News
Funny Video of the Day: Wing it Parenthood with Connie Britton
Outspoken Planned Parenthood supporter, Connie Britton appears in this Funny or Die video about Planned Parenthood’s budget cuts. Britton, best-known for playing the amazing and feminist Tami...
Trailer Watch: For Ellen — Directed and Written by So Yong-Kim
In theaters September 19th. For Ellen, written and directed by So Yong-Kim, focuses on a absentee father and musician (Paul Dano) who has to make the decision about whether to fight for custody of...
Miley Cyrus Cuts Hair and the World Thinks She’s Gone Crazy
What is it about young Hollywood women and their hair? A couple of years ago I wrote a piece about the reaction to Emma Watson’s haircut that got page views for months and months. People were...
The Summers of Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep can’t do much wrong in our book. Her newest film, Hope Springs, opened this past weekend on over 2,000 screens. A film that cost $30 million to make has now made over $20 million...
Guest Post: The Strong Women of Copper
BBC America is premiering its first original series Copper this week. The story follows Kevin Corcoran, an Irish-American boxer-turned-cop (played by Tom Weston-Jones) who returns to New York from...
Must Watch Web Series: Lauren — Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
Lauren, a three part web series, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, premiered on August 13 on YouTube’s female focused WIGS channel. Starring The L Word’s Jennifer Beals and Pretty Little...
How Can Women Gain More Influence in Hollywood? A NY Times Forum Debate
Head on over to the NY Times Opinion forum for a debate I co-curated on how we can get more women into power positions in Hollywood. Here’s the overview: Obituaries for Nora Ephron in June...
Linda Bloodworth Thomason and Jodie Foster Take On New Directing Projects
Two new exciting female directed projects were announced yesterday. The first, from Designing Women creator, Linda Bloodworth Thomason is Bridegroom, a Kickstarter funded documentary, raising...
Our Unyielding Obsession with Jennifer Aniston
If you’ve been under a rock for the last couple of days I am here to inform you that we can all calm down now because Jennifer Aniston has finally gotten engaged. If you haven’t been under a...
Remembering Helen Gurley Brown: A Complicated Legacy
Like many feminists, I have some problems with Cosmopolitan. Growing up, it was always a kind of aspirational magazine to me. It seemed adult with its sexy headlines about sex with actresses and...
Sparkle on Nightline
Producer Debra Martin Chase and star Jordin Sparks talked to Deborah Roberts about Whitney Houston’s last film Sparkle which is opening on Friday. Martin Chase and Houston were producing partners...
Trailer Watch: Sarah Polley Directs a Documentary — Stories We Tell
This is a busy year for Sarah Polley. Her film Take This Waltz is now in release in the US and now she has a documentary premiering at Venice and Toronto. Here’s the opaque description from the...
Feminist Pussy Riot Band on Trial in Russia
Something horrific is going on in Moscow that needs a lot more attention. Three women who are members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot were jailed several months ago for “hooliganism” and...
Thank You Women Athletes for a Great Olympics
Looking back on the last two weeks this was clearly the women’s Olympics. Aside from Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt it was the women’s stories that dominated the airwaves (at least here in the...
Trailer Watch: Diana Vreeland- The Eye Has to Travel Directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland
Film opens September 21.
The Real Hunger Games
In honor of the GOP VP candidate. It’s from May but feels very appropriate today. And also remember that this guy is to the right of Romney on reproductive choice.
The LA Times Talks to Three Women Directors — Where is the Female Equivalent of Woody Allen?
Check out the LA Times piece on Ava DuVernay, Jullie Delpy and Leslye Headland. While things still suck for women directors, it kind of feels like the conversation is shifting. Maybe I am being too...
Elizabeth Banks Stands Up for Planned Parenthood and Obama
I just wish she didn’t have to justify why she got her birth control. But at least she’s doing some talking which is more than most folks.
Sexism Watch: Emma Stone Calls Out Sexism
Love this. You can check out the full version here. Cross posted with permission from Upworthy (a site you should check out.) The Adeventures of Emma in Hollywoodland (Upworthy)
Three Female Screenwriters Considered for Fifty Shades of Grey Adaptation
We previously reported that the producing duo from The Social Network, Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti would be producing the film adaptation of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey and we hoped...
Hope Springs Written by Vanessa Taylor
Here’s a confession. I got nervous when I saw the posters for Hope Springs. I am so used to seeing Meryl Streep play roles in which she seems larger than life that when I looked at the hairdo, the...
Remembering Judith Crist
Groundbreaking film critic Judith Crist died at her home on August 7 at the age of 90 after a long illness. Crist was truly a trailblazer, as she was the first full-time female critic at any major...
Olympics Watch: Yo Geno Had It Not Been for Feminists You Wouldn’t Have Your High Paying Coaching Gig
I’ve had very mixed feelings about Geno Auriemma the women’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut. He’s bred many wonderful players and now this week he is leading the US...
Trailer Watch: Nobody Walks — directed by Ry Russo-Young and written by Ry Russo Young and Lena Dunham
The film premiered at Sundance 2012 and will open in theatres on October 12
A Huge Day for Jennifer Lawrence: $10 Million Hunger Games Salary and New Starring Role
Yesterday was a big day for Jennifer Lawrence. Not only is she in talks to increase her salary for the next Hunger Games film Catching Fire, she is also in negotiations/attached to star in a new...
Catherine Keener, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Toni Collette to Star in Nicole Holofcener’s New Film
Nicole Holofcener’s untitled new project began principal photography on Monday in Los Angeles. The film will be distributed by Fox Searchlight. Catherine Keener — who has been in all of...
