News
Amber Fares’ “Speed Sisters” Sets Release Date
“Speed Sisters” is racing into New York. First Run Features has announced that Amber Fares’ doc about the first all-women race car driving team in the Middle East will make its U.S. theatrical...
Cynthia Mort to Write and Direct “Jane Millen,” Starring Olga Kurylenko
“Nina” helmer Cynthia Mort has booked her next gig. She’ll write and direct “Jane Millen,” a crime thriller starring Olga Kurylenko (“Oblivion,” “Quantum of Solace”), The Hollywood...
J.K. Rowling’s “Cormoran Strike” Series Heading to HBO
J.K. Rowling’s work is headed to HBO. You may recall when the “Harry Potter” author turned to the pseudonym Robert Galbraith to write a series of crime novels. Now BBC One is turning them into...
Decision 2016: October’s VOD and Web Series Picks
“The Young Hillary Diaries”: Lifetime Decisions are at the core of most narratives. The emphasis on personal decisions are at the heart of our VOD and web series picks this month. The women...
Biopic of German Singer Nico in the Works
A biopic focusing on German singer Nico is in the works, Variety reports. The late singer was a 1960s icon who played with The Velvet Underground and became a muse of Andy Warhol. Italian director...
Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” Gets Release Date
The breakout horror hit of this year’s festival circuit has a release date. Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” will hit theaters March 10, 2017 and digital platforms in the summer, Birth.Movies.Death....
When Visionary Women Aren’t Trusted: Emma Rice Out at The Globe Theatre
Just two days ago I read a story about Emma Rice, the new (she started in April) and soon to depart Artistic Director of The Globe Theatre in London. She was on a panel sponsored by Tonic Theatre...
Lifetime’s Broad Focus Partners with Chicken & Egg for Short Film Series
Lifetime’s Broad Focus initiative and Chicken & Egg Pictures have partnered up for a project that elevates women’s voices. The duo is producing “Shorts on Time,” a series of short films...
“The Night Manager” Director Susanne Bier to Deliver Keynote at Screen Film Summit
Writer-director Susanne Bier will deliver the keynote speech at Screen Film Summit 2016, Screen International reports. Just over a month ago the prolific Danish filmmaker picked up an Emmy for...
Glenn Close Bringing “Sunset Boulevard” Back to Broadway
Glenn Close is returning to Broadway in the role that won her a Tony. As Variety reports, a new production of “Sunset Boulevard” will hit the Great White Way in February 2017 with Close...
Wendi McLendon-Covey Sells Workplace Comedy to ABC
“The Goldbergs” star Wendi McLendon-Covey has transformed her humble beginnings into comedy gold. Deadline reports that McLendon-Covey has secured a script commitment plus significant penalty...
Maggie Greenwald’s Sundance Romance “Sophie and the Rising Sun” Acquired
“Sophie and the Rising Sun” has found a home, Deadline reports. Monterey Media has acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights to the period romance, starring Julianne Nicholson (“August: Osage...
“Miss Sloane” to Make World Premiere at AFI Fest
Elizabeth Sloane is headed from Capitol Hill to Hollywood. “Miss Sloane,” a thriller centered on a lobbyist who faces off against the gun industry, will make its World Premiere at AFI Fest 2016,...
Tina Fey, Nancy Abraham, and More to Speak at PGA Event in NY
Tina Fey is best known as a writer and actress, but she’s also a powerhouse producer whose credits include “30 Rock,” “Sisters,” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” It’s Fey’s role as...
“The Lady and the Panda” Ruth Harkness Biopic in the Works
A biopic about Ruth Harkness is in the works. Variety reports that filming on “The Lady and the Panda” is set to begin next month in China at the foot of the Himalayas. Vicki Croke’s book...
Bird’s Eye View Releasing Jane Linfoot’s “The Incident”
Birds Eye View, an organization that ran an international film festival from 2002–2014 and currently runs year-round filmmaker training programs, is now getting into distribution. According to...
Playwright Aleshea Harris Wins The Relentless Award for “Is God Is”
Playwright Aleshea Harris has won The Relentless Award, for her play “Is God Is,” The New York Times reports. The award includes prize money of $45,000 and opportunities for staged readings at...
