News
Jessica Chastain to Star in Susanna White’s Native American Period Drama ‘Woman Walks Ahead’
Jessica Chastain is in talks to star in “Woman Walks Ahead,” Susanna White’s upcoming Native American period drama set in the 19th century. Chastain, a longtime advocate for diversity in the...
New Season of ‘America ReFramed’ Features Diverse Docs By and About Women
The fourth season of documentary series “America ReFramed” premiered this week on World Channel. The series, which features the work of emerging and veteran filmmakers alike, aims to shine a...
‘Fresh Off the Boat’ Breakout Constance Wu to Star in Feature Debut from Jennifer Cho Suhr
Constance Wu — who has attracted rave reviews for her role as Jessica Huang in the ABC sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat” — is set to hone her dramatic skills in independent feature “You...
Trailer Watch: Festival Hit ‘Mavis!’ Tells Story of Legendary Singer and Activist Mavis Staples
HBO has released a trailer for highly-anticipated documentary feature “Mavis!,” which chronicles the life and times of legendary gospel and soul singer Mavis Staples. The trailer opens with...
Guest Post: The Screenwriter of ‘Tumbledown’ on The Challenges of Making Women-Centric Movies
My cinematic coming of age happened in Paris on a post-collegiate Rotary fellowship. In the 6th arrondissement, where there are almost as many cinemas as there are impeccably-dressed women wearing...
Julie Menin Named New Media and Entertainment Commissioner for New York City
Julie Menin will take over as Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in New York City. Menin, who is currently the Consumer Affairs Commissioner for the city, follows Cynthia...
HBO’s Anita Hill Film Starring Kerry Washington Gets a Premiere Date
A premiere date for “Confirmation” has at long last been confirmed: the HBO film starring Kerry Washington will debut on the premium cable network Saturday, April 16 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)....
American Girl Programming Coming To Amazon Prime
Amazon has made a multimillion dollar addition to its kids’ content line-up, signing a deal with American Girl to bring programming based on the doll brand’s characters to Amazon Prime later this...
Trailer Watch: A Young Woman is Accused of Witchcraft in Sundance Winner ‘The Witch’
“The Witch” has been terrifying audiences and earning glowing reviews on the festival circuit since it premiered last year at Sundance — and took home the Directing Award in the U.S....
Ondi Timoner to Direct Biopic of Robert Mapplethorpe Starring Zosia Mamet and Matt Smith
Writer, producer, director and all-round Renaissance woman Ondi Timoner wil helm a biopic of American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Former “Doctor Who” star Matt Smith will take on the role...
Viola Davis Makes History on the Cover of Vanity Fair’s 2016 Hollywood Issue
The cover of Vanity Fair’s 2016 Hollywood Issue has been unveiled, and all of the stars being celebrated are women. This is, of course, no accident: The cover is making a statement. Admittedly,...
‘Good Wife’ Actress Archie Panjabi Lands Leading Role in ABC Drama Pilot ‘The Jury’
It looks like Archie Panjabi has found the perfect follow-up to her Emmy Award-winning role as Kalinda in “The Good Wife,” and is set to star in her very own vehicle. The London-born actress has...
Keira Knightley to Star in Biopic from ‘Carol’ Producers About Bisexual French Writer Colette
Keira Knightley is teaming up with the producers behind “Carol,” Number 9 Films (Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley) and Killer Films (Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler). The Oscar-nominated...
Marty, Bobby and Me: An Excerpt from ‘KooKooLand,’ a New Memoir by Gloria Norris
This excerpt from my new book, “KooKooLand,” describes a time, in the fall of 1978, when I was an aspiring filmmaker in New York City. I’d spent the previous year working for no pay on a...
Sundance Hit ‘The Eagle Huntress’ Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics
“The Eagle Huntress” has found a home at Sony Pictures Classics. The crowd-pleasing Sundance documentary chronicles a 13-year-old Mongolian girl’s attempt to challenge 2,000 years of tradition...
‘Gilmore Girls’ Gets 4 Movie-Length Episodes With Original Cast
Netflix has given the green light to what’s being billed as the “Gilmore Girls’” final season. Series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel will return for...
Mary Harron to Direct Manson-Followers Movie ‘The Family’
Mary Harron has signed on to helm “The Family,” a portrait of Charles Manson’s female followers in prison after the Tate-LaBianca murder trials. Harron will collaborate once more with her...
