News
Laurie Nunn’s Dramedy Series “Sex Education” Receives Order from Netflix
Sex ed might be disappearing from U.S. public schools but at least it’s alive and well on Netflix. According to Deadline, the streamer has ordered “Sex Education,” a dramedy series from Laurie...
“Lady Bird” Makes Rotten Tomatoes Herstory as Best-Reviewed Movie Ever
“Lady Bird” has soared all the way into record books. Greta Gerwig’s solo directorial debut is officially Rotten Tomatoes’ best-reviewed film of all time, Indiewire confirms. The Saoirse...
Opioid Epidemic Drama from “Gotham” Writer-Producer Rebecca Cutter Headed to Starz
Rebecca Cutter is turning her gaze from the fictional world of Gotham to the very real opioid epidemic in Provincetown, MA. The writer-producer of Fox’s Batman prequel “Gotham” has a new show...
Guest Post: Why We Still Need Niche Film Festivals
Guest Post by Savine Wong I was very lucky, and I knew it. As a woman working in the financial sector in Hong Kong, my strong command of the English language set me apart from the other women in my...
Ruth Ware’s “The Lying Game” Is Coming to TV
“The Lying Game” is heading to the small screen. Entertainment One (eOne) and The Gotham Group are teaming up for the adaptation of Ruth Ware’s New York Times-bestseller, Deadline reports. The...
Allison Janney to Receive Honor at Palm Springs Film Festival
Allison Janney’s earning lots of Oscar buzz for her supporting role in Tonya Harding biopic “I, Tonya,” and the seven-time Emmy winner’s award season is getting off to a strong start. Last...
Round-Up: Updates on Sexual Misconduct In and Out of Hollywood
The avalanche of stories about predatory behavior in Hollywood and beyond continues. In the past few days alone reports have come to light about news anchor Charlie Rose, Disney head and Pixar...
Pam Veasey Multigenerational Female Drama in the Works at TNT
A multigenerational female drama may be headed our way. TNT is developing “East of Jingletown,” a drama series from Pam Veasey (“CSI:NY,” “In Living Color”). The project follows “four...
Women Comprise 60% of Variety‘s 2017 Screenwriters to Watch List
Variety has announced the scribes selected for its 10 Screenwriters to Watch of 2017 and six of the writers are women. They include Liz Hannah (“The Post”), Maggie Betts (“Novitiate”), and...
Female-Led WWII Spy Thriller from Lydia Dean Pilcher and Sarah Megan Thomas in Development
Another female-led spy thriller is on the way, this one based on a true story. Set in WWII, the pic tells the story of spy recruiter Vera Atkins. The as-yet untitled project will be written by Sarah...
Female-Led Bids Vie to Buy Weinstein Company, Support Women
In the seven weeks or so since The New York Times published an exposé on Harvey Weinstein, Weinstein has fallen swiftly and rightfully from grace, and other industry predators like Brett Ratner,...
The Quad Salutes Lois Smith by Screening Her Career Highlights
Just days ago Lois Smith received this year’s Golden Key Award for Career Achievement at the Key West Film Festival. Now comes word that the industry vet will be honored at New York City’s Quad...
Marja-Lewis Ryan to Serve as Showrunner on Showtime’s “The L Word” Sequel
The upcoming “L Word” sequel has found a showrunner. According to Deadline, Marja-Lewis Ryan (“The Four-Faced Liar”) will be steering Showtime’s continuation of the beloved series....
Pascal Pictures Acquires Kat Wood’s Sci-Fi Spec “Envoy”
Amy Pascal has yet another promising project in the works. According to Deadline, Pascal Pictures nabbed the rights to Kat Wood’s sci-fi thriller spec “Envoy.” Described as being in the vein...
Laura Dern, Julie Dash, & More to Be Honored at NYWIFT’s Muse Awards
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) is set to honor some of the entertainment industry’s best and brightest. For 38 years, the professional association has presented the Muse Awards...
“Orange Is the New Black” Creator Jenji Kohan Signs Overall Deal with Netflix
Jenji Kohan is making it official with Netflix. The “Orange Is the New Black” creator has signed a multi-year overall deal with the streaming giant, Variety reports. Kohan’s female-led prison...
