Women Producers
Amy Pascal, Elizabeth Cantillon Option Eve Babitz Memoirs for TV Adaptation
Eve Babitz’s quadrilogy of memoirs, which chronicle LA in the ’60s and ’70s from the POV of a young bohemian, has been optioned by former Sony execs Amy Pascal and Elizabeth Cantillon. TriStar...
Betsy Steinberg Takes Over Leadership of Doc Collective Kartemquin Films
Betsy Steinberg has been named the new executive director of Kartemquin Films, an award-winning non-profit documentary production collective. Steinberg will be following in the footsteps of another...
Guest Post: Producer Lydia Dean Pilcher on the Great Conundrum Facing Feminist Progress in Hollywood Today
With “Suffragette” now in theaters, what lessons can we glean from this powerful story in thecurrent struggle for gender equality in Hollywood? While women in entertainment certainly aren’t...
Systemic Change in Hollywood: So What Do We Do Now?
Earlierthis week, Reese Witherspoon spoke at the Glamour Women of the Year event, and in her fantastic, passionate, feminist speech, she talked about whyshe started Pacific Standard, her production...
Women at Sundance Fellows Announced: Jennifer Phang, Lyric R. Cabral and More
The Sundance Institute has announced its six 2015–2016 Women at Sundance Fellows, a group of directors and producers culled from both the doc and narrative fields who will receive support to...
Chloe Sevigny to Play Lizzie Borden in New Movie, Kristen Stewart in Talks to Co-Star
Kristen Stewart has received some of the best notices of her career playing opposite more experienced actresses like Julianne Moore in “Still Alice” and Juliette Binoche in “Clouds of Sils...
Study: 2014’s Top 700 Films Confirm That Women Hire Women
A new study looking at the top 700 domestic films of 2014 concludes that women directed 13% of last year’s theatrical releases and demonstrates that female filmmakers are much more likelier than...
‘American Hustle’-Style Movie Being Written About Sylvia Robinson, “Mother of Hip Hop”
After the hip-hop blockbuster “Straight Outta Compton” made headlines this summer for erasing the women who made NWA possible, a new movie seeks to showcase female contributions to the musical...
Women in Animation Rolls Out ‘50–50 by 2025’ Initiative
Many top animation programs boast 50% or more female students in their graduating classes, but the cartoon world still employs four men for every woman. In response to this stark gender inequity,...
10 Women Directors Who Could Helm a ‘Star Wars’ Spin-Off
Producer Kathleen Kennedy, who’ll oversee the upcoming “Stars Wars” trilogy and standalone Han Solo film, is adamant that her version of a galaxy that originally only had just six women in it...
Charlize Theron in Talks to Take on Role Meant for Brad Pitt
After becoming the star of the summer by kicking patriarchy’s pasty, shriveled ass in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Charlize Theron appears to be pursuing more action roles. The Oscar winner is in...
Comedy About Nicki Minaj’s Trinidadian-American Childhood in Queens to Air on ABC Family
Hip hop’s reigning queen is getting her own TV show — kind of. Nicki Minaj’s childhood in ’90s Queens as the daughter of Trinidadian-immigrant parents will be the inspiration for a new...
Study: More Women TV Creators and EPs Mean More Women Leads, Writers, Directors, Editors
If you want more women in TV, you gotta start at the top. That’s the main conclusion reached by a new study looking at the employment figures of who writes, produces and appears on television....
Frances McDormand to Play Mother Battling Racist Police After Her Child’s Murder
Frances McDormand has a promising new gig. The Oscar winner will star in an upcoming film dealing with murder, racial tension and police brutality that’s provisionally titled “Three Billboards...
The Ms. Factor Toolkit: The Power of Female Driven Content Released
I am incredibly proud to share with everyone the Ms. Factor Toolkit: The Power of Female Driven Content. This project has been a long time coming. It is a partnership between Women and Hollywood and...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Louise Osmond — ‘Dark Horse’
Louise Osmond is a British documentary filmmaker. Educated at Oxford, she worked as a journalist and editor before directing features, including “Deep Water,” “Blitz: London’s Firestorm,”...
