News
TCM Celebrates “Trailblazing Women” with Bette Midler, Jane Fonda, and More
It’s time to enjoy some herstory. Turner Classics Movies (TCM) is reteaming with Women in Film Los Angeles (WIF) for the second annual installment of the “Trailblaizing Women” series. The...
New Research Shows Hollywood Is Ageist
Hollywood has an age problem. This is an easily observable fact, but new research reveals just how bad the problem is. In a new study released by the Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative at...
Producer Effie Brown Named Keynote Speaker at 2016 Film Independent Forum
“Dear White People” producer Effie Brown is slated to deliver the Keynote address at the 12th annual Film Independent Forum, Shadow and Act reports. Film Independent is the the non-profit arts...
Storm Reid Lands Lead in Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time”
Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time” has found its young star. Storm Reid has landed the lead role of Meg Murry in the Disney adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic children’s book, The...
DGA Report Names Best and Worst Shows for Hiring Diverse Directors
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has released its 2015–16 Diversity Report. The study analyzes the ethnicity and gender of directors hired to helm episodic television series across broadcast,...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Katherine Dieckmann — “Strange Weather”
Katherine Dieckmann’s films include “Motherhood,” “Diggers,” and “A Good Baby.” She began her career as a journalist, writing for such publications as Rolling Stone, The Village Voice,...
Trailer Watch: Jessica Chastain Puts Up a Fight in “Miss Sloane”
The best Actress Oscar Race continues to heat up. If the new trailer for “Miss Sloane” is any indication, Jessica Chastain will be joining the running as well. “Miss Sloane,” according to...
Shamim Sarif’s “Despite the Falling Snow” Gets U.S. Distribution
Shamim Sarif’s Cold War thriller “Despite The Falling Snow” has been picked up by ET Pictures for a U.S. release, Screen Daily reports. The film is described as a “romance-thriller about a...
“Fresh Off the Boat” Producer Kourtney Kang Gets Pilot Based on Her Life
NBC has ordered a pilot for a family comedy based on the life of “Fresh Off the Boat” producer Kourtney Kang. The comedy, The Hollywood Reporter writes, will “explore what it’s like to grow...
New TV Research Reveals Gender Inequality On-Screen and Off
While television is widely considered a more female-friendly medium than film, new research from Dr. Martha Lauzen demonstrates that the small-screen isn’t nearly as progressive when it comes to...
Pietra Brettkelly’s “A Flickering Truth” Will Represent New Zealand at the Oscars
Film lovers and supporters of female directors will be excited about this one: New Zealand has chosen “A Flickering Truth” as their contender for the Academy Awards in the foreign-language...
Natalie Portman Enters the Oscar Race with “Jackie”
Natalie Portman might be heading for her second Best Actress Oscar. As Deadline reports, the biopic “Jackie,” in which Portman plays Jackie Kennedy before and after the assassination of JFK, has...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Bronwen Hughes — “The Journey is the Destination”
Bronwen Hughes is a Canadian-British film director based in New York and Hollywood. “The Journey is the Destination” is her fourth feature film. Hughes’ previous films include “Forces of...
“Saturday Night Live” Finally Hires First Latina Cast Member
“Saturday Night Live” announced three new cast members for its upcoming 42nd season yesterday, one of whom will be the sketch series’ very first Latina. Melissa Villaseñor has been added as...
“Transparent” Creator Jill Soloway Talks the Female Gaze at TIFF
Jill Soloway, one of our favorite artists and creator of hit series “Transparent” and the new comedy “I Love Dick,” hit up the Toronto International Film Festival to give a master class on...
Sarah Jessica Parker to Play a Singer in Upcoming Drama
Sarah Jessica Parker in “All Roads Lead to Rome”: Cristina di Paolo Antonio / eOne Entertainment Sarah Jessica Parker portrays a woman who is ending her marriage in HBO’s upcoming series...
