News
“Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” Has Huge Opening Weekend in the UK
It was a huge weekend in the UK for the women of “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie.” According to The Guardian, the film scored big at the box office, earning £4.4 million (about $5.7 million in...
Lori Singer Honored with Career Retrospective at Maine International Film Festival
Acclaimed actress Lori Singer will be honored at the Maine International Film Festival with a career retrospective. The retrospective will include screenings of her films “Footloose,” “Trouble...
#NominateNYC Launches to Help Academy Reach its Diversity Goals
The Academy took great steps to diversify its membership this week, and now the NYC Office of Media and Entertainment is launching a campaign to help even more. The New York City Mayor’s Office...
Harvard Announces Walt Disney Company Anne M. Sweeney Scholarship
Harvard has announced the creation of the The Walt Disney Company Anne M. Sweeney Scholarship that will support students pursuing their master’s degrees at Harvard Graduate School of...
Event Invite: Join Us in Australia to Discuss Diversity in Action
Do you want more diversity on-screen and behind-the-scenes? If so, you may be interested in a panel taking place in Ultimo Sydney on July 25. Screen Vixens and Film Fatales are hosting the third...
Trailer Watch: Anna Gunn Juggles Money, Men, and Mayhem in “Equity”
Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”) is demanding equality in a male-dominated field. “Equity,” directed by Meera Menon (“Farrah Goes Bang”), dives into the investment banking’s...
Renee Zellweger and Why It’s Still Not Ok to Talk About Women’s Faces and Bodies
Here’s a thought: how about we, as members of the media, cease to write about, comment on, or judge how Hollywood actresses age, look, or present themselves? A marvel of an idea right? That idea...
Virginia Woolf’s Romance with Vita Sackville-West Comes to the Big-Screen
The love affair between two literary greats will serve as the inspiration for an upcoming film by “Burn Burn Burn” director Chanya Button. According to Deadline, Button will helm a script...
Applications Now Being Accepted for New York Times and POV Media Maker Project
Attention female filmmakers, documentarians, and content creators! American Documentary Inc., the producer of the PBS series “POV,” has teamed up with The New York Times for a new documentary...
Scarlett Johansson’s Huge Box Office Record Puts Her in the Top-Grossing of All Time
Think women don’t bring in money at the box office? Think again. As TheWrap reports, Scarlett Johansson has vaulted onto the list of the 10 top-grossing actors of all time. The list was created by...
New Research Shows How “Underutilized and Undervalued” Women Are in the Film Industry
People in power don’t have faith in women. We’ve been saying this for a long time — and data backs us up. New research from Slated paints a strikingly similar picture to the one we’ve...
London’s National Film and Television School Launching Initiatives for Female Directors
Some great news for female directors in the UK: London’s National Film and Television School (NFTS) is launching three initiatives to increase the number of women film directors working in...
July 2016 Film Preview
“Our Little Sister” by Eboni Boykin and Diana Martinez Women filmmakers and protagonists are especially brave in poignant stories being released this month, shedding light on global issues that...
The Academy Remakes the World for Women Directors
We have to take our victories. Granted, there is still so much to do, but yesterday was a monumental step forward. In case you haven’t heard, The Academy, which has come under incredible scrutiny...
Annette Bening and Elle Fanning Family Comedy “20th Century Women” Sells to A24
It looks like four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening may be a name that pops up during awards chatter yet again. The U.S. rights to “20th Century Women,” a new comedy starring Bening,...
“Game of Thrones” Announces Season 7 Directors with Zero Women
The women of “Game of Thrones” may be taking over, but that’s not the case behind the camera. The directors for Season 7 of HBO’s hit series have been announced, and once again the show will...
Trailer Watch: Ellen Page Makes Desperate Choices as “Tallulah”
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and that’s what faces Ellen Page in the new trailer for Netflix’s original feature “Tallulah.” The film, according to its official synopsis,...
Superagent Sue Mengers Biopic in the Works
The biography “Can I Go Now: The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood’s First Superagent” is getting a feature film adaptation, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The book follows the story of how...