Viola Davis To Star in and Produce “I Almost Forgot About You”
Viola Davis is teaming up with the director of “Girls Trip.” The “How to Get Away with Murder” star will topline and produce an adaptation of Terry McMillan’s best-selling novel “I...
The End of the Beginning: A Reckoning Thousands of Years in the Making
I don’t know about you, but when I wake up in the morning, even after a decent night of sleep, I am exhausted. I have been exhausted, outraged, moved, anxious, and pretty much every other emotion...
Lois Smith to Receive Career Achievement Honor at Key West Film Festival
Lois Smith has been making her mark on the screen and stage for seven decades. The celebrated actress is set to receive the Golden Key Award for Career Achievement at the Key West Film Festival, a...
Guest Post: How Film Schools Lead to Pipelines Full of Weinsteins
Guest Post by Mary Celeste Kearney Want to know how to eliminate sexual harassment in the Hollywood industry? Stop it in film schools. Yes, I realize that not all media professionals attend film...
Liz Hannah and Amy Pascal Developing Female Astronaut Miniseries for Amazon
Liz Hannah and Amy Pascal are teaming up again. The respective co-writer and producer of “The Post” are adapting Martha Ackmann’s non-fiction book “The Mercury 13: The Untold Story of...
Women In Animation and Raising Films Join the Fight Against Sexual Harassment
Women In Animation (WIA) and Raising Films are joining the growing movement combating sexual harassment and abuse in the entertainment industry. Per Deadline, WIA has been bringing the subject up at...
Trailer Watch: Jesus Is Watching in Lena Waithe’s “The Chi”
Comprised mostly of snippets, the first trailer for “The Chi” doesn’t reveal much about the new Showtime series’ plot. We catch a peek of various characters and scenarios, ranging from a mom...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lisa Immordino Vreeland — “Love, Cecil”
Lisa Immordino Vreeland is an award-winning director whose credits include “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel” and “Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict.” “Love, Cecil” premiered at the...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Evan Briggs — “The Growing Season”
Evan Briggs worked as a field producer on the documentary “Tough Love,” which aired on the PBS series “P.O.V.” in 2015. She has taught filmmaking through the Digital Media Academy in San...
Swedish Film Institute Introduces Sexual Harassment Education Program
The Swedish Film Institute is developing a program to inform and educate filmmakers about sexual harassment. Expected to officially launch in 2018, the full-day initiative appears to have been...
Jesmyn Ward Makes History and Wins Second National Book Award for “Sing, Unburied, Sing”
This year’s National Book Awards were dominated by women. Female writers took home prizes in three major categories: fiction, nonfiction, and young people’s literature. An event celebrating the...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Alison Chernick — “Itzhak”
In award-winning documentaries profiling major contemporary artists, Alison Chernick has captured the thoughts and processes of this century’s most prolific visual artists. Her credits include...
Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, & More Talk Equal Pay and Abuse in THR Roundtable
Lawrence: THR “I hope the entertainment industry will never be the same,” Jessica Chastain responded when asked about the current watershed moment in Hollywood during a roundtable hosted by The...
Ava DuVernay to Receive Industry Visionary Award at American Black Film Fest Honors
2018 is gearing up to be a great year for Ava DuVernay. The “Selma” director’s much-anticipated adaptation of “A Wrinkle in Time” hits theaters March 9, and now comes word that she’ll be...
Women and Hollywood Announces London Trailblazer Awardees & First-Time Female Filmmaker Contest…
Women and Hollywood Announces London Trailblazer Awardees & First-Time Female Filmmaker Contest Winners Women and Hollywood is honored to share the recipients of the Trailblazer Awards, which...
Claire Schmidt Leaves Fox to Head Startup Combating Workplace Harassment
Claire Schmidt is stepping down from her post as a VP at 20th Century Fox in order to join new startup AllVoices, a website “where anyone can anonymously report instances of harassment,...
Stana Katic-Led FBI Agent Drama Series “Absentia” Headed to Amazon
You’ll soon be able to stream “Absentia” via Amazon Prime. Having been originally released on Sony’s AXN channels earlier this fall, the thriller drama series starring “Castle” alumna...