Elisabeth Moss’ “The Square” Heading to Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “The Square,” starring Elisabeth Moss, The Hollywood Reporter writes. The film, THR reports, which is set in the art world, “follows...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Robin Swicord — “Wakefield”
Robin Swicord made her feature directorial debut with “The Jane Austen Book Club,” which she also penned the screenplay for. Her other screenwriting credits include “Memoirs of a Geisha,”...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Emmanuelle Bercot — “150 Milligrams”
Emmanuelle Bercot’s previous directing credits include “Clément,” “Backstage,” “On My Way,” and “Standing Tall.” Bercot’s films have earned her many awards and honors,...
Katie Holmes’ Feature Directorial Debut Gets Distribution
Katie Holmes’ feature directorial debut has found a home. Gravitas Ventures has acquired the North American rights to “All We Had,” Holmes’ mother-daughter drama that premiered at the...
Quote of the Day: Natalie Portman Calls for More of the “Female Gaze”
In a 25 year career and with 45 acting credits, Natalie Portman had never worked with a female director. Last year, Portman became one herself with her directorial debut “A Tale of Love and...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors : Meet Sofia Exarchou — “Park”
Sofia Exarchou was born in Athens. She has been working as an assistant director in feature films and commercials since 2004. She has written and directed two short films, “Distance” and...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet María José Cuevas — “Beauties of the Night”
María José Cuevas’ practice draws from her experience in documentary, experimental video, design, and photography. She has collaborated on a variety of diverse cultural projects, which have...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Adina Smith — “Buster’s Mal Heart”
Sarah Adina Smith’s first feature, “The Midnight Swim,” won six top prizes on the festival circuit, including the breakthrough audience award from AFI FEST. Smith was the only female director...
Trailer Watch: Jessica Sula is a Fish-Out-of-Water in Rebecca Johnson’s “Honeytrap”
Raised by her grandparents in Trinidad, 15-year-old Layla (Jessica Sula) moves to Brixton, London to find an uncaring mother and a whole new set of rules and pressures from the area’s teen set. On...
Movies are Officially Dead — Meryl Streep is Heading to Television
Film history, as it shall be written, will cite this announcement as a musical triangle in the blaring orchestra that sounds the death knell of big screen cinema. Following the footsteps of Gloria...
“Muriel’s Wedding” Heading to the Stage
Credit: Miramax Looks like we could soon be hearing more ABBA on Broadway. “Muriel’s Wedding,” the 1994 Australian comedy starring Toni Collette, is heading to the stage in Sydney. As Yahoo!...
Viola Davis and Quvenzhané Wallis Join Claire McCarthy’s “Personal History Of Rachel Dupree”
Two Oscar nominees are joining forces for Claire McCarthy’s period drama “The Personal History Of Rachel Dupree.” Viola Davis and Quvenzhané Wallis have signed on, with Davis playing the...
Lexi Alexander Returning to Film to Direct Wrestling Biopic “Crossface”
Credit: Aaron Goodwin/Courtesy of Lexi Alexander/NPR Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lexi Alexander has signed on to direct “Crossface,” the story of wrestler Chris Benoit. Alexander will helm the...
Trailer Watch: Talulah Riley’s Wildlife RomCom “Scottish Mussel”
Boy meets girl. Girl is saving mussels from pearl poachers. Boy is a pearl poacher. Hijinks and romance commence with the aid of doofus-y friends, a strapping American rival for the girl’s...
Apply Now to Writers Guild’s “Made in NY Writers Room” Fellowship
The Writers Guild of America, East has teamed up with The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the New York City Department of Small Business Services to launch the Made in NY Writers...
TIFF 2016: Isabelle Huppert Seen Through the Male and Female Gaze
Here at TIFF there are three movies starring the amazing Isabelle Huppert, who seems to get better and better as she ages. I saw two of them — Mia Hansen-Love’s “Things to Come” and Paul...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Lambert — “In the Radiant City”
Rachel Lambert received a BFA from Boston University and also studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduating, she worked for HanWay Films in addition to writing and...
Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch” Acquired By Netflix Out of Venice
Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch” has been acquired by Netflix out of the Venice Film Festival, The Hollywood Reporter writes. The deal is for SVOD rights. Amirpour’s second feature after...
