Women Writers
Telefilm Canada Announces Half of Financed Movies to be Women-Directed
Great things have been happening in Canada’s film and television industry when it comes to gender equality, and now, as The Hollywood Reporter details, Telefilm Canada, the country’s biggest...
“Blue Crush” TV Series in the Works at NBC with Script by Lizzy Weiss
Take out your surfboard and ride some celebratory waves. “Blue Crush” may be coming to TV. NBC has given a script commitment with penalty to a series based on the 2002 surfing movie starring...
“Lady Macbeth” Screenwriter Alice Birch Adapting “Love and Capital” for TV
British playwright Alice Birch is writing the television adaptation of Mary Gabriel’s 2011 bestseller “Love and Capital,” Screen Daily reports. James Schamus’ Symbolic Exchange is...
Trailer Watch: “The Affair” Season 3 Kicks Off Three Years After Noah’s Confession
ANSFW trailer has been released for Season 3 of “The Affair,” and the spot confirms that Showtime’s critically acclaimed, multi-perspective drama will continue to deliver the thrills, sex...
“Frozen” Writer Kristen Anderson-Lopez Making Broadway Debut with “In Transit”
“Frozen” co-writer Kristen Anderson-Lopez is taking her talent to Broadway. The writer will make her stage debut with “In Transit,” the Great White Way’s first a capella musical. It was...
Elizabeth Banks Developing Family Comedy at CBS
Elizabeth Banks has landed her first major network sale, Variety reports. The actress, producer, and director signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. TV last year that sees her and Max Handelman,...
Joanna Murray-Smith Wins Inaugural Mona Brand Award for Women Writers
Writer Joanna Murray-Smith has been announced as the first ever winner of Australia’s Mona Brand Award for Women Stage and Screen Writers, The AU Review reports. The prize comes with an award...
“The Love Witch” Director Anna Biller Talks Gender Performance and Femme Fatales
Anna Biller’s 35mm cult feature “Viva” and her 16mm art-film shorts have screened at major film festivals and art spaces around the world. She is known for her use of classic and outdated film...
Madeleine Thien Wins the Giller Prize, Canada’s Most Prominent Fiction Award
Madeleine Thien has been named as the 2016 recipient of Canada’s Giller Prize, the country’s most prominent fiction award, Reuters reports. The author won the $100,000 award — the...
FX Developing “Flatlands,” a Series from Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s “Flatlands” has gone into development at FX, Deadline reports. The hour-long serio-comedy comes from the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated collaborators and...
Sharon Horgan’s “Pulling” Heading to NBC
Another British cult hit is heading stateside. As Deadline reports, NBC is developing a U.S. version of BBC series “Pulling.” Original creators Sharon Horgan, who starred in the original, and...
A Legacy of Their Own: Crowdfunding Picks
“Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers” It’s probably fair to say that most artists want their work to remain relevant after they’re gone; for people to remember them because their art is...
Trailer Watch: Maria Sole Tognazzi’s Romantic Comedy “Me, Myself and Her”
A trailer has been released for “Me, Myself and Her,” a humorous look at a couple going through a difficult time. According to a press release for the Maria Sole Tognazzi-directed film, “Me,...
Joelle Charbonneau’s “Need” Movie Gets All-Female Writing-Directing Team
Joelle Charbonneau’s young adult thriller novel “Need” is getting the big screen adaptation treatment, and thankfully those in power have secured a female writing-directing team for...
Hannah Mackay Comedy Pilot Lands at ABC, Mindy Kaling Producing
Hannah Mackay (“Peep Show”) and Ed Weeks (“The Revolting World of Stanley Brown”) are teaming up for a single-camera comedy about a liberal lesbian couple. The project is being produced by...
Season 3 of “UnREAL” to Introduce Female Suitor to “Everlasting”
“Everlasting” is getting a makeover. The reality dating show at the center of Lifetime’s “UnREAL” is making history for the second season in a row. Last season saw a black suitor...
The Orchard Acquires Susan Johnson’s “Carrie Pilby,” Starring Bel Powley
If you loved Marielle Heller’s “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” and gravitate towards films with sassy, precocious female leads, you’re in luck. The Orchard has acquired the North American...
