News
Oscars Rehire Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron
While we here at Women and Hollywood had many problems with the Oscars executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the Academy is very pleased that the show was able to bring in that coveted...
Quote of the Day from CinemaCon
CinemaCon is underway in Las Vegas. It is the annual event where the theatre owners are presented with the blockbusters that they will be showing in their theatres this summer. Catherine...
Zadie Smith on Granta and Women’s Prize for Fiction Lists
The truly great Zadie Smith is up for the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her most recent novel, NW. Smith is also on Granta’s 2013 list of the 20 most promising British authors under...
Rosario Dawson Gives Some Real Talk on the Reality for Actresses
In a recent interview, Rosario Dawson gave some honest talk about the disturbing reality of being an actress in Hollywood. She says she’s come to meetings with producers with them looking at...
Cicely Tyson on Her Career, New Broadway Role and Making a Difference
The great Cicely Tyson was recently profiled on CBS News for her new role on Broadway. Tyson, an award-winning actress, hasn’t been on the Broadway stage in 30 years. She’s starring in a...
Dame Maggie Smith Honored with Portrait at National Portrait Gallery
Last week, Dame Maggie Smith was honored with a new painting of her which will hang at the National Portrait Gallery. The portrait, painted by James Lloyd, was intended to capture the iconic actress...
San Francisco International Film Festival Unveils Line Up
Last week, the 56th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival announced their line up. This will be the first festival with Ted Hope at the helm since he took over the Executive Director...
Trailer Watch: The English Teacher – Co-Written by Stacy Chariton
The English Teacher, co-written by Stacy Chariton and starring Julianne Moore follows an English teacher in a small town who gets involved with a former student. Here’s a description from the...
Sofia Coppola Talks Her Directing Style for DGA Quarterly
Sofia Coppola is known for an aesthetically gorgeous certain kind of film about people in some sort of life transition, wanting to become something else. As Coppola herself says in the...
The First Catching Fire Trailer
Last night the trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire debuted during the MTV Movie Awards. In the film which is based on the second book in the series, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and...
2013 Lucille Lortel Awards Nominations Announced
This year’s Lucille Lortel Awards nominees have been announced and it’s great news for women writers. 3 of the 5 plays nominated for Outstanding Play are written by women. The Lucille...
Junie Hoang Loses Age Lawsuit Against IMDB
Actress Junie Hoang lost her lawsuit against IMDB for revealing her actual age online. Hoang first sued IMDB (and parent company Amazon) in October 2011 for $1 million for putting her actual age of...
Weekly Update April 12: Women-Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Currently Playing Free Angela and All Political Prisoners – Directed by Shola Lynch (doc) The Brass Teapot – Written and Directed by Ramaa Mosley 6 Souls The...
Bette Midler Takes Broadway as Infamous Hollywood Agent Sue Mengers
The iconic Bette Midler is hitting Broadway again for the first time in 40 years playing another iconic woman, Hollywood agent Sue Mengers. In John Logan’s I’ll Eat You Last, Midler...
Regal Cinemas Bringing Girl Rising to Theaters
We previously reported about Girl Rising, a film showcasing the importance of girls education across the world. The film focuses on 9 girls from 9 different countries, and their stories are written...
Guerrilla Girls Call for Girlcott of The Alley Theatre
Houston’s Alley Theatre announced its 2013-14 season with 9 plays that examine the “American character.” Not one of the plays is written by a female playwright. All 9 plays are...
Heroine of the Day: Deborah Copaken Kogan
Yesterday a shit bomb was dropped on the internet in the form of an essay by photographer/TV producer/novelist Deborah Copaken Kogan entitled My So-Called Post Feminist Life in Arts and Letters which...
Pamela Paul Named Editor of The New York Times Book Review
Pamela Paul has been named the the new editor of the The New York Times Book Review section succeeding Sam Tanenhaus. She is the 20th book review editor and only second female after...
Julie Taymor Settles Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Lawsuit
As we had recently reported, a trial date had been set for May between Taymor and Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris, producers of the musical Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. This had been after months...
Poster Premiere: A River Changes Course – Kalyanee Mam
Kalyanee Mam’s A River Changes Course is a documentary that chronicles the lives of three Cambodian families who are dealing with the struggle to maintain their traditional ways of life while...
Is Barbra Streisand to Direct Film About Margaret Bourke-White and Erskine Caldwell?
To be honest there is some confusion about this story. 411 is reporting that Barbra Streisand was going to direct Skinny and Cat to star Cate Blanchett about the lives of...
Jane Campion to Receive Carrosse d’Or
At next month’s Cannes Film Festival, Jane Campion will receive the Carrosse d’Or. Campion is serving as president of the Cinefondation and the short film jury at the festival....
SXSW Interview with Hannah Fidell, Lindsay Burdge and Kim Sherman of A Teacher
A Teacher is a tense, unflinching piece of film that gets under your skin and refuses to let go. It’s the tightly drawn portrait of Diana (Lindsay Burdge), a young high school teacher who is...
Women and Hollywood Heads to Chicago
I just wanted to give a heads up to any readers in the Chicago area. I’m going to be in town on the evening of April 25th to do a salon for my book, In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk...
Meryl on Margaret
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died yesterday. To say that she was a controversial figure is a huge understatement. On top of all the discussions about her work as Prime...
Nora Ephron Documentary Being Developed at HBO
Close to a year after beloved screenwriter/director Nora Ephron died due to complications from leukemia comes the news that HBO will be developing a documentary about Ephron’s life. Her son,...
Trailer Watch: Farah Goes Bang – Directed by Meera Menon, written by Meera Menon and Laura Goode
Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival later this month is Meera Menon’s Farah Goes Bang. Here’s the synopsis: Farah hits the road with her buddies to stump for John Kerry in the 2004...