The Adrienne Shelly Foundation Announces 2012 Grant Recipients
The Adrienne Shelly Foundation announced their five new grant recipients for 2012. The five grants are awarded in conjunction with other organizations/ institutions including: Columbia University,...
The Director of the “Greatest” Film of All Time Was A Sexual Harasser
Last week as the film world was celebrating the elevation of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo to the top of the once a decade Sight and Sound list of “Greatest Films of All Time”, the leading...
Guest Post: Hello, Norma Jeane
* “Please don’t make me a joke.” — Marilyn Monroe Most surprising about Norma Jeane Baker’s grave is this: it does not exist. No tombstone, mausoleum or urn marks her final resting...
Red Band Trailer for Bachelorette Written and Directed by Leslye Headland
Talk about raunch. Yowza. On demand — August 10, in theatres September 8. Synopsis: On the night before an old friend’s wedding, three frisky bridesmaids go searching for a little fun but...
New Trailer for Sparkle written by Mara Brock Akil
Film hits screens on August 17th. MTVNPlayer Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog New ‘Sparkle’ trailer features Cee Lo Green, Whitney Houston (EW)
What Are the Greatest Movies Directed by Women?
Fueled by the anger of another best of list sorely lacking in women, I would like to put forward the following films (which came from people all over the world through twitter and facebook) for the...
Guest Post: Dreams in New York
As the producer of British filmmaker Carol Morley’s films to date and an ex-New Yorker now based in London, I’m thrilled Dreams of a Life is getting a hometown viewing. Dreams of a Life is a...
Celeste and Jesse Forever
Here’s the first installment where we (the folks who bring you Women and Hollywood) give our opinions (sometimes similiar) of a film opening. I loved Rashida Jones before seeing Celeste and Jesse...
Mosquita y Mari — Written and Directed by Aurora Guerrero
Mosquita y Mari is born from the memory of Aurora Guerrero’s adolescence. It is a lovely coming of age story of two Latina girls in the Huntington Park neighborhood in LA. On the surface the girls...
Gender Matters: The Sight and Sound Top 50 Films Of All Time List
Yesterday, the twittersphere went a bit wiggy with the once a decade Sight and Sound Top 50 Films of All Time List. Thie list has been published every 10 years year since 1962 and Citizen Kane made...
Drew Barrymore, Amy Berg Announce New Directing Projects
Two exciting new women-directed projects were announced this week. Amy Berg, Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker, will be directing her first narrative feature. Indiewire reports that Every...
2012 Gucci Award for Women in Cinema Nominees Annnounced
Famed fashion house, Gucci, has announced the 2012 nominees for the Gucci Award for Women in Cinema. The award, which is for women’s artistic achievement in film, is awarded collaboratively with...
Women Directed Additions to Toronto 2012 Lineup
The Toronto International Film Festival rolled out 60 additional titles today. Here are some of the women directed films in the documentary and vanguard programs. (All Synopses from the TIFF press...
Interview with Aurora Guerrero — Writer/Director of Mosquita y Mari
Mosquita y Mari writer and director Aurora Guerrero answered some questions (by email) fresh from the film recently winning Best Actress (Fenessa Pineda) and the Audience Award for Outstanding First...
In Appreciation: Lupe Ontiveros
Latina actress Lupe Ontiveros lost her battle with liver cancer last week at 69. She had a long a varied career in Hollywood beginning in 1976 when she appeared in an episode of Charlie’s...
Trailer Watch: Cloud Atlas — Co-Directed by Lana Wachowski
The Wachowskis are an incredibly successful writing/directing duo best known for the Matrix Trilogy. They are also known for the cult classic Bound and for writing V for Vendetta. They’ve been off...
Weekly Roundup
Here’s a round-up of some of the stories we didn’t get a chance to cover last week but wanted you to know about. The Opposite Trajectories of Kate Hudson and Anne...
New Trailer: Middle of Nowhere — Written and Directed by Ava Duvernay
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE | In theaters October 12, 2012 Synopsis: Winner of the Best Director Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE follows Ruby, a bright medical student who sets...
Guest Post: Until the Fat Girl Swims
Many filmmakers talk about how their vocation is a “labor of love.” For most of us, the “labor” can frequently exceed the “love.” However, when we release our films out into the world it...
4 Women Directors in Competition at 2012 Venice International Film Festival
Contrary to the folks at Cannes who seem to not be able to find any women directed movies for their competition, Alberto Barbara has gotten 4 films with women directors (or co-directors) in the...
The Public Shaming of Kristen Stewart
Yesterday, the highest paid film actress, Kristen Stewart, — she of Twilight fame — released a very bizarre press release apologizing to her boyfriend and Twilight co-star Robert...
Trailer Watch: Jack and Diane
Film will open in the US on November 2. Synopsis: Jack and Diane, two teenage girls, meet in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane’s charming innocence quickly begins to...
Ruby Sparks- Written by Zoe Kazan and Directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton
It’s no surprise that Zoe Kazan who penned the delightful new film Ruby Sparks opening today is a good writer. Both her parents — Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord are also top tier Hollywood...
Feminist Dad of the Day: Christian Bale
I was reading the Batman cover story in EW and I wanted to shaare this quote from the interview with Christian Bale. What was the last great kids’ film you saw? I have a daughter, so it becomes...
Producer Janet Yang to Receive 2012 Asian American Media Award
Tonight, on the opening night of the 2012 Asian American International Film Festival, Asian CineVision will award Janet Yang with the 2012 Asian American Media Award. Yang is a deeply respected...