Listen: Podcast with “Our Kind of Traitor” Director Susanna White
Women and Hollywood recently spoke with British director Susanna White about “Our Kind of Traitor,” her upcoming spy thriller starring Ewan McGregor, Naomie Harris (“Spectre”), Stellan...
Sarah Gadon Will Star in Netflix’s “Alias Grace”
Netflix’s “Alias Grace” has found its star. The streaming site has announced that Sarah Gadon (“Belle,” “A Dangerous Method”) will take on the lead role of Grace Marks in the upcoming...
Drew Barrymore May Host a Talk Show
Drew Barrymore may be the next purveyor of cute animal videos and water-cooler chatter. Deadline reports that sources have confirmed that Barrymore is “in discussion with Warner Bros. TV for a...
Leslie Jones Takes to Twitter to Find Designer Duds for “Ghostbusters” Premiere
Leslie Jones in “Ghostbusters”: Hopper Stone /Columbia Pictures In today’s head-scratching “WTF” news, “SNL” star Leslie Jones experienced problems trying to secure an outfit to the...
Raffaella de Laurentiis Options Lucinda Riley’s “The Seven Sisters” for Television
Producer Raffaella de Laurentiis has optioned Lucinda Riley’s bestselling book series “The Seven Sisters” for television, an official release has announced. The novel is “the first of a...
Cynthia Wade and Cheryl Miller Houser’s “Generation Startup” Gets Distribution
Long Shot Factory, Tugg, and Film Sprout have announced that they will partner to release Cynthia Wade (“Freeheld”) and Cheryl Miller Houser’s (“Trust Me”) documentary “Generation...
Trailer Watch: Renee Zellweger Returns in “Bridget Jones’s Baby”
We’re not gonna lie: we’ve missed Renée Zellweger, and we’ve missed her most beloved character, Bridget Jones. So we’re delighted to see a new trailer for “Bridget Jones’s Baby,” and...
Successful Female Cinematographers Share Insight About Working in the Field
Women accounted for only three percent of the cinematographers working on the top 100 grossing films of 2015. Vulture recently spoke with three prominent women in the business about their...
LaToya Morgan Lands a Writing Deal at AMC
LaToya Morgan has signed a two-year overall deal with AMC, reports Deadline. She’ll work on existing series — AMC’s current slate includes titles such as “Better Call Saul,” “The...
Lisa McInerney Wins Two Prestigious Prizes for Her Debut Novel
Lisa McInerney will undoubtedly remember June 2016 as one of the most exciting months of her life. The Irish novelist won the £10,000 (about $13,000 USD) Desmond Elliott Prize for her debut novel...
Watch: The Cast of “Orange is the New Black” on Inspiration and Inebriation in Times Talk
At this point, the cast members of “Orange is the New Black” have become known names in the industry, and their careers have taken on entirely unexpected routes since the Netflix series debuted...
Activist Actress Sues Sony for Retaliation
Soap opera actress Victoria Rowell will move forward with her lawsuit against Sony Pictures Television, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A California judge gave her the green light to move to...
Gospel Singer Mavis Staples To Be Honored by Kennedy Center
Living legend Mavis Staples is set to be honored by the Kennedy Center, making her the second gospel singer to be recognized in the award’s 39 year history (the first was Marion Williams...
WestEnd Launches Brand Targeting Female Audiences with Film from Agnieszka Holland
Female audiences are under-served and underestimated, and WestEnd Films, an international film sales and finance house, is doing something to address these problems. Variety reports that WestEnd has...
Trailer Watch: Kate Mara Attempts to Control Anya Taylor-Joy’s “Morgan”
Anya Taylor-Joy burst onto the scene earlier this year in the creepy yet subtle horror movie “The Witch” and seemed destined for stardom. Moving on from that cursed Pilgrim, she’s now...
Erin Moriarty and Danika Yarosh Join Helen Hunt for Sports Movie “Live Like Line”
Erin Moriarty and Danika Yarosh have been cast in the upcoming volleyball film “Live Like Line,” Deadline reports, with Helen Hunt playing their coach. Moriarty played Woody Harrelson’s teen...