Amy Pascal Buys Liz Hannah’s Pentagon Papers Spec Script
Amy Pascal’s Pascal Pictures has snagged “The Post,” a spec script about the Pentagon Papers penned by Liz Hannah, Deadline reports. According to Deadline, the spec “frames a feature film...
November 2016 Film Preview
“Moana” As the holidays begin to kick into high gear, so does award season. This month is packed with performances by actresses who are considered likely to receive Oscar nods.. If you’re not...
Erin Cressida Wilson May Write Disney’s Live-Action “Snow White”
“The Girl on the Train” screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson may pen Disney’s live-action “Snow White.” Wilson is in negotiations to write the script for the film, “which will expand upon...
Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna Team Up for Workplace Comedy
“Fresh Off the Boat” showrunner Nahnatchka Khan is joining forces with with “ Son of Zorn” showrunner Sally Bradford McKenna for a “high-concept” Fox comedy, The Hollywood Reporter...
Toni Morrison Receives PEN Award for Achievement in American Fiction
“Beloved” author Toni Morrison received the 2016 PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction Thursday at the PEN American Center in New York. The event, titled “Dangerous Work:...
A.V. Rockwell Wins Tribeca’s 2nd Through Her Lens Women’s Filmmaker Program
Tribeca Enterprises partnered with Chanel for the second iteration of Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program and the winning project and recipient have been announced: A.V....
Diablo Cody Developing New Comedy at Fox
Oscar-winning writer Diablo Cody is co-developing a comedy for Fox about the strange world of synchronized swimming, THR reports. She’s teaming up with “American Idol’s” Simon Cowell and...
MGM Snags Chiara Atik’s “Fairy Godmother” Spec Script
Chiara Atik is turning her gaze from the stage to the screen. MGM has acquired the playwright’s first spec script, “Fairy Godmother,” following a “competitive” bidding process,...
First New Play Written By a Woman Announced for Current Broadway Season
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel is set to make her Broadway debut, The New York Times reports. “Indecent,” Vogel’s newest play, will be staged on Broadway next spring. Rebecca...
WGA West’s TV Writers Access Project Now Taking Submissions
Hey women TV writers, time to polish those scripts. The Writers Guild of America West has opened up the submission period for their 2016–2017 TV Writers Access Project, which is open to guild...
This Year’s Class of New York Film Critics Circle Members Are All White Men
It seems insane that, with all of the warranted uproar these days over diversity, inclusion, and representation, that a prestigious film critics association would completely ignore what’s been...
Sarah Adina Smith’s “Buster’s Mal Heart” Acquired by Well Go USA
“Buster’s Mal Heart” has secured a theatrical release. Deadline reports that Well Go USA has acquired rights in North America, as well as some other territories, for the surreal psychological...
J.K. Rowling’s “Cormoran Strike” Series Heading to HBO
J.K. Rowling’s work is headed to HBO. You may recall when the “Harry Potter” author turned to the pseudonym Robert Galbraith to write a series of crime novels. Now BBC One is turning them into...
Decision 2016: October’s VOD and Web Series Picks
“The Young Hillary Diaries”: Lifetime Decisions are at the core of most narratives. The emphasis on personal decisions are at the heart of our VOD and web series picks this month. The women...
Wendi McLendon-Covey Sells Workplace Comedy to ABC
“The Goldbergs” star Wendi McLendon-Covey has transformed her humble beginnings into comedy gold. Deadline reports that McLendon-Covey has secured a script commitment plus significant penalty...
Trailer Watch: Rory and Lorelai’s Banter is Back in “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life”
Rory and Lorelai Gilmore are back, and the twosome’s famous repartee is thankfully still intact. A newly released trailer for Netflix’s “Gilmore Girls” reboot has been released, and the...
Playwright Aleshea Harris Wins The Relentless Award for “Is God Is”
Playwright Aleshea Harris has won The Relentless Award, for her play “Is God Is,” The New York Times reports. The award includes prize money of $45,000 and opportunities for staged readings at...