Baseball Drama About Professional Baseball’s (Fictional) First Female Pitcher Finds Home Base at Fox
A new baseball drama centered on a young female pitcher has landed at Fox. The series, created by Dan Fogelman (“The Neighbors”) and Rick Singer (“American Dad!”), received a put pilot...
Cate Blanchett to Play Lucille Ball in Authorized Biopic
Cate Blanchett isn’t known for her comedic roles, but that may change after she stars in her most recently announced project: a biopic about the life of Lucille Ball. One of the most famous women...
Jocelyn Towne and Simon Helberg Sign Deal With Warner Bros. TV
The husband-and-wife team of writer-director-actress Jocelyn Towne and “Big Bang Theory” star Simon Helberg has signed an exclusive two-year deal with Warner Bros. TV. Via their Wildline...
Whoopi Goldberg Producing Movie About Emmett Till
Sixty years ago, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped from his home. Three days later, his body was found, naked and mutilated. Till’s death was retribution for the black teenager’s reported...
‘Scandal’ Inspiration Judy Smith Sells NOLA Political Family Drama ‘House of the Rising Sin’ to NBC
Judy Smith, the political fixer who was Shonda Rhimes’ inspiration for Olivia Pope, is making her own mark on the small screen. NBC has bought the Smith-produced “House of the Rising Sin,” an...
Anne Hathaway Returns to TV Roots with Kidnapping Miniseries ‘The Ambassador’s Wife’
Anne Hathaway is heading to the small screen, joining the ranks of other Oscar-winning A-Listers like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. The “Les Misérables” actress will star in “The...
Reese Witherspoon to Star in and Produce Original Supernatural Thriller ‘Cold’
Reese Witherspoon will be dipping back into the icy waters of the thriller genre in “Cold,” a supernatural thriller. Acquired by Lionsgate, the project was pitched by Witherspoon, her producing...
Riva Marker to Run Jake Gyllenhaal’s New Production Company
Riva Marker will head Jake Gyllenhaal’s unnamed new production company, which reached a first-look deal with Bold Films two days ago. Marker’s producing credits include “The Kids Are All...
Apply for a 10-Day Retreat for Women of Color Directors and Screenwriters
Spotting a woman director of color helming a studio film orshowrunning for a network can be like finding a Puya Raimondi — that rare flower that blooms every 100 years. There are plenty of...
Reese Witherspoon to Receive American Cinematheque Award as Actress and Producer
Reese Witherspoon’s contributions to cinema as an actress and a producer will be recognized with an American Cinematheque Award. The honor is annually bestowed on “an extraordinary artist in...
Jill Soloway Gets Third Season of ‘Transparent,’ Exclusive Development Deal from Amazon
Amazon Studios is smartly deciding to do more business with its best creative mind. The up-and-comer in the original-programming arena has signed off on a third season of “Transparent,” as well...
Stowe Story Labs, Tangerine Entertainment Launch New Fellowship for Women Writers, Directors, Producers
Stowe Story Labs, a nonprofit that brings together emerging screenwriters, filmmakers and creative producers from around the world with industry mentors, is currently accepting applications for its...
Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell Found New Film/TV Production Company
Two of the most powerful women in the UK entertainment industry are joining forces. Tessa Ross, the former Film4 chief and “the mother of British filmmaking,” is teaming up with Juliette...
Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea Discuss “Making Movies with Women at the Center of the Story”
Reese Witherspoon and her Pacific Standard co-founder Bruna Papandrea aren’t like most producing teams. One half of the shingle is an Oscar-winning actress, of course, but more importantly, the...
Watch: Lifetime Launches “Major” Initiative to Promote Women Directors, Writers, Producers
As a network for women, Lifetime is also largely a network by women. Female directors helmed 20% of Lifetime’s movies last year, compared to a paltry 7% for theatrical features. In the same...
Cathy Schulman Joins Newly Launched STX Entertainment as Production Exec
Oscar-winning producer Cathy Schulman (“Crash”) has joined the newly launched STX Entertainment after eight years as the president of Mandalay Pictures. Schulman will serve as a top production...
Noomi Rapace to Star in Sci-fi Thriller ‘Rupture’
Swedish actress Noomi Rapace has landed the lead role in “Rupture,” a sci-fi adventure thriller about a single mother who is kidnapped by a mysterious organization and learns an extraordinary...