Jennifer Aniston to Star as Real-Life Female Sports Manager in ‘The Fixer’
Jennifer Aniston will play sports manager Denise White in a newly announced project for the increasingly diversifying actress. “The Fixer” is based on a pitch from “Dallas Buyers Club”...
Trailer Watch: AnnaSophia Robb Struggles As Teenage Autism-Caretaker in ‘Jack of the Red Hearts’
Get your hankies out: you’ll need it for the feel-good weepie “Jack of the Red Hearts.” An unfortunate turn of events finds orphaned 18-year-old Jack (AnnaSophia Robb, “The Carrie...
Debuts From Female Filmmakers Win Three of Sundance 2016’s Top Four Awards
Three of Sundance 2016’s top four awards were bestowed on feature debuts from women directors. Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman’s “Weiner,” a portrait of disgraced politician Anthony...
Phyllida Lloyd to Direct All-Female ‘Taming of the Shrew’ for Shakespeare in the Park
Leading theater director Phyllida Lloyd will helm an all-female adaptation of “The Taming of the Shrew” for Shakespeare in the Park’s 2016 season. Cush Jumbo will star as Katherina and Janet...
Which Studios Have the Most Women in Decision-Making Roles?
In the midst of ongoing pressure on the film industry to embrace gender and racial inclusion, particularly at the studio level, The Hollywood Reporter has published a “diversity scorecard” for...
Trailer Watch: Amateur Opera Singer Screeches Toward Stardom in ‘Marguerite’
“There are two ways to live life,” explains the titular character of “Marguerite” in a new trailer for the film. “We can dream it or achieve it.” Marguerite (Catherine Frot, “Family...
Clea Duvall’s Directorial Debut ‘The Intervention’ Acquired By Paramount
Clea Duvall first effort behind the camera has paid off in spades. The character actress’s directorial debut, “The Intervention,” has been sold for “just north of $2 million” at Sundance...
Julia Roberts to Play Erin Brockovich-like Prisoners’ Rights Crusader in ‘ADX’
Julia Roberts is set to star in and produce “ADX,” about a real-life attorney’s fight to improve conditions at America’s only supermax prison. The HBO Films project is based on the NY Times...
The Trials of Marcia Clark: Sarah Paulson in ‘American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson’
Kathryn Bigelow Announces Next Film: Drama About 1967 Detroit Riots
More than three years after the release of her last film (“Zero Dark Thirty”), Kathryn Bigelow has finally announced her next project. The first and only woman filmmaker to ever win the Best...
Varda On Demand: Two Newly Restored Films from Legendary Feminist Filmmaker to Stream
Two newly restored films from the doyen of feminist filmmaking are set for VOD release. Agnès Varda made the relatively neglected “Jane B. By Agnès V.” and “Kung-Fu Master!” in 1988, with...
Kelly Reichardt Retrospective to Tour Europe
After her latest feature, “Certain Women,” gained unanimously rapturous reviews out of Sundance, Kelly Reichardt will have her filmography travel Europe in a career-long retrospective. The...
Trailer Watch: A Gymnastics Diva Refuses to Grow Up in ‘The Bronze’
Hope Gregory (Melissa Rauch, “The Big Bang Theory”) was an Olympic athlete, but when we’re introduced to her in the trailer for “The Bronze,” the gymnast’s glory days are long behind...
Chloë Sevigny’s Directorial Debut Headlines Refinery29 Female Filmmaker Short Film Series
Lifestyle website Refinery29 is putting female filmmakers in the spotlight with a series of short films. The appropriately named ShatterBox Anthology promises to showcase the work of an array of...
ABC Picks Up Legal Drama and Soccer Comedy Pilots From ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Will & Grace’ Writers
ABC has picked up the pilots of two women-created and -written series. “Jessica Jones” writer Liz Friedman received a formal pilot order from the network for “Conviction,” while Kari Lizer,...
Sundance Deals: ‘Audrie and Daisy’ to Netflix, ‘Weiner’ to Hulu and Showtime
Two high-profile docs that made their world premieres at Sundance 2016 have found new distribution deals. Netflix acquired all rights to Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s “Audrie & Daisy,” about...
February 2016 Film Preview
February’s slate of female-centric and/or women-directed films begins with “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” — a fun spin on the Jane Austen classic that takes the Elizabeth Bennett’s...