Stella Meghie on Who and What Inspired “Jean of the Joneses”
Interview by Eboni Boykin Stella Meghie has a blind script deal at Warner Brothers, a pilot in development with John Wells Productions, a comedy optioned by BET, and a deal to pen a feature script...
Comedy Pilots from Casey Wilson and Iliza Shlesinger in the Works
Get ready to add even more to your To Watch list: new comedy pilots from tag-team Casey Wilson and June Diane Raphael, as well as Iliza Shlesinger are being developed. According to Deadline,...
Glenn Close to Star in Film Adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s “The Wife”
Glenn Close is set to star in “The Wife,” a film adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s 2003 novel of the same name. The drama sees the six-time Oscar nominee playing Joan Castleman, a woman best known...
Exclusive: Cristin Milioti’s Relationship Is a Seven Out of 10 in “It Had to Be You” Clip
Long term relationships and intimacy aren’t all they are cracked up to be in this exclusive clip from Sasha Gordon’s “It Had to Be You.” Sonia (Cristin Milioti, “Fargo,” “The Mindy...
Know No Boundaries: Crowdfunding Picks
“Mourning Dove” storyboard The creativity and audacity of women directors and writers know no bounds in this round of crowdfunding picks. These stories, ranging from sharp-witted comedies to...
Issa Rae to Exec Produce “Minimum Wage” Anthology Series Written by Women
“Insecure” debuted on HBO less than a month ago to rave reviews, but the comedy’s star, co-creator, and executive producer isn’t just basking in the success of her new series — she’s...
Jane Campion Becomes a Dame
Award-winning writer-director Jane Campion is officially a Dame. The Sydney-based filmmaker accepted the honor in a ceremony held in Wellington, New Zealand — her hometown — earlier...
Maria Maggenti to Write Pilot for TV Land’s “Re Jane”
“Finding Carter” alumna Maria Maggenti is adapting Patricia Park’s 2015 novel “Re Jane” for the small screen. The half-hour, single-camera comedy series is being developed at TV Land,...
Apply Now to EWA’s Scriptwriter Residency Program
The European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA) is offering a scriptwriter residency in Berlin from January 20 to February 17, 2017. This program is an “initiative dedicated to supporting the...
Cathryn Humphris to Write New FBI Procedural at Fox
WGA Award winner Cathryn Humphris is set to pen an FBI procedural drama being developed at Fox, reports Variety. She’s working on the hour-long, untitled series with former “Law & Order:...
Lone Scherfig’s “Their Finest” Gets Release Date
“An Education” director Lone Scherfig will close out the Santa Barbara International Film Festival with her latest film, “Their Finest,” on February 11, and about a month later the WWII-set...
Freeform Orders “Brown Girls” Comedy Pilot from Shilpi Roy and Nastaran Dibai
“Brown Girls” has been given a pilot order from Freeform, the network behind “Pretty Little Liars,” “The Fosters,” and “Switched at Birth,” Deadline reports. The multi-camera comedy...
Nikki Finke Signs First-Look Deal with HBO
Hollywood Dementia founder Nikki Finke has finalized a first-look television deal with HBO, Deadline reports. This agreement means that HBO “will have first crack at developing projects based on...
Margaret Nagle to Write “Bonfire of the Vanities” Series
Margaret Nagle has signed on to pen a series based on “Bonfire of the Vanities,” Tom Wolfe’s bestselling 1987 novel. Along with writing the project, “The Good Lie” screenwriter will serve...
Biopic About Trailblazing Mathematician Ada Lovelace Being Developed
A pioneering female mathematician’s untold story is hitting the big screen. Alison Owen and Debra Hayward’s production company, Monumental Pictures, has announced it will make a biopic about Ada...
Lifetime Greenlights Dark Comedy Series Created by Tara Armstrong
Lifetime has found great success exploring the cutthroat behind-the-scenes world of reality television in “UnREAL,” and now the network is tapping into more controversial subject...
Best-Selling Author Helen Walsh To Direct Second Feature
Award-winning novelist Helen Walsh is stepping behind the camera for a second time, Screen International reports. The English writer-director will follow up her 2015 debut “The Violators” with...