Guest Post: Actress Anne Archer on How Women Can Play the Game Today
Since avery small girl, I have loved to perform and really only cared about acting. And yes, I would say it is still my number one love and goal, but I had an epiphany afew years ago that to...
Marisa Tomei Enters the World of TV Producing with HBO
Deadline is reporting that Marisa Tomei has signed on to a first-look development deal at HBO, which will see the actress developing, producing, and possibly (hopefully!) starring in projects for...
Amy Pascal’s Next Female Films: ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Cleopatra,’ Another ‘Little Women,’ ‘Barbie’
Amy Pascal’s days as Sony Chair are numbered (the outgoing exec will officially step down in May), but her producing schedule for the next few years is already quite full. Pascal will stay on as...
Quote of the Day: Producer Nina Jacobson on How to Fix Broken Hollywood
High-profile producer Nina Jacobson (The Hunger Games franchise, Ryan Murphy’s upcoming American Crime Story) wrote a guest column for Variety’s Broken Hollywood feature, which focuses on...
Sundance Women Producers: Meet Susan Bedusa — ‘Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead’
Susan Bedusa is currently Senior Vice President of Production and Development at 4th Row Films, where she sets up development and distribution deals with various networks and studios. She also...
Tony Award Winner Anika Noni Rose Gets into Producing
You may recognize Anika Noni Rose from the stage (she won a Tony for her performance in Caroline, Or Change), TV (The Good Wife, Private Practice), or the big screen (Dreamgirls). The multi-talented...
Suffragettes, Action Heroines, and BDSM: Most Anticipated Films By and About Women in 2015
Our 2014 end-of-year coverage highlighted the good and the bad for women and Hollywood in 2014. As we usher in a new year, let’s focus on some of the exciting female-centric films that await us in...
Crosspost: These Are the Most Employed Women in the UK Film Industry
The following post originally appeared on Stephen Follows’ website and is published here with permission of the author. Last week, I looked at the most employed people in the UK film industry....
New Podcast: Nina Jacobson — Producer of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
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Women in Film Announces Nine Finishing Fund Recipients
The Women In Film Foundation has announced the nine female directors and producers who will receive finishing funds this year. In its 29th year, the fund will provide cash grants and in-kind...
Powerhouse Female Producers Join Forces to Launch New Company
Big-league UK producers Alison Owen (Saving Mr. Banks, The Giver, HBO’s Temple Grandin) and Debra Hayward (Les Miserables, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Atonement) have teamed up to form a new...
Stephenie Meyer to Produce Lois Duncan’s Down a Dark Hall
Though the Twilight film series wrapped up in 2012, Stephenie Meyer continues to flex her producing muscles in Hollywood. Up next for the YA author is an adaptaion of Lois Duncan’s 1974...
CSI Producer Carol Mendelsohn Leaves Show, Joins Sony TV
After 13 years at CBS Television Studios, Carol Mendelsohn will join Sony Pictures TV. The jump from CBS to Sony means Mendelsohn will be giving up her co-showrunning duties at the long-running...
Kathryn Bigelow Books Her Next Film: The True American
We have a new Kathryn Bigelow film to look forward to. Bigelow will direct and produce an adaptation of the non-fiction book The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas, written by New York Times...
Live-Action Barbie Movie in the Works
Blame it on The Lego Movie: the toys are taking over the multiplex. Sony has announced plans to make a live-action comedy starring Barbie. There have previously been over two dozen animated...
UK’s Channel 4 Exec Tessa Ross Becomes Head of National Theatre
Tessa Ross, the Channel 4 film and drama controller who’s been called “the mother of British filmmaking,” will leave her current position to head the National Theatre. Ross will take over NT...
Wadjda Director Haifaa Al-Mansour Announces Next Project
After making history as Saudi Arabia’s first woman director, Wadjda helmer Haifaa Al-Mansour is in final negotiations for her follow-up film: a romance between writers Percy Shelley and Mary...
Reese Witherspoon Bets on Kimberly McCreight as Next YA Sensation
Can’t decide on next month’s book club selection? Let Reese Witherspoon help. For nearly a decade, Witherspoon has been producing adaptations of novels with complicated female protagonists...