Interview with Karen Struck and Amanda Johns – Writers on Monday Mornings
For the last couple of months I have been enjoying the new series Monday Mornings created by David E. Kelley. It’s a hospital drama that focuses on the surgeons and the meeting each week...
Watch This: Ellen Announces Finding Dory
A couple days ago, Ellen announced the long awaited sequel to 2003’s Finding Nemo. The sequel, Finding Dory, will focus heavily on Ellen’s character Dory from the first film. As...
Katie Dippold Signs 7-Figure Deal With Chernin Entertainment
Katie Dippold’s writing future just got a little brighter. Her film The Heat, directed by Bridemaids‘ Paul Feig and starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy hasn’t...
Beyonce Is A “Modern-Day Feminist”
Beyonce covers this month’s British Vogue. In between questions about her adorable daughter, Blue Ivy, upcoming tour and husband Jay-Z, the publication asked Beyonce if she considers herself a...
Watch This: Full Trailer for Kimberly Peirce’s Carrie
After months of teaser trailers, the full trailer for Kimberly Peirce’s Carrie is here. Starring Chloe Grace Moretz as the iconic title character, Peirce’s reinvisioning of the film is...
Weekly Update April 5: Women-Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Weekend Free Angela and All Political Prisoners – Directed by Shola Lynch (doc) Review from the Toronto Film Festival: Sunday, a bit of history was explored...
Catherine Hardwicke to Direct Age of Miracles
Catherine Hardwicke has signed on to direct the adaptation of Karen Thompson Walker’s bestseller (and one of my favorite books of last year) Age of Miracles. Age of Miracles follows ten...
Roger Ebert – A Remembrance
I grew up in the era of “At the Movies.” I loved that show. I loved those two guys fighting over what they thought about each movie. I loved that they looked like...
Award Winning Screenwriter and Novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Dies
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, an Oscar winning screenwriter and celebrated novelist, has died at the age of 85 from complications caused from a pulmonary condition. Jhabvala was a prolific writer. She wrote...
Playwright’s Horizons Stands Up and For Women Playwrights
Playwright’s Horizons, one of the most important institutions that supports new plays and musicals, has announced it’s upcoming season and it is full of women. Five of the six plays...
Lois Smith and Frances Sternhagen to Receive Obie Lifetime Achievement Award
Lois Smith and Frances Sternhagen are set to share this year’s Obie Lifetime Achievement Award. While it’s an award both certainly deserve, they should each have their own. Smith made...
Jane Nebel Henson – Major Influence on The Muppets – Has Died
Jane Nebel Henson, ex-wife of Jim Henson, passed away after a long struggle with cancer. She was 78. Nebel Henson was described as an “integral creative and business partner” in the...
New Trailer: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – Written by I. Marlene King and Jessica Postigo
Based on the YA series by Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones follows Clary Fray (Lilly Collins), your typical teenage girl until she finds out she’s not so typical. After...
If She Can See It, She Can Be It – Panel Discussion in NYC on April 11
The NY International Children’s Film Festival PRESENTS IF SHE CAN SEE IT, SHE CAN BE IT! FILM SCREENING AND PANEL DISCUSSION SPONSORED BY THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS &...
Danny Boyle Talks About the Need for Better Female Characters
Recently, Jessica Chastain talked about how she feels that roles for women have taken a step back, and it looks as if Oscar winning director Danny Boyle agrees with her. Boyle, known for his films...
Watch This: Gwyneth Paltrow Saving Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 3
In a new TV spot for the upcoming Iron Man 3, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) does the saving. The clip shows Potts in a full suit of armor swooping in to save her beau Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert...
Emma Watson to Receive MTV’s Trailblazer Award
Emma Watson is set to receive MTV’s second annual Trailblazer award which honors young actors who have created their own unique path in the industry. Last year’s recipient was Emma Stone....
New Trailer Watch: Midnight’s Children – Directed by Deepa Mehta
Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children, adapted from Salman Rushdie’s novel, follows two children Saleem and Shiva, who are born just at the moment where India regains its freedom from...
SXSW Review – The Other Shore
Diana Nyad is a warrior. There has never been a woman so aptly named after a Goddess. The Other Shore tells the story of Nyad’s attempts to accomplish the near impossible feat,...
Trailer Watch: Venus and Serena – Directed by Maiken Baird and Michelle Major
Check out the trailer for Venus and Serena, directed by Maiken Baird and Michelle Major. The documentary gives us a look into the lives of bad-ass, iconic tennis powerhouses Venus and Serena Williams...
Hollywood Feminist of the Day: John Legend
John Legend is completely swoon-worthy. He’s an extremely talented and good looking musician. Oh and he’s an outspoken feminist. Legend is involved in the charity, Chime for Change,...
Anne Hathaway and Chloe Grace Moretz Sign onto Lynn Shelton’s Laggies
When Women and Hollywood interviewed Lynn Shelton earlier in the year at Sundance, she mentioned her next project, Laggies, written by Andrea Seigel. Shelton described it about a twentysomething...
Melissa McCarthy to be CinemaCon’s 2013 Female Star of the Year
The very funny Melissa McCarthy will be receiving CinemaCon’s 2013 Female Star of the Year award. Previous winners have included Jennifer Garner, Cameron Diaz, Katherine Heigl, Anne...
Watch This: Amy Poehler Interviews Irma Kalish – Pioneer Comedy Writer
For her super smart web series for girls, Smart Girls at the Party, Amy Poehler interviews Irma Kalish, a pioneer female comedy writer, who wrote for iconic shows such as Good Times, All in the...