand is, we didn’t know nothin’ about nothin,” Deborah Lacks (Oprah Winfrey, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”) says in a new trailer for “The Immortal Life of...
Ana Asensio’s “Most Beautiful Island” Wins Top Prize at SXSW
Ana Asensio’s “Most Beautiful Island” has been named the winner of SXSW’s Grand Jury Award in the narrative feature competition, The Hollywood Reporter writes. Asensio’s film, which she...
Zoe Lister-Jones’ “Band Aid” Gets a Release Date
Dysfunctional bands are usually notorious for their diva antics, exploitation of adoring fans, and drug addictions — not passive-aggressive discussions about personal hygiene and doing the...
Trailer Watch: Kate Mara Fights for Her Combat Dog in Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s “Megan Leavey”
“I just don’t know why you want to do this” is not the reaction you’re hoping to hear when you tell your mom a major life decision, but it’s the one Megan (Kate Mara, “House of Cards”)...
Film About Hillary Clinton During Her 1969 Gap Year Announced
A new film about Hillary Clinton — Hillary Rodham, actually — is on its way. According to TheWrap, Magdalena Zyzak and Zachary Cotler have finished “When I’m a Moth,” about the gap...
Guest Post: When a Woman Called the Shots at the Screen Writers Guild
Guest Post by J.E. Smyth Current debates in the media about women’s employment, representation, and visibility in Hollywood focus — perhaps predictably — on stars’ pay and the...
Sarasota Film Festival to Open and Close with Women-Directed Films
This year’s Sarasota Film Festival will feature women-directed films on Opening and Closing Night. According to a press statement from the festival, Rory Kennedy’s “Take Every Wave: The Life...
Australia Introduces Two New Initiatives to Support Women Filmmakers
Similar to Canada’s news last week, Australia has unveiled two new initiatives striving for gender parity in filmmaking. Screen Australia introduced Doco180 for documentary filmmakers, and the...
Trailer Watch: Rami Malek Is Split in Two in Sarah Adina Smith’s “Buster’s Mal Heart”
The newly released trailer for Sarah Adina Smith’s “Buster’s Mal Heart” goes to some heady and heavy places, but the spot kicks off with a hilarious interaction between a man and his boss....
Relaunched Quad Cinema to Host Lina Wertmüller Retrospective
Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmüller made history as the first woman to receive an Academy Award for Best Director back in 1977 for “Seven Beauties.” The trailblazer’s prolific career will be...
Trailer Watch: Jane Jacobs Saves the Neighborhood in “Citizen Jane”
If you need reassurance that one person’s voice can make a difference in the world — really, who doesn’t need that right now? — then “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City” probably...