The Ties That Bond: Crowdfunding Picks
Julia Ngeow, writer and director of “Eudaemonia” Connecting with another person, really bonding with them, can be very difficult as an adult. Whether you’re making a new friend, attempting to...
“Fun Home” Writers Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron on Saying Goodbye to Broadway
Gabriella Pizzolo and Michael Cerveris in “Fun Home”: Joan Marcus Musicals take many years to develop, and when that development results in a successful Broadway run, saying goodbye can be...
Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon May Join Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time”
Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time” seems like it’s gearing up to being the coolest movie ever. As The Hollywood Reporter writes, Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon may be joining...
“As I Open My Eyes” Writer-Director Leyla Bouzid on Arab Women and Revolution
Interview by Siân Melton Leyla Bouzid is a Tunisian born and raised filmmaker. She studied French literature at the University of Paris and film directing at La Fémis. Her shorts...
Julianne Moore Cast as Opera Singer in “Bel Canto” Adaptation
Oscar-winner Julianne Moore is set to play a world-famous American soprano in an upcoming adaptation of Ann Patchett’s “Bel Canto.” Directed by Paul Weitz , the film finds Moore’s Roxanne...
“Arrival” is Amy Adams’ Movie, and Jeremy Renner Knew That
Jeremy Renner hasn’t exactly been America’s sweetheart. He came under fire in 2015 when he and fellow Avenger, Chris Evans, called Scarlett Johansson’s character Black Widow a “slut” and a...
Margaret Atwood Releases Graphic Novel
Literary icon Margaret Atwood has released her first graphic novel, Dark Horse Comics’ “Angel Catbird.” The story, The A.V. Club reports, follows, “the tale of Strig Feleedus, a genetic...
Trailer Watch: “My Art” Explores Life as a Female Artist at Age 65
Laurie Simmons might be extra famous for being Lena Dunham’s mom, but for decades she’s had a successful artistic career of her own. Now she’s returning to film in “My Art,” which follows...
Melissa McCarthy Developing Family Comedy Series for Fox
Though her hit comedy series “Mike and Molly” was cancelled, Melissa McCarthy isn’t leaving the TV world any time soon. According to Variety, McCarthy is developing a family comedy for Fox as...
“Heathers” Receives a Pilot Order, Leslye Headland to Direct
Beloved 80s cult classic “Heathers” is being made into an anthology series. The project has received a pilot order, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Leslye Headland (“Sleeping With Other...
The Revolutionary “Fun Home” Ends Its Broadway Run
The Original Broadway Cast of “Fun Home”: Joan Marcus Many will feel the loss when “Fun Home,” 2015’s Tony Award winner for Best Musical, closes on Saturday. I know I will. For roughly 17...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Petra Epperlein — “Karl Marx City”
Petra Epperlein and her co-director/husband Michael Tucker’s previous films include “The Last Cowboy,” “Gunner Palace,” “The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair,”...
The Bold Directorial Sisterhood of “Queen Sugar”
“Queen Sugar”: OWN In the television season that concluded last year, show episodes directed by non-white women made up a whopping three percent of the total. White women, meanwhile, were a...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Susan Johnson — “Carrie Pilby”
Susan Johnson is an Independent Spirit Award winning filmmaker. “Carrie Pilby” marks her feature directorial debut. After a successful career as a music video director, Johnson has produced 10...
Trailer Watch: “Below Her Mouth” Benefited From an All-Female Crew
Sometimes kicking the men off set leads to a more authentic performance, and that’s exactly what “Below Her Mouth” was going for, as is revealed in its steamy new trailer. The film was...
Take Part in the #DirectedByWomen Worldwide Film Viewing Party
Call September Women’s Cinema History Month. #DirectedByWomen is hosting a month-long Worldwide Film Viewing Party to celebrate and recognize the thousands of films, television shows, web series,...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Maren Ade — “Toni Erdmann”
Maren Ade‘s second feature, “Everyone Else,” won two Silver Bears at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival: the Grand Jury Prize and Best Actress for Birgit Minichmayr. The modern relationship drama...