Women Writers
Trailer Watch: Kathryn Hahn Obsesses Over Kevin Bacon in Jill Soloway’s “I Love Dick”
“Dear Dick, you’re like a Roman god bringing the spirit of sex into our lives,” says Chris (Kathryn Hahn) in a trailer for the memorably-titled upcoming Amazon series “I Love Dick.” Chris...
Lynn Nottage Becomes the First Woman to Win Pulitzer Prize Twice for Drama
Playwright Lynn Nottage has been honored with the Pulitzer Prize for “Sweat,” her play about dissatisfaction, anger, and resentment among the working class. To make the occasion even more...
“UnREAL” Co-Creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro Inks Deal with A+E Studios
Looks like Sarah Gertrude Shapiro will be creating more content for A+E Studios. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the “UnREAL” co-creator has signed a multiyear overall deal with the...
Amy Sherman-Palladino’s “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Gets Two-Season Order
As die-hard “Gilmore Girls” fans would say, “Copper boom!” “Gilmore” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s newest series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” just got a two-season order from...
Judy Blume to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
The woman who made puberty a little less terrifying for millions of girls is being honored with a lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Judy Blume will be given...
Weekly Update for April 7: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week “Their Finest” Their Finest — Directed by Lone Scherfig; Written by Gaby Chiappe “Their Finest” sees Gemma Arterton as Catrin, a young woman hired...
Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s Reese Witherspoon -Starrer “Home Again” Gets Release Date
“Big Little Lies” concluded Sunday on HBO, and while we’ll miss much about the murder mystery, one of the highlights of the limited series was definitely watching Reese Witherspoon knock it...
Melissa Stack to Make Directorial Debut with Vacation Comedy
“The Other Woman” grossed more than $196 million worldwide on a budget of $40 million, and now the screenwriter behind the 2014 Cameron Diaz infidelity comedy seems to have another hit on her...
Quote of the Day: “Good Girls Revolt’s” Genevieve Angelson on Equal Pay
In an article for Elle, “Good Girls Revolt” alumna Genevieve Angelson writes about an aspect of the gender pay gap that doesn’t get much attention: There is a stigma surrounding any and all...
Shonda Rhimes’ MasterClass on Writing for Television Is Now Available
“I don’t believe in the phrase ‘aspiring writer.’ To me, it’s just: You’re a writer. Go write.” Consider that Shonda Rhimes’ first lesson on how to write for TV. For the rest of her...
Iliza Shlesinger’s Late-Night Show “Truth & Iliza” Gets Premiere Date
“Confirmed Kills” stand-up Iliza Schlesinger will soon be joining the Late Night Wars. The Tracking Board writes that Schlesinger’s “Truth & Iliza” will debut May 2 on Freeform and its...
Trailer Watch: “Anne” Can Do Anything a Boy Can Do and More
“My name is Anne Shirley Cuthbert, and please be sure to spell ‘Anne’ with an ‘e’,” the heroine of Netflix’s newest series requests on her first day at a new school. Even if you’ve...
Trailer Watch: Niecy Nash is a Badass Salon Owner in “Claws”
If you wish “The Sopranos” had included more women and people of color onscreen — and had doubled down on Carmela’s fierce manicures — your dream has come true. The Niecy...
Theresa Rebeck Opens Up About Being Fired from “Smash”
“The misogyny is beyond anything that people believe,” “Smash” creator and former showrunner Theresa Rebeck writes in an essay entitled “What Came Next.” “On my first job in...
Trailer Watch: Britt Robertson Starts a Fashion Empire in Netflix’s “Girlboss”
“Go ahead. Underestimate me. I’ve got it all figured out,” a young woman with a great eye for fashion tells a store owner in a new trailer for “Girlboss.” Inspired by the best-selling book...
Weekly Update for March 31: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week “The Zookeeper’s Wife” The Zookeeper’s Wife — Directed by Niki Caro; Written by Angela Workman The real-life story of one working wife and mother...
Sony Buys Rights to Emil Ferris’ Graphic Novel “My Favorite Thing Is Monsters”
If you’re a fan of Nancy Drew, “Veronica Mars,” and/or pulp fiction, listen up: Another amateur girl sleuth is headed for the screen, and this one faces off against monsters. Sony has won the...
