News
‘Prime Suspect’ Prequel to Air on ITV With Original Creator Lynda La Plante at the Helm
“Prime Suspect,” the British crime series that made Helen Mirren a household name and unflinchingly explored institutional sexism within the police ranks, is returning to TV. But don’t expect...
2015 LA Film Fest: Women Directors Win World Fiction Award, Audience Awards and More
Female filmmakers left a major impression on juries and audiences at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival. We were already impressed by the number of women-directed projects selected to screen at the...
Acting, Writing, Directing: Regina Taylor on What Motivates Her
This past year, whileappearing on USA Network’s “Dig” as Ambassador Riddell, I’ve beenre-mounting a play, “stop.reset.,” that I first wrote and directed for the Signature Theatre Company...
Why This Season of ‘Game of Thrones’ Will Be My Last
Spoilers for the show’s finale follow. I really thought I had said all I had to say about “Game of Thrones,” which concluded on Sunday with a finale that killed off one of the few likable...
‘Power Rangers’ Actress Amy Jo Johnson to Make Directorial Debut With Fatherhood Comedy
Amy Jo Johnson, who’ll always be affectionately remembered as the Pink Power Ranger by a certain generation of fans, will make her feature directorial debut with the indie comedy “The Space...
1700 People Have Signed the ACLU Petition. Have You?
Less than a month ago, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched a petition with the hopes of gaining more support and momentum in the struggle to end the industry’s gender-biased hiring...
Jennifer Lawrence to Receive Bigger Paycheck Than Chris Pratt for ‘Passengers’
Jennifer Lawrence is finally getting the paycheck she deserves. The Oscar-winning actress and action star will be paid $20 million — plus 30 percent of the film’s profits after it breaks...
Highlights from Ava DuVernay, Nicole Kidman, Jill Soloway at WIF’s 2015 Crystal + Lucy Awards
Feminist film history, lost opportunities with Jane Campion, calls for solidarity and revolution — the winners of Women in Film’s 2015 Crystal + Lucy Awards used their time at the podium to...
Watch: Helen Mirren Calls Hollywood’s Ageist Double Standards “F*cking Outrageous”
Remember earlier this year when Russell Crowe suggested that older actresses who complain about not getting work are the ones delusionally seeking ingenue-type roles? He insisted that Helen Mirren...
New and Noteworthy VOD Films and Webseries: May 2015: Soul Singers and Sex Workers
The turbulent stories of two iconic black musicians rise to the top of this month’s VOD picks, albeit in different forms. “Bessie,” the HBO biopic starring Queen Latifah, earned rave reviews...
Listen: Melissa Silverstein, Nicole Kidman, Others Discuss Gender Inequality in Hollywood on NPR
“That a movie with a female protagonist can be a big hit is no surprise, but for those who want to see more gender parity in Hollywood, the opportunities for women to make and star in blockbusters...
Change the Conversation at the Inaugural Hedgebrook Screenwriters Residency in Washington State
If you’re a screenwriter interested in receiving mentorship from industry vets and the chance to collaborate with other female scribes, take note: The Hedgebrook Screenwriters Lab is accepting...
Sexism in Theatre Infographic: Women Fill 9% of Sound Jobs, Underrepresented in Most Design Fields
In our Spring 2015 theatre preview, Shoshana Greenberg wrote that “Broadwaycan be a disheartening place for women. Too few are represented as writers anddirectors, and women’s stories don’t...
Winona Ryder to Star in Supernatural Netflix Series
Nineties icon Winona Ryder, long overdue for a career resuscitation, is heading to TV. Specifically, to Netflix. Ryder, who seemed poised for a comeback after 2010’s “Black Swan” but hasn’t...
‘Maleficent’ Sequel to Bring Back Original Screenwriter Linda Woolverton
Linda Woolverton, the screenwriter behind many of Disney’s biggest feminist hits (“Maleficent,” Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” “Beauty and the Beast”), has signed on to pen...
Crosspost: In Hollywood’s King’s Guard, Women Directors Are All Brienne of Tarth
The following is cross-posted from Lexi Alexander’s blog with permission of the author. It has been slightly edited from the original. “All my life, men like you’ve sneered at me, and all my...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Lyn Goldfarb — ‘Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race’
Lyn Goldfarb is an Academy Award-nominated andaward-winning filmmaker specializing in historical and social-issuedocumentaries for PBS and major cable. Her series and documentaries include “The...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Kaitlin McLaughlin — ‘Pocha (Manifest Destiny)’
Kaitlin McLaughlin is an award-winning writer/director. Her debut feature, “Pocha (Manifest Destiny),” will premiere at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival. She wrote and co-directed the indie...
