News
“Orange is the New Black’s” Samira Wiley Joins Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Poussey is heading to Hulu. “Orange is the New Black” star Samira Wiley is joining the streaming service’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Vanity Fair reports....
ReelPitch Challenge to Award $25,000 and Other Prizes to Four Emerging Filmmakers
The ReelPitch Challenge is now accepting submissions for its Audience Awards (“AudAwards”) which will go to four emerging filmmakers. Launched in 2013, Audience Awards (AudAwards) is “an...
Mandy Moore Shark Thriller Acquired by Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios
Will it ever be safe to go into the water? It’s been over 40 years since “Jaws” hit theaters, but filmmakers remain committed to ruining your beach vacation. A shark thriller starring Mandy...
Alice Lowe’s “Prevenge” To Open Venice Critics’ Week
Prepare for “Prevenge.” Alice Lowe’s feature directorial debut will open the Venice International Film Festival’s Critics’ Week. The fest runs from August 31-September 10 in...
“Ghostbusters” Toys Are Selling Well to Both Boys and Girls
Fire up your proton packs. According to Variety, toymaker Mattel has reported strong sales for its line of “Ghostbusters” toys. Both girls and boys are snatching up the action figures, which...
Roxane Gay Makes History and Joins the Marvel Comic Universe
Roxane Gay is set to become the first-ever black woman to pen a Marvel comic book. An announcement at Comic-Con revealed that the “Bad Feminist” essayist will co-write a new Black Panther...
Oscar Winner Brie Larson Will Play Captain Marvel in Studio’s First Female-Led Movie
Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new Captain Marvel, Brie Larson. Over the weekend during the Marvel presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Larson is taking on the role in...
Trailer Watch: “Wonder Woman” Has Arrived and There’s No Going Back
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman: Warner Bros. Did you hear that? That massive sound over the weekend? That was the collective sigh of relief let out by female comic books fans, female film fans, and...
Writer-Director Nijla Mu’min Selected for Panavision New Filmmaker Program
Nijla Mu’min is set to receive some valuable support for her feature film debut: the writer-director has been selected for The Panavision New Filmmaker Program. In “Jinn,” Mu’min will tackle...
“Thelma & Louise” Returns to Theaters for 25th Anniversary
Grab your BBF and your coolest car. “Thelma & Louise” is coming back to theaters for two days only in celebration of its 25th anniversary As part of Fathom Events’ efforts to bring classic...
Happy Friday: Watch Michelle Obama Perform “This Is For My Girls” on “Carpool Karaoke”
First Lady Michelle Obama continues to delight and inspire. Obama recently appeared in “Carpool Karaoke” alongside “The Late Late Show” host James Corden, and the former Associate Dean of...
Michael Moore’s Film Fest Lineup is Exclusively Women-Directed
Many film festivals talk the talk of gender equality, but when it comes to unveiling their programs, particularly the most high-profile sections, male-directed films continue to dominate. Michael...
Wonder Woman Gets Her Own Stamps for 75th Anniversary Celebration from USPS
Credit: USPS Wonder Woman is going to be flying your mail to its final destination. The U.S. Postal Service has teamed up with Warner Bros. and DC to reveal four Forever stamps commemorating the 75th...
New Pilot from “Transparent” Creator Jill Soloway to Hit Amazon in August
Season 3 of “Transparent” won’t debut until sometime this fall, but you can catch a new pilot from Jill Soloway, the show’s creator, on Amazon in August. While “Transparent” was...
Women Will Guest Program Aspen Film’s 2016–2017 Season
Aspen Film has announced special guest programmers for its 2016–2017 season and they are all women. Rachel Chanoff has been named Director of Programming for the 38th annual Aspen Filmfest, Jane...
Charlize Theron to Produce Drama About War Photographer Marie Colvin
Charlize Theron will produce “Marie Colvin,” a biopic of the late war photographer. The Hollywood Reporter details that the script is based on a Vanity Fair article chronicling Colvin’s...
ArcLight to Present Second Annual Women in Entertainment Summit
Theater chain ArcLight Cinemas is set to present the second annual Women in Entertainment Summit, Yahoo! News reports. The event will take place November 10 at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. The...