Every Episode of “Jessica Jones” Season 2 Will Be Directed by Women
Your favorite superhero is adding some amazing allies to her team. “Marvel’s Jessica Jones” executive producer and showrunner Melissa Rosenberg has revealed that Season 2 of the hit Netflix...
Jennifer Lawrence to Play Zelda Fitzgerald in Biopic
Jennifer Lawrence is swapping Mystique’s blue body paint for flapper dresses. The Oscar winner has signed on to portray Jazz Age icon Zelda Fitzgerald in “Zelda,” an upcoming biopic about the...
Guest Post: How I Went from Editor to Director
Guest Post by Melissa Kent I have edited more than 20 features and TV movies with credits that include “The Virgin Suicides,” “Four Christmases,” “The Age of Adaline,” and “American...
Rebel Wilson Honored with Inaugural Annette Kellerman Award
“Pitch Perfect” actress Rebel Wilson was honored at the annual Australians in Film Awards gala, held yesterday in LA. Wilson received the inaugural Annette Kellerman Award, which recognizes...
Tribeca Announces Second Through Her Lens Women’s Filmmaker Program
Tribeca Enterprises has partnered with Chanel and announced the second iteration of Through Her Lense: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program. The program “balances industry support,...
Attend 50/50 by 2020 Gender Parity in Entertainment Summit
Swedish Film Institute, Stockholm: Mark Standley On October 25 in Los Angeles, SAG-AFTRA and the Swedish Film Institute will host a one-day summit on the topic of gender parity in the entertainment...
Carol Burnett Returning to Television for Collaboration with Amy Poehler
It’s like our lady comedy dreams are coming true. Television legend Carol Burnett is returning to TV with the help of soon-to-be television legend Amy Poehler. As Deadline reports, Burnett is set...
Reed Morano to Direct “I Think We’re Alone Now,” Starring Elle Fanning
“Meadowland” helmer Reed Morano has signed on to direct “I Think We’re Alone Now,” a post-apocalyptic movie starring Elle Fanning (“Neon Demon”) and Peter Dinklage (“Game of...
Trailer Watch: Amy Adams Defies Orders in Final “Arrival” Spot
The arrival of “Arrival” is fast approaching, and in anticipation of the cerebral sci-fi thriller’s premiere, a heart-pounding final trailer has been released. “Arrival” stars Amy Adams as...
Taraji P. Henson on the Race and Gender Pay Gap: “Insult, Meet Injury”
“I knew the stakes,” Taraji P. Henson writes in her new memoir, “Around the Way.” “No matter how talented, no matter how many accolades my prior work had received, if I pushed for more...
Trailer Watch: Women Chefs Are “Hungry” for Equality in New Documentary
“Have I ever worked under a women chef? I have not.” Rahm Fama, chef and host of the Food Network’s “Meat & Potatoes,” admits this fact in an interview for Logo’s upcoming...
Gotham Award Nominations Announced: “Certain Women,” “Weiner,” and More
“Certain Women’s” profile continues to rise. The nominations for the 26th annual IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards have been announced, and the Kelly Reichardt-directed drama is among the...
Comedy Pilots from Casey Wilson and Iliza Shlesinger in the Works
Get ready to add even more to your To Watch list: new comedy pilots from tag-team Casey Wilson and June Diane Raphael, as well as Iliza Shlesinger are being developed. According to Deadline,...
Book Excerpt: “Never Done: A History of Women’s Work in Media Production”
by Erin Hill There’s a myth in Hollywood that women did not participate in much of film history except as actors or, more rarely, as screenwriters, because they were pushed out from behind the...
Books, Films, News, Television
Eva Longoria’s Production Company Adapting “940 Saturdays” Book for ABC
Eva Longoria, an increasingly busy multi-hyphenate, has another television series in the works. Longoria is reuniting with ABC, the network behind “Desperate Housewives,” to develop “940...
Glenn Close to Star in Film Adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s “The Wife”
Glenn Close is set to star in “The Wife,” a film adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s 2003 novel of the same name. The drama sees the six-time Oscar nominee playing Joan Castleman, a woman best known...
“The Killing” Creator Veena Sud and Netflix Nearing Deal on “Seven Seconds”
“The Killing” creator Veena Sud and Netflix are inching closer to a deal. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “the streaming giant is nearing a series pickup for ‘Seven Seconds,’ a racial...