Trailer Watch: Nicole Kidman Plays Real-Life Adventuress and Diplomat in ‘Queen of the Desert’
Englishwoman Gertrude Bell made the most of her unmarried existence by becoming a renowned archaeologist, explorer, writer, traveler, cartographer, spy and political officer in the late 1800s and...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Åse Svenheim Drivenes — ‘Maiko: Dancing Child’
Åse Svenheim Drivenes is a Norwegian-born filmmaker who made herdirectorial debut with the documentary “Our Man in Kirkenes” (2010), which screened on NRK (Norway’s BBC) and YLE (Finland’s...
June 2015’s Noteworthy Women-Centric Crowdfunding Projects: ‘Sweetening the Pill,’ ‘Creased,’ ‘Faith’
A little help can go a long way when it comes to crowdfunding campaigns, and we’re here to spread the word about a few notable film projects trying to get their financial footing. While these...
Natalie Portman Insisted on Woman Director for Ruth Bader Ginsburg Biopic
Ruth Bader Ginsburg shed some light on the upcoming biopic about her in an interview with her former clerk, California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu, this past Saturday. Starring Natalie...
Mindy Kaling Warns Against Idolizing Her TV Character, Hints at What to Expect in Season 4
Mindy Kaling isn’t shying away from serving as a role model to girls and women, but that doesn’t mean she wants her character on “The Mindy Project,” Dr. Mindy Lahiri, to be considered an...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Chai Vasarhelyi — ‘Incorruptible’
Elizabeth “Chai” Vasarhelyi’sfilms as a director include “Meru,” winner of the Audience Award for US Documentary at Sundance 2015; “Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love”...
Elizabeth Banks in Negotiations to Direct YA Dystopia Fantasy ‘Red Queen’
After becoming the first-time director with the highest opening weekend ever (“Pitch Perfect 2”), Elizabeth Banks should be in a promising place to negotiate her next project. Banks is making...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Renee Tajima-Peña — ‘No Más Bebés’
Renee Tajima-Peña is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker whose directing credits include “Calavera Highway,” a road movie influenced by the novelist Juan Rulfo, about her husband Armando...
How LA Film Festival Achieved Diversity by “Looking for People Who Are Seeing the World Differently”
The 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival features one of the most diverse programming slates among major festivals, with 40% of features directed by women and almost 30% helmed by filmmakers of color (not...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Anna Axster — ‘A Country Called Home’
As a writer, director and producer, Anna Axster has been making films and music videos for more than 10 years, many of which have screened in festivals around the world and been viewed more than...
Trailer Watch: Katherine Heigl Rediscovers Music and Love in Ami Canaan Mann’s ‘Jackie & Ryan’
The trailer for writer-director Ami Canaan Mann’s “Jackie & Ryan” begins with the two titular characters locking eyes for the first time. Ryan (Ben Barnes) is busking, and Jackie...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Negin Farsad — ‘3rd Street Blackout’
Negin Farsad is an Iranian-American comedienne andfilmmaker. In addition to being selected as a TEDFellow, Farsad was namedone of the 50 Funniest Women by the Huffington Post and one of Good...
Bedbugs, Blue Energy and Big Boo: “Orange is the New Black” is Back
Slight spoilers ahead for the first four episodes of Season 3. Previously on “OITNB”: Baddie Vee (Lorraine Toussaint) terrorized the population for most of Season 2 before getting bumped off by...
Guest Post: Viewing Hollywood’s Woman Problem as a Pressing Creative Opportunity
I’m excited these days. I’m excited because people in our business are finally talking about women in film in the most open and honest way I’ve seen in a longtime and that’s a very good...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Daphne McWilliams — ‘In a Perfect World…’
Daphne McWilliams began her producing career by producing music videos for artists such as Blues Traveler, Notorious BIG and Queen Latifah. In 1995, she was hired to line produce the Academy...
‘Testament of Youth’ Should be a Slam-Dunk Case for Awards Consideration, So Why Isn’t It?
