Films
Quote of the Day: Julie Delpy on Why There Is No Female Counterpart to Kubrick
Opportunity is everything, to paraphrase Viola Davis’ 2015 Emmy speech. Based on MovieMaker’s interview with Julie Delpy, we’d say the “Lolo” director agrees. Speaking about her...
Tribeca 2017 Competition Lineup is Almost 40 Percent Women-Helmed
The Tribeca Film Festival has announced its 2017 lineup, and 12 of the 32 films screening in Competition sections are women-directed or co-directed, amounting to a respectable 38 percent. “As a...
Actress Varalaxmi Sarathkumar Speaks Out About the Casting Couch
“Needs to be said,” South Indian actress Varalaxmi Sarathkumar tweeted last week. Her post included a screenshot letter, in which she revealed her experience with sexual harassment in the Indian...
March 2017 Film Preview
“Beauty and the Beast” Spring is in the air, and with it comes many promising women-led films. This March brings several big-budget women-centric releases to screens, including a beloved...
Teaser Watch: Tilda Swinton Comes Between a Girl and Her Dragon-Like BFF in “Okja”
While a new teaser for “Okja” emphasizes the “bond between man and animal,” the Netflix film is actually about a young girl named Mija (Seo-Hyun Ahn, “Monster”) and her connection to a...
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Takes Over Twitter in Honor of Women’s History Month
Thanks to Ava DuVernay, March is coming in like a lion — and we mean that in the best possible way. DuVernay’s film distribution collective, ARRAY, is celebrating Women’s History Month...
Trailer Watch: Viola Davis Is a Judge Facing a Difficult Decision in “Custody”
“There are penalties for not telling the truth in a court of law,” Judge Martha Schulman (Viola Davis) warns in a trailer for Lifetime’s “Custody.” It sounds like the Judge is making a...
Dede Gardner Becomes First Female Producer to Win Two Best Picture Oscars
Dede Gardner made history at this year’s Academy Awards. With “Moonlight’s” shocking Best Picture win on Sunday, the Plan B producer became a two-time Best Picture winner. She’s the first...
Rose Garnett Is the New Director of BBC Films
Film4’s Rose Garnett is headed to the British Broadcasting Company. The Hollywood Reporter writes that, per director of BBC content Charlotte Moore’s announcement today, Garnett is the new...
Trailer Watch: An Arab-American Struggles with Adulthood in Heidi Saman’s “Namour”
A new trailer has been released for Heidi Saman’s debut feature “Namour,” and it’s guaranteed to make you cringe within seconds. The spot kicks off with the movie’s protagonist being...
Indie Spirit Awards & American Airlines Launch New Award for Female Directors
The Film Independent Spirit Awards are adding another honor to their program. Next year’s ceremony — the 33rd installment of the Indie Spirit Awards — will hand out the inaugural...
“Divines” Wins Big at the César Awards
Accepting the César Award for Best Actress for her performance in “Elle,” Isabelle Huppert told the ceremony’s crowd, “I’m good every year, but this year you finally noticed!” According...
Highlights from Oscar Weekend 2017: Viola Davis, Maren Ade, and More
Now that we’ve caught our breath, we can all agree that the 2017 Oscars are going to go down in history. Wow. And yikes. We’re thrilled with “Moonlight’s” well-deserved win, but are...
Alankrita Shrivastava on the Censorship of Her Film “Lipstick Under My Burkha”
Alankrita Shrivastava’s “Lipstick Under My Burkha” is an award-winning film about women reclaiming their freedom through small acts of resistance. Unfortunately, as Deadline details, India’s...
Connie Britton Joins Nicole Holofcener’s “The Land of Steady Habits,” March Shoot Being Eyed
Connie Britton has booked her first post-“Nashville” gig. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that she’s signed on for a leading role in Nicole Holofcener’s upcoming Netflix ensemble dramedy,...
What Happened to the Women Directors in Hollywood? Part 1: The Founding Mothers of Film
Print advertisement for Lois Weber’s “Too Wise Wives”: The Duluth Herald (Aug. 1921)/Wikimedia Commons by Carrie Rickey This five-part Truthdig series by Carrie Rickey is published in...