Issa Rae to Exec Produce “Minimum Wage” Anthology Series Written by Women
“Insecure” debuted on HBO less than a month ago to rave reviews, but the comedy’s star, co-creator, and executive producer isn’t just basking in the success of her new series — she’s...
Awards, Films, News, Television, Theater
Allison Janney Scores Walk of Fame Star and Announces Return to Broadway
Allison Janney is having a big week. The Emmy-winning actress was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, and on Tuesday the New York Times announced Janney’s return to...
Jane Campion Becomes a Dame
Award-winning writer-director Jane Campion is officially a Dame. The Sydney-based filmmaker accepted the honor in a ceremony held in Wellington, New Zealand — her hometown — earlier...
Regina Corrado Is Adapting “Equity” for ABC
“Equity” is coming to the small screen. Deadline reports that the film, released earlier this year, is being made into a drama series, “which has landed at ABC with a script commitment plus...
Maria Maggenti to Write Pilot for TV Land’s “Re Jane”
“Finding Carter” alumna Maria Maggenti is adapting Patricia Park’s 2015 novel “Re Jane” for the small screen. The half-hour, single-camera comedy series is being developed at TV Land,...
Apply Now to EWA’s Scriptwriter Residency Program
The European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA) is offering a scriptwriter residency in Berlin from January 20 to February 17, 2017. This program is an “initiative dedicated to supporting the...
New Docs Turn the Camera on Women Directors
Cady McClain, writer-director of “Seeing is Believing” Directors Cady McClain and Amy Adrion are turning the cameras towards themselves — in a sense. These two filmmakers are developing...
Cathryn Humphris to Write New FBI Procedural at Fox
WGA Award winner Cathryn Humphris is set to pen an FBI procedural drama being developed at Fox, reports Variety. She’s working on the hour-long, untitled series with former “Law & Order:...
Lone Scherfig’s “Their Finest” Gets Release Date
“An Education” director Lone Scherfig will close out the Santa Barbara International Film Festival with her latest film, “Their Finest,” on February 11, and about a month later the WWII-set...
Rose McGowan Calls Out Hollywood for “Rewarding Sociopaths”
“Take a stand.” The open letter Rose McGowan tweeted yesterday can be boiled down into that one sentiment. McGowan argues that it’s time for Hollywood to start recognizing criminals and...
Trailer Watch: Kate Beckinsale is Unstoppable in “Underworld: Blood Wars”
“I’m finished with this war,” Selene (Kate Beckinsale) says. “Well, it’s not finished with you,” David (Theo James, “Divergent”) replies. And so Selene, the heroine of the...
Freeform Orders “Brown Girls” Comedy Pilot from Shilpi Roy and Nastaran Dibai
“Brown Girls” has been given a pilot order from Freeform, the network behind “Pretty Little Liars,” “The Fosters,” and “Switched at Birth,” Deadline reports. The multi-camera comedy...
Nikki Finke Signs First-Look Deal with HBO
Hollywood Dementia founder Nikki Finke has finalized a first-look television deal with HBO, Deadline reports. This agreement means that HBO “will have first crack at developing projects based on...
Reese Witherspoon and Robin Wright Team Up for New Series About First Ladies
Reese Witherspoon and Robin Wright are joining forces. Deadline reports that Witherspoon’s production company, Pacific Standard, and “Spotlight” producer Anonymous Content are collaborating on...
Margaret Nagle to Write “Bonfire of the Vanities” Series
Margaret Nagle has signed on to pen a series based on “Bonfire of the Vanities,” Tom Wolfe’s bestselling 1987 novel. Along with writing the project, “The Good Lie” screenwriter will serve...
Producer Jennifer Cochis Named New Director of LA Film Festival
The Los Angeles Film Festival has named producer Jennifer Cochis (“Smashed”) as its next creative director, Deadline reports. Cochis is succeeding director and producer Stephanie Allain...
Biopic About Trailblazing Mathematician Ada Lovelace Being Developed
A pioneering female mathematician’s untold story is hitting the big screen. Alison Owen and Debra Hayward’s production company, Monumental Pictures, has announced it will make a biopic about Ada...