HBO Announces TV Adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend”
The TV adaption of Elena Ferrante’s novel “My Brilliant Friend” — book one of her Neapolitan series — has found a home. HBO, in partnership with Italy’s national public...
Guest Post: Supporting Women’s Voices in Independent Film
Guest Post by Jere Rae-Mansfield As a distributor of independent feature films for over 30 years, I have enjoyed watching women unite and rise to prominence in the film industry. Not only the titans...
Susan Johnson Talks “Carrie Pilby” and Finding Funding for the Female-Led Film
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...
April 2017 Film Preview
“Their Finest” If there’s one thing that April showers bring, it’s a plethora of films that feature women holding both the camera and the pen. Female screenwriters, in particular, drive this...
A Conversation with “The Zookeeper’s Wife” Author Diane Ackerman
Diane Ackerman is best known for her more recent books “A Natural History of the Senses” and “The Human Age: The World Shaped By Us.” However, “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” a story about a...
23-Year-Old Author Tomi Adeyemi’s Debut Novel Acquired by Fox 2000
Get ready to feel really unproductive. Twenty-three-year-old author Tomi Adeyemi received a seven-figure book deal from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for her debut novel, “Children of...
Trailer Watch: Diane Lane Takes the Trip of a Lifetime in Eleanor Coppola’s “Paris Can Wait”
“Driving is the only way to see a country,” Anne (Diane Lane) is told in a new trailer for “Paris Can Wait.” She and her husband (Alec Baldwin) are visiting Cannes from the U.S., but...
Women-Directed Features “Polina” and “The Drowning” Acquired
Two new women-directed films have found homes. Deadline reports that Oscilloscope Laboratories snagged the North American rights to Valérie Müller and Angelin Preljocaj’s “Polina,” a ballet...
BAMcinématek to Present Anne-Marie Miéville Retrospective
Swiss filmmaker Anne-Marie Miéville will be celebrated with a full career retrospective presented by BAMcinématek in Brooklyn. After launching her career in the ’70s, the writer, director, and...
Bentonville Film Fest to Open with Gaby Dellal’s “3 Generations”
“3 Generations” The 2017 Bentonville Film Festival will open with Gaby Dellal’s controversial “3 Generations,” Indiewire reports. Written by Dellal and Nikole Beckwith, the drama, once...
Thea Sharrock Being Eyed to Direct “The One and Only Ivan”
Thea Sharrock may be following up a tragic romance with a gorilla story. The “Me Before You” director is in talks to helm Disney’s big screen adaptation of Katherine Applegate’s Newbery...
Robin Swicord’s “Wakefield” Acquired by IFC Films
Love “Breaking Bad” and miss watching Bryan Cranston scale new heights of self-destructive behavior? You’re in luck. Robin Swicord’s “Wakefield” has found a home. A press release...
Weekly Update for March 24: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week “Prevenge” Prevenge — Written and Directed Alice Lowe (Opens in NY and LA) Widow Ruth (Alice Lowe) is seven months pregnant when, believing herself to...
Plays from Lucy Kirkwood and Anna Ziegler to Run at Manhattan Theater Club
Manhattan Theater Club is bringing two women-written plays to Broadway. Per The New York Times, Lucy Kirkwood’s “The Children” and Anna Ziegler’s “Actually” will run during the upcoming...
Nicole Kidman and Amy Schumer to Star in Rebecca Miller’s “She Came to Me”
Nicole Kidman and Amy Schumer are set to co-star in a new film. “Maggie’s Plan” hit theaters just last year, but writer-director Rebecca Miller is already lining up a star-studded cast for...
Shared Experience: Crowdfunding Picks
“The Last Partera” International Women’s Day gave women around the country an opportunity to unite for a common purpose and demonstrate their value. Similarly, this round of crowdfunding picks...
Meredith Lavender & Marcie Ulin Sign Overall Deal With 20th Century Fox TV
Long-time collaborators Meredith Lavender and Marcie Ulin are taking their partnership to the next level. The pair have signed a two-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television, Deadline...
