News
“Halloween” Marks Biggest Debut for a Film with Female Lead Over 55
Jamie Lee Curtis battled Michael Myers and misconceptions about the box office this weekend. “Halloween” proved to be an irresistible treat to audiences, taking in $77.5 million in North...
“Grown-ish” Exec Producer Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry Signs Overall Deal with ABC
We’re going to be seeing more from Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry. As Deadline reports, the “Grown-ish” executive producer has inked an overall deal with ABC Studios. The pact will see...
Filmstruck and Film Movement Plus Honoring Women Directors with New Film Collections
Time to plan a movie night. Streamers Filmstruck and Film Movement Plus are both celebrating female directors with newly-added collections of women-helmed films. Filmstruck’s “Spotlight:...
Experimental Filmmaker Marie Losier Will Receive MoMA Retrospective
The Museum of Modern Art is recognizing the work of French artist and experimental filmmaker Marie Losier. From November 1-11 the museum will host “Marie Losier: Just A Million Dreams,”...
#FemaleFilmmakerFriday: Women Gather at BFI London Film Fest
The BFI London Film Festival gathered a seriously formidable crowd earlier today. Many of the female filmmakers screening works at LFF posed alongside female journalists, activists, jurors, and other...
“UnREAL” Co-Creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro Inks Overall Deal with ABC Studios
“UnREAL” concluded its fourth and final season earlier this year, but series co-creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro has plenty more stories to tell. She just signed on to a two-year overall...
Time’s Up UK Donates £1 Million to Support Sexual Harassment and Abuse Survivors
The Justice and Equality Fund, the UK counterpart to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, has drawn £1 million (about $1.3 million USD) in order to make its first major donations. Only eight...
WeForShe Accepting Nominations for 2019 WriteHer List
Industry professionals, this is for you: WeForShe is accepting nominations for its fifth annual WriteHer List, a curation of the best women-written, women-driven pilot scripts out there. The...
Soska Sisters to Pen New Black Widow Comic Book Series
A standalone Black Widow film is finally in the works — and with a woman at the helm — but there’s more great news for fans of the former Russian spy. Jen and Sylvia Soska have...
Paul Feig’s New Powderkeg: Fuse Program Producing Six Shorts from Women Directors
Paul Feig is, once again, using his power and status to support women. The “Simple Favor” director is hosting an incubator for women filmmakers via his and Laura Fischer’s digital...
WIF LA and Ghetto Film School Join Forces to Support Young WOC Filmmakers
Women in Film Los Angeles (WIF LA) and non-profit filmmaking program Ghetto Film School are working together to support up-and-coming women filmmakers of color. According to Variety, the two orgs...
The Academy Launches Action: The Women’s Initiative, Events Planned in LA and London
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences — the body behind the Oscars — has a famously bad track record when it comes to recognizing female filmmakers: just one woman, Kathryn...
Join Women and Hollywood for a #MeToo Panel Discussion at Hamptons Film Fest
The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is commemorating the #MeToo movement. It’s been nearly a year since the Harvey Weinstein stories broke and #MeToo became part of our everyday...
#TimesUp Names Lisa Borders as President and CEO
#TimesUp has locked in its first-ever President and CEO. Former WNBA President Lisa Borders will take on the position effective November 1. A press release announcing the news emphasized that the...
Emma Watson Pens Letter to Woman Who Died Due to Ireland’s Anti-Abortion Law: “Rest in Power”
In 2012 Savita Halappanavar died in Ireland after suffering a septic miscarriage. The 31-year-old Indian-born dentist was under medical supervision for seven days and could have survived had doctors...
New California Law Requires Talent Agencies to Address Sexual Harassment
Yet another major step has been taken to help ensure that #TimesUp on Hollywood’s sexist culture: a new law requiring talent agencies to “provide educational materials on sexual...
“9 to 5” and Other Jane Fonda Favorites Return to UK Theaters
Almost 40 years ago, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton took office sexism into their own hands in Colin Higgins and Patricia Resnick’s workplace comedy “9 to 5.” Now, BFI...