Final “Divergent” Film Banished From Theaters, Will Instead Premiere on Television
The “Divergent” film series isn’t ending the way it began. The franchise, which is based on Veronica Roth’s novels, will see its fourth and final film appear on television as a TV movie,...
Women in Film and The Black List Announce Participants of Inaugural TV Lab
Earlier this year Women In Film, Los Angeles and The Black List announced that they would join forces to launch a new episodic television lab for women writers. The eight-week lab offers an...
Amandla Stenberg to Star in Stella Meghie’s “Everything Everything” Adaptation
Amandla Stenberg, who played Rue in “The Hunger Games,” has signed on to star in the film adaptation the YA book by “Everything Everything” by Nicola Yoon, The Hollywood Reporter writes....
Kirsten Dunst to Direct Dakota Fanning in “The Bell Jar”
Kirsten Dunst is set to helm her debut feature. The “Fargo” star and Emmy nominee is bringing an adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s influential 1963 novel “The Bell Jar” to the big-screen. Dunst...
Nanfu Wang on Activism, Sex Work, and Human Rights in “Hooligan Sparrow”
Interview by Diana Martinez Nanfu Wang was born in a remote farming village in Jiangxi Province, China. Wang is a recipient of the Sundance Documentary Fund and the Bertha Britdoc Journalism Fund...
“AbFab: The Movie” is a Vacation from the Suck
“Welcome to the Republican National Convention!” yelled legendary drag queen Lady Bunny, introducing Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley at the New York premiere of “Absolutely Fabulous: The...
Identity Politics: July Web Series and VOD Picks
“Oh Lucy!” One of the most popular themes in art is the exploration of the self, identity, and the way society impacts the way we view ourselves. In this month’s picks for web series, women try...
Courtney A. Kemp’s “Power” Sunday Night Move is a Success
Starz’s decision to move its series “Power” to Sunday night is reportedly paying off, multiple outlets have declared. The premiere of its third season drew an audience of 2.26 million viewers...
Trailer Watch: Ava DuVernay and Oprah Tackle Love, Loss, and Race in “Queen Sugar”
Ava DuVernay is finally coming to TV, and we have a newly released trailer for “Queen Sugar” to tide us over until the drama premieres on OWN. The emotional spot kicks off with the event that...
Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” a Hit in Germany
Maren Ade’s film “Toni Erdmann” was a fan favorite at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, but it didn’t take home any of the fest’s prizes. It did, however, earn top honors from the...
BBC Films’ Christine Langan to Become CEO of Baby Cow Productions
Head of BBC Films Christine Langan is stepping down from that post to take on a new role: CEO of Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow Productions. As Variety reports, Baby Cow was started by Coogan and Henry...
Sigourney Weaver to Receive Donostia Award from San Sebastian Festival
Sigourney Weaver will receive the 2016 Donostia Award for Career Achievement at the 64th San Sebastian Festival, Variety has reported. The festival runs from September 18–26 this year in the...
Laura Dern Joins Elected Branch Governors of the Academy Along With Two More Women
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made some headway earlier this summer when it announced that it had invited a total of 683 new members to its ranks in an effort to diversify its...
“Making a Murderer” is Getting a Second Season
Great news for the many fans of Netflix’s “Making a Murderer.” The streaming service has announced that that Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos — the show’s creators, executive producers,...
AMBI Classics Makes its Debut with Niki Caro’s “Whale Rider”
Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s AMBI Group is forging its way into specialty distribution. AMBI has a library of more than 400 titles from Exclusive Media Group to draw on, and are planning...
Jennifer Morrison to Receive Trailblazer Award at HollyShorts Film Festival
The HollyShorts Film Festival has announced that Jennifer Morrison will be honored with the 2016 HollyShorts Trailblazer Award presented by Women in Film at the 12th incarnation of...
Books, Films, News, Television
Kyra Sedgwick to Make Directorial Debut with Lifetime Coming-of-Age Drama
Kyra Sedgwick is stepping behind the camera. The “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actress is set to make her directorial debut with “Story of a Girl,” an adaptation of Sara Zarr’s YA novel, a finalist...