Weekly Update for February 24: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“The Girl with All the Gifts” Films About Women Opening This Week The Girl with All the Gifts (Also Available on VOD) A group of children is detained in a military base because they have...
Cross-Post: Why Melissa McCarthy Is a Better Return on Investment Than Tom Cruise
Melissa McCarthy in “Spy” The following has been reposted from Wealthsimple with permission of the author. What are the economics of being a woman in Hollywood? We dug into the data and found...
Gugu Mbatha-Raw to Star in “Veep” Director Stephanie Laing’s Feature Debut
Rising star Gugu Mbatha-Raw has booked yet another gig. Variety reports that the “Miss Sloane” actress will star alongside “Game of Thrones’” Michiel Huisman in “Irreplaceable You,” a...
“Beauty and the Beast” Tracking Suggests the Emma Watson Film Will Open Huge
“Beauty and the Beast” may be “a tale as old as time,” but audiences are clearly still eager to watch the story unfold: early tracking for the film indicates that Disney’s live-action...
Amanda Lipitz’s Dance Doc “Step” Gets a Release Date
The “Lethal Ladies” are set to dance their way into theaters. Fox Searchlight has announced a release date for “Step,” Amanda Lipitz’s inspirational documentary about a step dance...
“The Coldest City” Starring Charlize Theron Gets New Name and Release Date
The Charlize Theron vehicle “The Coldest City,” based on the graphic novel by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, has a release date and a new title. According to Deadline, the upcoming Cold War...
Kristen Stewart in Negotiations to Star in Survival Thriller “Underwater”
It’s looking like Kristen Stewart will topline a new blockbuster. After well-reviewed turns in indies like “Certain Women,” “Still Alice,” and “Clouds of Sils Maria,” the actress is in...
Here’s What We Do in the Aftermath: Crowdfunding Picks
“The Last Clinics” As we find ourselves (only) 30 days into America’s new administration, the majority of female-led crowdfunding projects across the web rightfully continue February’s...
Watch: Oscars 2017 Prove That Our Work in Hollywood Isn’t Done
For the last several years Women and Hollywood has used the opportunity of Oscar week to share a video that focuses on the representation of women both in front of and behind the scenes...
Angelina Jolie’s Next Moves: Acting, Directing, and Producing Gigs
Angelina Jolie isn’t leaving Hollywood anytime soon. While many reports have indicated that the multi-hyphenate is stepping away from the business to focus on her humanitarian work, the fact that...
52 A-Listers Join Forces to Tackle Hollywood Gender Inequality
Fifty-two Hollywood powerhouses are fed up with the lip service paid to Hollywood’s gender problem, and are determined to enact major, industry-wide change. “Studio and agency insiders,...
Watch: Oscars 2017 Prove That Our Work in Hollywood Isn’t Done
For the last several years Women and Hollywood has used the opportunity of Oscar week to share a video that focuses on the representation of women both in front of and behind the scenes...
Guest Post: The Production Designer Gender Gap
Guest Post by Molly Hughes The Land of Oz. Wayne Manor. The Overlook Hotel. The Bates Motel. Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. These iconic sets have imprinted themselves on our...
2017 Diversity Report: Women and Minorities Still Woefully Underrepresented in Hollywood
“Television is looking up; it’s moving in the right direction,” Darnell Hunt, director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA told the Los Angeles Times. “Film,...
Charlize Theron to Star in Spy Thriller “Need to Know”
Charlize Theron will rep the CIA in her newest project. The Oscar-winning actress is set to star in and produce Universal’s adaptation of Karen Cleveland’s upcoming spy novel “Need to Know,”...
Trailer Watch: Chloë Grace Moretz Deals with a Medical Mystery in “Brain on Fire”
Susannah Cahalan investigated her own terrifying medical mystery in the New York Times-bestselling memoir “Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness,” and now Chloë Grace Moretz is depicting the...
Study: Number of Women Protagonists in Top 100 Films Climbed to 29% in 2016
This should brighten up your Tuesday a bit: Women made up 29 percent of the protagonists of the 100 top grossing films in 2016. According to the latest “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World”...
Anna Deavere Smith Receives George Polk Career Award
Anna Deavere Smith is a reporter, actress, playwright, professor, social activist, and MacArthur genius. Deadline reports that the multi-talented “Nurse Jackie” star has added yet another...