Women in Entertainment Annual Summit to Feature Geena Davis, “Love, Gilda,” and More
Women in Entertainment (WIE) announced that its annual summit will take place at Los Angeles’ Skirball Cultural Center on October 11. Per its press release, WIE, founded by Gretchen McCourt and...
Annie Ward and Lara Prescott’s Upcoming Novels Land Adaptation Deals
It’s a good day to be a female author, especially if you’re Annie Ward or Lara Prescott. Each writer has received respective adaptation deals for novels that have yet to hit the shelves....
ReFrame Is Accepting TV Submissions for Gender Equality Stamp
Having already bestowed its stamp of approval to 34 films, ReFrame is now setting its sights on the television landscape. According to The Hollywood Reporter, ReFrame is asking for TV submissions for...
The Met Is Finally Commissioning Operas by Women
Today in this-is-2018-WTF?! news, the Metropolitan Opera has announced several new ventures intended to draw in audiences, including commissioning women to write operas for the first time ever. Yep,...
Join Today’s National Walkout in Support of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez
In solidarity with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, who have accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, a national walkout has been organized. At 1pm EST...
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Women and Hollywood needs your input. We strive to provide resources that are helpful to our readers and our community. In order to ensure we are as beneficial to our community as possible, we would...
France Launches Financial Incentives for Productions with Gender Parity
France is launching a state funding bonus for productions in which the director and key crew members are women, ScreenDaily reports. Earlier this year the country’s — and arguably...
Weekly Update for September 21: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD WANTS YOUR INPUT Women and Hollywood strives to provide resources that are helpful to our readers and our community. We would be grateful if you took a few moments to participate...
Reed Morano Signs Overall Deal with Amazon Studios
Reed Morano is taking her considerable talents to Amazon. Variety reports the director-cinematographer-producer has inked an overall deal with Amazon Studios that will see her creating original...
You’re Invited: Join Women and Hollywood at the Women Sports Film Fest in San Francisco
If you’ll be in the Bay Area next week, you should swing by the 3rd Annual Women Sports Film Festival (WSFF). Women and Hollywood is co-presenting the fest, whose mission is to advance gender...
Elaine May Film Series to Screen in London
Elaine May’s filmography is being revisited. London’s Badlands Collective is hosting “Painfully Funny: The Complete Directorial Works of Elaine May,” a series celebrating...
Sales: Claire Denis’ “High Life,” Anne Fletcher’s Jennifer Aniston-Starrer “Dumplin,” & More
A number of women-helmed projects have found homes in recent days. A24 acquired North American distribution rights to Claire Denis’ English-language debut, “High Life”; Netflix...
Ruth Wilson, Elizabeth Marvel, and More Join Glenda Jackson in Broadway’s “King Lear”
Ruth Wilson, Elizabeth Marvel, Jayne Houdyshell, and Aisling O’Sullivan are set to take a walk in the rain with Shakespeare’s tragic king. Deadline confirms they have joined the cast of...
Mary Harron’s Manson Family Drama “Charlie Says” Acquired by IFC Films
Mary Harron’s latest has found a home. IFC Films snagged North American rights to the “American Psycho” helmer’s take on the Manson Family, “Charlie Says.” The...
Les Moonves Out as Chairman and CEO of CBS, Still Not Taking Accountability
It’s official: Les Moonves is no longer the chairman and CEO of CBS. “As part of the settlement, he and CBS are donating $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo...
New WarnerMedia Policy Makes Significant Commitment to Inclusion on Both Sides of Camera
WarnerMedia — the conglomerate made up of Warner Bros., HBO, Turner, and their assets — is adopting a company-wide policy that commits to diversity and inclusion on- and off-screen....
Director Jacques Audiard Speaks Out About Gender Inequality at Fests
French filmmaker Jacques Audiard is speaking out on behalf of his female peers. Rather than standing idly by as women fight for better representation at fests, the director is using his voice to add...