NBC Gives Pilot Orders to Comedies From Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones
Former “Parks and Recreation” stars Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones have received pilot orders from their old network. NBC has given the go-ahead on the first episode of an untitled single-cam...
Trailer Watch: Ellen Page Travels Around the World in LGBT-Centered Docuseries ‘Gaycation’
Ellen Page’s new docuseries project has been hotly anticipated since a video released online last summer showed the “Freeheld” star confronting Texas senator Ted Cruz about LGBT rights at the...
Chloe Zhao’s ‘Songs My Brothers Taught Me’ Lands Distribution Deal With Kino Lorber
Writer-director Chloe Zhao’s festival gem “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” has been acquired by Kino Lorber. Made with a largely unprofessional Lakota Native American cast, the drama focuses on...
Cesar Nods Announced: ‘Mustang’ and Other Female-Directed Films Crowd the Nominations
The Cesar nominations are in, and contrary to most award shows on most years, women-helmed films are well represented. The Cesars are most often compared to the Oscars, but the list speaks for...
Vicky Zhao to Direct Animated Feature Adaptation of Iconic TV Series ‘My Fair Princess’
Vicky Zhao, one of China’s most popular actresses, will return behind the camera to helm a feature-film version of “My Fair Princess,” the TV show that launched her to stardom. The animated...
Spring 2016 Women on Broadway Preview: Milestones and Misses
Broadway will hit two important milestones this spring. Themusical “Waitress” is the first Broadway musical to have an all-female creativeteam, which includes the composer-lyricist, bookwriter,...
Docu-Series About Hollywood’s Gender Inequality to Air on Epix
Gender inequality has persisted in Hollywood since the early days of the silver screen, but it’s only in recent years that the mainstream media has devoted much attention to sexism on screen and...
Gina Rodriguez Launches Social-Media Movement to Spotlight Latino Performers
The #OscarsSoWhite movement that has dominated headlines for over a week has been a necessary reckoning with the institutional exclusion that plagues Hollywood. But that all-important protest has...
Women in Film Awards $32,000 in Grants to Sundance Filmmakers
Women In Film, Los Angeles (WIF-LA) awarded $32,000 in cash and in-kind grants at Sundance over the weekend. The honors were presented at the 10th annual Women in Film Sundance Filmmakers Panel...
Horizon Awards Winners Named: Four Young Female Filmmakers to Watch
The winners of the 2016 Horizon Award have been announced. This year’s recipients are emerging filmmakers Macarena (Macqui) Gaona, Shanice Malakai Johnson, Juliette Gosselin and Florence...
DGA President Paris Barclay Responds to #OscarsSoWhite: “Structural Changes Are Needed”
Paris Barclay, the president of the Directors Guild of America, weighed in yesterday on the #OscarsSoWhite movement and the new changes to Academy membership that have resulted thereof. Barclay,...
Meera Menon’s Female-Led Wall Street Drama ‘Equity’ Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics
Meera Menon’s banker drama “Equity” has been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. The deal took place on the day before the film’s world premiere at Sundance 2016. “Breaking Bad”...
Sundance 2016 Women Directors: Meet Jessie Kahnweiler — ‘The Skinny’
Jessie Kahnweiler can’t afford therapy, so she makes films. Her work has been featured on CNN, TMZ, People, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine, Mashable, Buzzfeed, Elle, The Daily Beast,...
Sundance 2016 Women Directors: Meet Anne Fontaine — ‘Agnus Dei’
Sundance 2016 Women Directors: Meet Anne Fontaine — “The Innocents” Anne Fontaine is an actress, screenwriter and director born in Luxembourg. Her film “Dry Cleaning” won Best...
‘Homeland’s’ Lesli Linka Glatter to Direct Navy SEAL Series ‘Six’
Veteran TV director Lesli Linka Glatter (“Homeland,” “Mad Men,” “The Leftovers,” “The Walking Dead”) will helm the first two episodes of and executive produce the military drama...
Sundance 2016 Women Directors: Meet Rita Coburn Whack — ‘Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise’
Rita Coburn Whack is an award-winning writer, producer and director for television, magazines, series, news, talk shows, documentary programming and social media. Coburn Whack is the owner of RCW...
Where’s Rey? Toymakers Were Told To Exclude Her
The feminist force is strong with the latest “Star Wars” movie, which introduced the 38-year-old franchise’s first female protagonist in orphaned scavenger Rey, played by dynamo newcomer Daisy...