Trailer Watch: Sally Hawkins Finds the Artist Within in Aisling Walsh’s “Maudie”
Maud Lewis is one of Canada’s most well-known folk artists, but a new trailer for Aisling Walsh’s “Maudie” shows the painter’s humble beginnings. “Let me tell you how it is. There’s...
You’re Invited: Women and Hollywood Celebrates Intl Women’s Day in London with Gurinder Chadha
Looking for a way to celebrate International Women’s Day in London? Look no further. Join Women and Hollywood, Birds Eye View, and White Water Women for a special event Wednesday, March 8. “Bend...
“Toni Erdmann” Named Best Picture by International Cinephile Society
“Toni Erdmann” has racked up more honors. The offbeat German comedy received five awards from the International Cinephile Society yesterday, February 19. Written and directed by Maren Ade,...
Women Execs Have Limited Role in Hollywood Greenlight Process
The good news: the process for greenlighting a movie is relatively democratic, with most studios considering multiple perspectives via committee. The bad news: the women on those committees rarely...
Ildiko Enyedi’s “On Body and Soul” Wins Top Prize at Berlinale
Ildiko Enyedi’s “On Body and Soul” has been awarded the Berlin International Film Festival’s highest honor, the Golden Bear, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The love story centers on two...
Teaser Watch: Oprah Searches for Answers in “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
“There isn’t a person alive who hasn’t benefited from your mother’s cells,” Deborah Lacks is told in the first teaser for “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” Deborah’s mother...
Weekly Update for February 17: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“XX” Films About Women Opening This Week XX (Anthology) — Directed by Roxanne Benjamin, Sofia Carrillo, Karyn Kusama, Annie Clark (St. Vincent), and Jovanka Vuckovic; Co-Written by Roxanne...
Trailer Watch: Jessica Biel is a Murderer Without a Motive in “The Sinner”
“I think there’s something wrong with me,” Cora Tanner (Jessica Biel) says in the newly-released trailer for “The Sinner.” That’s probably an understatement, considering she’s talking...
Mae Whitman and Kathleen Rose Perkins to Star in NBC’s “Good Girls” Pilot
“Parenthood’s” Mae Whitman may be heading back to NBC. Deadline reports that the actress has joined the cast of “Good Girls,” a new drama pilot at the network from “The Family” creator...
Marjane Satrapi to Direct Marie Curie Biopic
Marjane Satrapi is set to bring another graphic novel to the big screen. The “Persepolis” filmmaker will direct Working Title’s “Radioactive,” based on Lauren Redniss’ graphic nonfiction...
Trailer Watch: Anne Hathaway Is the Monster in “Colossal”
Gloria is having a hard time. Her boyfriend broke up with her, she’s unemployed, and she just moved back to her hometown to crash at her family home. But as the new trailer for “Colossal”...
“Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan” Gets Distribution and Release Date
“Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan” has found a home. Abramorama has acquired the theatrical rights to the ballet documentary, the company announced in a press release. Directed and produced by...
STX Options “The New Neighbors” Spec, Leslye Headland Set to Direct
Leslye Headland is gearing up to direct her third feature film. The “Bachelorette” and “Sleeping with Other People” writer-director is attached to helm “The New Neighbors,” Deadline...
Andrea Berloff to Make Directorial Debut with Female-Led Mob Story “The Kitchen”
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Andrea Berloff will make her directorial debut with New Line Cinema’s “The Kitchen,” The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The female-led mob story is an...
“Fresh Off the Boat’s” Constance Wu to Star in “Crazy Rich Asians”
Constance Wu is in talks to topline Warner Bros.’ memorably titled “Crazy Rich Asians,” The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The “Fresh Off the Boat” actress would lead an all-Asian cast. An...
New Directors/New Films Festival Announces 2017 Lineup
The lineup for the 46th annual New Directors/New Films Festival (ND/NF) has been announced. A joint effort of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, ND/NF will...
“Divines” Director Houda Benyamina Developing Wartime Romance
Houda Benyamina is turning her eye from BFFs to lovers. The French-Moroccan filmmaker is developing her follow-up to “Divines,” a coming-of-age drama about best friends in over their heads, with...