Amy Brenneman to Star in CBS Internet Journalism Drama “The Get”
Amy Brenneman is returning to CBS. The “Judging Amy” star will topline the network’s pilot “The Get,” about “a team of tireless Internet journalists who pursue and expose stories of...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sally Wainwright Win Big at Royal Television Society Awards
Here’s some happy news about two very dark shows: writer-creators Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”) and Sally Wainwright (“Happy Valley”) were the big winners at last night’s Royal...
“The Path” Co-EP Annie Weisman Signs Overall Deal With Universal TV
“The Path” co-executive producer Annie Weisman has inked a two-year overall deal with Universal TV, Deadline reports. She’s written four episodes of the Hulu series starring Aaron Paul...
“Fleabag” Gets Second Season
We haven’t seen the last of “Fleabag,” thank goddess. The series’ star and creator, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, has confirmed that a second season of the pitch-black comedy is in the works. The...
Tamara Jenkins to Direct “Private Life,” Starring Kathryn Hahn and Molly Shannon
It’s been a decade since Tamara Jenkins released her last film, but the writer-director has a project on the way, and it sounds amazing: “Private Life,” a Netflix original film, will star...
Mila Kunis & Kate McKinnon in Talks for Susanna Fogel’s “The Spy Who Dumped Me”
Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon may be teaming up for a woman-directed comedy. The actresses are in talks to star in Susanna Fogel’s “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” Deadline reports. If they sign on...
Hillary Seitz to Adapt Ruth Ware’s “The Woman in Cabin 10”
“The Woman in Cabin 10” is headed to the big screen. “Eagle Eye” and “Insomnia” screenwriter Hillary Seitz has signed on to pen an adaptation of the Ruth Ware mystery thriller, Variety...
Weekly Update for March 17: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Beauty and the Beast” Films About Women Opening This Week Beauty and the Beast Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” a live-action retelling of the studio’s animated classic, refashions...
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” Co-Creator Aline Brosh McKenna Signs Overall Deal With CBS TV Studios
This calls for a celebratory song and dance number. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” co-creator, showrunner, and executive producer Aline Brosh McKenna is strengthening her relationship with the studio...
Eva Longoria to Star in Fox Comedy Pilot “Type-A”
Eva Longoria is headed back to the small screen to topline “Type-A,” a Fox comedy pilot. According to Deadline, the single-camera project follows “a group of consultants hand-picked to do the...
Jennifer Aniston and Anne Fletcher Team Up for Teen Comedy
Jennifer Aniston played a Prom Queen and Homecoming Queen in “Friends,” and now she’ll take on the role of a former beauty queen. Variety reports that the expert tiara-wearer has joined the...
Trailer Watch: Melissa McCarthy’s Old Friends Lie for a Job in TV Land’s “Nobodies”
Melissa McCarthy is not the star of “Nobodies,” but she does appear in a trailer for the upcoming TV Land series. The comedy centers on characters played by significantly less famous...
“Somersault” Director Cate Shortland Has a Miniseries in the Works
Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland is returning to the small screen. The “Somersault” and “Lore” director is working on an eight-part miniseries for Matchbox Pictures, The Playlist reports....
Zoe Lister-Jones’ “Band Aid” Gets a Release Date
Dysfunctional bands are usually notorious for their diva antics, exploitation of adoring fans, and drug addictions — not passive-aggressive discussions about personal hygiene and doing the...
Eve Ensler’s “In the Body of the World” Set for Off-Broadway Run, Diane Paulus to Direct
Even if you’ve never seen “The Vagina Monologues” performed live, you’re almost certainly familiar with its title. The groundbreaking episodic play has been staged countless times in over...
Guest Post: When a Woman Called the Shots at the Screen Writers Guild
Guest Post by J.E. Smyth Current debates in the media about women’s employment, representation, and visibility in Hollywood focus — perhaps predictably — on stars’ pay and the...
“Margarita with a Straw” Helmer Shonali Bose Signs on to Write & Direct Potential Pilot
Indian filmmaker Shonali Bose may be making her TV directorial debut. The “Margarita with a Straw” co-writer and co-director has signed on to write and direct a potential pilot based on Diksha...