Trailer Watch: Emily Blunt is Afraid of Herself in “The Girl on the Train”
A new trailer has been released for this fall’s highly anticipated “The Girl on the Train.” In it, we hear more from Rachel Watson, the unreliable narrator who has galvanized readers since...
Ava DuVernay’s “The 13th” Will Be First Doc Opener of New York Film Festival
Director Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) has secured the Opening Night spot at this year’s New York Film Festival, which runs from September 30-October 16, for her documentary “The 13th.” It’s...
Stefanie Martini to Play Young Jane Tennison
Helen Mirren in “Prime Suspect” Stefanie Martini is taking the reins on the character that helped make Helen Mirren famous. According to Deadline, Martini will play a young Jane Tennison in...
Women Win Big at Outfest Los Angeles
Female filmmakers took home two out of three Audience Awards at this year’s Outfest, an LA-based LGBTQ film festival. Annalise Ophelian won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award for “Major!” and...
Toni Braxton Named Winner of the BMI President’s Award
Singer Toni Braxton is set to receive yet another trophy. The chart-topping singer has been named the 2016 recipient of the BMI President’s Award. She’ll accept her honor September 1 in Atlanta...
Lifetime and Women in Film & TV UK Launch Short Film Competition
A+E Networks, the parent company of Lifetime, has launched Lifetime’s “Broad Focus” initiative in partnership with Women in Film & TV UK. The initiative kicks off with a short film...
Melissa McCarthy Receives Gilda Radner Award and “Life of the Party” Release Date
It’s been a great week for Melissa McCarthy — and we aren’t just talking about the fact that she had her biggest opening weekend numbers ever for “Ghostbusters.” McCarthy led the...
Women at the Box Office: “Ghostbusters” Hits its Goal, “Finding Dory” Breaks a Record
The box office got slimed. “Ghostbusters” did well during its opening weekend, earning a respectable $46 million, when most box-office experts had it earning in the $38-$40 million range. This...
Rose Byrne and Oprah to Star in HBO’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
Rose Byrne is set to join Oprah Winfrey in HBO’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” The film is based on Rebecca Skloot’s 2010 best-selling nonfiction book of the same name. According...
Get Excited for “Wonder Woman” at Comic-Con With These New Teaser Photos
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman: Warner Bros. It was practically an accepted truth that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was the best part of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” So with Patty Jenkins’...
Jane Birkin To Be Honored at Locarno Film Fest
Jane Birkin will be honored at this year’s Locarno Film Fest. The Switzerland-based festival will pay tribute to the the English actress and singer with a career retrospective. Birkin made her...
Watch: Nora Ephron Interview On Gender and Politics Animated by Blank on Blank
In 1975, director, journalist, and writer Nora Ephron sat down with radio host Studs Terkel for a conversation about gender and politics. Ephron had just had her book, “Crazy Salad: Some Things...
True Crime Doc “Southwest of Salem” Gets Worldwide Distribution
If you’re looking for the next “Making a Murderer,” “Serial,” or “West of Memphis” you’re in for some good news: an award-winning true crime documentary by Deborah S. Esquenazi has...
Apply Now for the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship Through The Black List
If you’re an aspiring screenwriter and member of The Black List, here’s some good news: For the fourth year of the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship, two screenwriters instead...
Watch: “Star Trek Beyond” Adds a Powerful New Female Character
While there are a good number of great women in the “Star Trek” universe on the whole, there weren’t many prominent female characters in “The Original Series,” and as a result, there...
Books, Films, News, Television
Reed Morano to Direct “The Handmaid’s Tale” Starring Elisabeth Moss
Reed Morano has been confirmed to helm “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Hulu’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s classic 1985 dystopian novel. The streaming service has given a straight-to-series...
“Ghostbusters” Makes $3.4 Million in One Night, Earns Fan in Harold Ramis’ Daughter
The all-female reboot of “Ghostbusters” had a great opening last night, taking in $3.4 million at U.S. theaters. This puts the movie on its way to finishing its opening weekend around $38-$40...