BIFA Holding Mandatory Unconscious Bias Training Ahead of 2018 Awards
The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is addressing its own prejudices. Screen Daily reports that the organization is requiring its voters to complete unconscious bias training before its 2018...
Female UK Playwrights Call for More Women-Written Plays to Be Commissioned, Included in Canon
Charlotte Jones, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Tanika Gupta, and more playwrights are calling time’s up on UK theater’s exclusion of women writers. According to The Stage, they are demanding...
“Crazy Rich Asians” & “The Wife” Among 22 Films to Receive ReFrame’s Gender Equality Stamp
ReFrame has bestowed its stamp of approval to 22 more films. Introduced earlier this summer, the stamp is given to films and TV projects that hire female-identifying individuals on both sides of the...
Rotten Tomatoes Updates Critics Criteria to Be More Inclusive, Adds Over 200 Tomatometer-Approved Writers
After recent studies from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found that film criticism is dominated by white men, Rotten Tomatoes is...
BBC America & Women’s Media Center Team Up to Increase Women’s Onscreen Representation
BBC America and Women’s Media Center (WMC) are working together to improve the media’s depictions of women. A press release has announced that the TV network and the feminist organization...
Ava DuVernay to Premiere Short Film on OWN, Signs Open Letter About Hollywood’s Pay Gap
Ava DuVernay is set to premiere a new short film on OWN. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker will debut “August 28th: A Day in the Life of a People” on the network behind her TV series,...
Sharon Horgan to Make Her Feature Directorial Debut, Has Yet Another Show in the Works
Sharon Horgan is squeezing two more projects into her jam-packed schedule. Deadline confirms the “Catastrophe” star and co-creator will direct her first feature film, and is teaming up...
IMDbPro’s New App Includes Tap-to-Call WIF Sexual Harassment Hotline Feature
IMDbPro, the movie and TV database’s subscription platform, will make it easier for its members to report sexual harassment or seek other kinds of help. Variety reports the new IMDbPro app...
Tiffany Haddish Lines Up Netflix Stand-Up Special
Hot off her appearance at the MTV’s Video Music Awards comes word that Tiffany Haddish is getting an hour-long stand-up comedy special on Netflix. A press release announced that the...
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Forbes’ Highest-Paid Actresses 2018: Scarlett Johansson Is No. 1, Gal Gadot Makes the Cut
Black Widow is kicking ass all the way to the bank. Forbes has published its World’s Highest-Paid Actresses list of 2018 with “Avengers” mainstay Scarlett Johansson at the top. The...
Miranda Sings Netflix Comedy Special On the Way
Miranda Sings will return to Netflix. Colleen Ballinger’s character, the millennials’ answer to Florence Foster Jenkins, is getting her own Netflix special, Variety reports. The special will...
Trans & Nonbinary Communities Demand Better Representation in Open Letter, 47 Orgs Sign
Trans and nonbinary individuals — and their allies — are pushing Hollywood to tell more inclusive, authentic stories about their lives. In an open letter published in Variety, GLAAD and...
Apply Now: 2019 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship
The 2019 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship is now accepting submissions. Entering its ninth year, the fellowship supports up-and-coming documentary editors in honor of Sundance award-winning...
Refinery29 Teams Up with NEON to Distribute Women-Driven Features
Refinery29 is getting into the feature film game. The young women’s digital media and entertainment company is partnering with NEON, the studio behind “I, Tonya” and “Ingrid...
Abigail Disney’s Fork Films Announces $625,000 in Grant Funding to Docs
Fork Films is at it again. Abigail Disney’s company announced that it has provided $625,000 in grant funding to 16 new documentaries “that align with the company’s dedication to...
Lianne Halfon Is AFI Conservatory’s New Producing Discipline Head
Lianne Halfon will use her producing experience to teach and train the next generation of filmmakers. The American Film Institute (AFI) announced via press release that the veteran producer is AFI...