The war drama “Testament of Youth” opened in the US this past Friday, and I don’t understand why more people aren’t paying attention to it for the end-of-year awards race. Yes, I know it’s...
Trailer Watch: ‘Masters of Sex’ Leaps into the Swinging Sixties in Season 3
The third season of Showtime’s “Masters of Sex” will kick off in 1966, a decade after the events in Season 1. If the series’ inaugural year found sexologists Dr. William Masters (Michael...
Why Pixar Whiz Pete Docter Decided to Enter a Young Girl’s Mind — and Turn Your Emotions Inside Out
Pixar has always invented memorable female characters, ranging from Jessie the cowgirl in “Toy Story 2” and Dory the forgetful fish in “Finding Nemo” to superhero Elastigirl in “The...
‘Pitch Perfect 3’ Officially Announced; Elizabeth Banks Decries “Boxes and Labels Threatening Dreams”
On paper, “Pitch Perfect” never exactly screamed “lucrative franchise.” And yet the Barden Bellas are set to sing their way to the bank once more. A third a capella pic is officially in the...
Human Rights Watch FF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Laura Nix — ‘The Yes Men Are Revolting’
Laura Nix is an independent filmmaker committed to exploringprovocative characters and subject matter. She directed the documentary “TheLight In Her Eyes,” about a Syrian Quran school for women,...
Human Rights Watch FF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Gini Reticker — ‘The Trials of Spring’
GiniReticker is the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning producer and director of “Pray the Devil Goes Back to Hell,” “Asylum,” and the celebrated PBS Series, “Women, War & Peace.” She...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Emily Ting — ‘It’s Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong’
Emily Tingis a graduate of the film/TV program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ting has directedseveral shorts that have screened at film festivals across the nation andbroadcast on cable...
Reese Witherspoon Developing Female Wall Street Comedy Called ‘Opening Belle’
Eagle-eyed Reese Witherspoon has announced another page-to-screen adaptation of a novel yet to be published. Witherspoon and her producing partner Bruna Papandrea will develop a female-driven Wall...
Trailer Watch: A Gay Firebrand Goes to War in Jean Carlomusto’s “Larry Kramer in Love & Anger”
Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell Found New Film/TV Production Company
Two of the most powerful women in the UK entertainment industry are joining forces. Tessa Ross, the former Film4 chief and “the mother of British filmmaking,” is teaming up with Juliette...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Marya Cohn — ‘The Girl in the Book’
Marya Cohn is the award-winning writer/directorof the feature film “The Girl in the Book,” starring Emily Van Camp and MichaelNyqvist. Her short film, “Developing,” starring Natalie Portman...
Women in Film Now Accepting Applications for 2015 Finishing Fund Grants
Women in Film is currently accepting applications for its 2015 Film Finishing Fund. Projects that are by, for, or about women and have completed 90% of principal photography with a rough cut on...
‘Bob’s Burgers’ Writers Lizzie and Wendy Molyneux to Pen Female ’21 Jump Street’ Film
Two brains are better than one, so Sony’s betting that four brains are better than two. After hiring “Broad City” writers Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs to develop the female “21 Jumps...
Human Rights Watch FF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Tamara Erde — ‘This Is My Land’
Tamara Erde is a French-Israeli filmmakerliving and working in Paris. She often deals in her work with politicaland social issues focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her works mixesher...
Trailer Watch: Katniss Leads an Army in ‘Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2’
The long-awaited attack on the Capitol will finally take place in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2,” the fourth and final adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ YA series. The first spot...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Delila Vallot — ‘Can You Dig This’
Delila Vallot isan actress, dancer and director, born and raised in Hollywood, California. Inher career, she has worked with some of the most well-known choreographersto date, including Vince...
Trailer Watch: Meryl Streep Stops Running Away from Family Drama in New Spot for ‘Ricki & the Flash’
“I came out here because I wanted to help you,” Ricki (Meryl Streep) tells her recently divorced daughter Julie (Mamie Gummer). The new trailer for “Ricki and the Flash” emphasizes Ricki’s...
Katherine Heigl’s Lesbian Dramedy ‘Jenny’s Wedding’ Sold to IFC
Rom com queen Katherine Heigl stars in a variation on her theme in “Jenny’s Wedding,” which has been sold to IFC. Heigl stars as Jenny in writer-director Mary Agnes Donoghue’s gay dramedy....