Trailer Watch: “Difficult People” Are Back and More Outrageous Than Ever
Your favorite platonic soulmates are back, and they’re just as lovable and hateable as you remember. A hilarious new trailer has arrived for Season 2 of Hulu’s “Difficult People,” starring...
Watch: A Female Comedian’s Looks Are Torn Apart by “The Focus Group”
Comedian Sara Benincasa has dreamed up hilarious and horrifying nightmare fodder. Imagine having your style and body mercilessly evaluated by a focus group while in a state of undress. Now witness...
Ashleigh Murray and Rachel Crow Set for Netflix’s “Deidra & Laney Rob a Train”
Relative newcomers Ashleigh Murray (“Younger”) and Rachel Crow (“Fred: The Show”) will star in the Netflix caper comedy flick “Deidra & Laney Rob a Train,” Shadow and...
Frances Conroy Will Star in TV Adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Mist”
Frances Conroy is set to enter “The Mist” for Spike TV. She’ll star in the scripted drama, an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1980 novella. “The Mist,” which Spike has ordered...
Elite Zexler’s Sundance-Winning Debut “Sand Storm” Acquired by Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Elite Zexer’s “Sand Storm,” Deadline has reported. The Israeli drama won the World Cinema Grand Jury Dramatic Prize at the...
Amy Poehler Scores New Deal at NBC
“Amy Poehler is staying put at NBC,” says The Hollywood Reporter. The actress, writer, and producer and her company, Paper Kite Productions, have signed a deal with Universal TV. The multi-year...
Teaser Watch: Ava DuVernay’s First TV Series “Queen Sugar”
A new teaser trailer for “Queen Sugar,” the highly-anticipated new series from Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network, has just hit the web, and it’s making us here at Women and...
Reed Morano May Direct “The Handmaid’s Tale” Adaptation Starring Elisabeth Moss
Reed Morano is in talks 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 order for...
The Women of “Ghostbusters” Speak Out
It seems like people have been talking for so long about the all-female “Ghostbusters” reboot that it’ll never arrive. But come next month, July 15 to be exact, the new cast of Melissa...
Proof the Dudeocracy of Film Writers Exists Thanks to Latest Study of Top Critics
When we here at Women and Hollywood published The Dudeocracy of Film Writers, we were basing our theory on observations of the film writing industry, and what we saw going on around us. But now,...
Trailer Watch: Sarah Jessica Parker Demands a “Divorce” on HBO
As the title of “Divorce” warns, the new HBO show is not going to offer a storybook romance. A trailer has dropped for the eagerly-awaited Sarah Jessica Parker comedy series, and it doesn’t...
The Kilroys Launch “The List”: Production-Ready Plays by Female and Trans Writers
The Kilroys have announced the third annual installment of “The List.” The LA-based collective has assembled a list of production-ready new plays written by female and trans writers. The Kilroys...
Two Movies About Agatha Christie in the Works with Potential Big Stars Attached
Agatha Christie’s mysteries have riveted readers and viewers for nearly a century, so it comes as no surprise that there’s interest in uncovering some clues about the legendary wordsmith...
Elizabeth Banks Was “Too Old” To Play Tobey Maguire’s Girlfriend at 28
Add Elizabeth Banks to the list of actresses who have been arbitrarily found to be too old to be the love interest of a male co-star practically the same age. Banks told Glamour Magazine, she was...
Kathryn Bigelow’s Next Film To Tackle 1967 Detroit Riots
Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s next film will begin production this summer. The drama will focus on the 1967 Detroit riots. As the BBC reports, “The Detroit riots began after...
Trailer Watch: “The Girl With All The Gifts” Could Save the World and the Zombie Genre
When you think of the zombie movie genre, the films that pop into your head don’t necessarily include great female characters. That may be starting to change, with films like “Pride &...
Catherine Deneuve Named the 2016 Recipient of the Lumière Award
Catherine Deneuve will be honored with the 2016 Lumière Award at the Lumière Grand Lyon Film Festival in France, Variety reports. The event focuses almost exclusively on film classics as opposed...