“Girls Trip’s” Tiffany Haddish Has Two New Projects in the Works
Thanks to Tiffany Haddish, we’ll never look at grapefruits the same way. The hilarious “Girls Trip” breakout is riding the momentum of the box office hit and is in talks to join New Line’s...
Whitney Cummings’ “The Female Brain” Snagged by IFC
Whitney Cummings’ directorial debut has secured distribution. IFC Films scored the U.S. and Canadian rights to “The Female Brain,” Variety reports. Based on Louann Brizendine’s bestselling...
Taraji P. Henson to Topline “What Men Want”
Another gender-bending twist on a classic is headed our way. Female-led reboots of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “Ocean’s Eleven” are in the works, and now comes word that “Empire”...
DGA Reports Slight Increase in Number of Women and Minority TV Directors in 2016–17 Season
“Insecure” employed 100 percent women and minority directors in 2016–17 The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has published the 2016–17 Episodic TV Director Diversity Report. The annual study...
Athena Film Festival Announces 2018 Awardees: Barbara Kopple, Amma Asante, & Bridget Everett
The Athena Film Festival has announced its 2018 awardees: two-time Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple, BAFTA-winning writer and director Amma Asante, and cabaret artist and...
“Wonder Woman 2” Release Gets Bumped Up, MGM Dates Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson Comedy
Diana Prince is returning sooner than expected. Originally scheduled to hit theaters December 13, 2019, “Wonder Woman 2” will now be released November 1, 2019, six weeks earlier than planned....
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tiffany Bartok — “Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story”
Tiffany Bartok worked consistently as an actress but soon discovered a talent for makeup artistry. She began to sharpen her makeup skills on celebrities and film crews. Bartok made the decision to...
Watch NYWIFT’s Fall Shorts Festival Online Now
Want to check out a film festival without the hassle of ordering tickets, waiting in long lines, and dressing up? You’re in luck. You can experience the New York Women in Film & Television...
Joanna Quraishi Comedy About Woman Exploring Middle-Eastern Roots in Development at CBS
Joanna Quraishi has a new project in the works. Variety reports that CBS is developing a comedy from the “Kevin Can Wait” scribe. Currently untitled, the series would center on a “millennial...
Maria Bello and Jessica Goldberg Team Up for NBC Drama About Doctor on a Remote Island
Jessica Goldberg is switching gears from Meyerism to a medical drama. “The Path” creator has a new series in development at NBC, “Relief.” The project sees her teaming up with “NCIS”...
Apply Now: Women and Hollywood Internship
Women and Hollywood is looking for two interns for the first half of 2018. The positions will begin on January 2, 2018 and end on June 30, 2018. Applicants must be willing to commit to six months...
Emmy Rossum to Portray Mysterious Hollywood Icon Angelyne in Limited Series
Emmy Rossum is bringing a mysterious Hollywood legend’s story to the small screen. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that the “Shameless” star will topline a limited series about Angelyne, the...
Kathleen Kennedy to Receive Top Honor at the 2018 Art Directors Guild Awards
Kathleen Kennedy will take home the top prize at the 22nd annual Art Directors Guild (ADG) Awards. The Lucasfilm president and “Star Wars” producer will receive the Cinematic Imagery Award, an...
Zendaya to Star in Film About Vassar’s First Female African-American Graduate
Hot off her turn as a math wiz in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Zendaya’s newest project sees her enrolling at one of the most prestigious liberal arts schools in the United States. The “K.C....
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sascha Ettinger Epstein — “The Pink House”
Sascha Ettinger Epstein is a documentary director/shooter known for raw, observational Australian stories featuring unusual characters. Her credits include “Painting with Light in a Dark World,”...
Embracing Mythology: The Success of “Wonder Woman” and Failure of “Thor: Ragnarok”
The Amazons of “Wonder Woman” Since the launch of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe in 2008, every year seems to be a Big Year for superhero action films, but 2017 in particular saw the release of...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Attiya Khan — “A Better Man”
Attiya Khan is a first-time director who primarily works as an advocate and counselor for abused women and children. She has worked in women’s shelters in Canada and the United States, including...
Study: Young Female Characters Are MIA in Last Decade’s Top Films
The feeling of being overlooked, misunderstood, or ignored is common amongst adolescents. As such, there’s some inherent irony in a new study from Dr. Stacy L. Smith of the Media, Diversity &...