Women Writers
Why Female Screenwriters Shouldn’t Get Depressed by WGA Stats
Guest Post by Rebecca Norris Are you a female screenwriter who is depressed by the latest Hollywood statistics that seem to suggest women are becoming more marginalized in Tinseltown, rather than...
“Thelma & Louise” Returns to Theaters for 25th Anniversary
Grab your BBF and your coolest car. “Thelma & Louise” is coming back to theaters for two days only in celebration of its 25th anniversary As part of Fathom Events’ efforts to bring classic...
Women in Film and The Black List Announce Participants of Inaugural TV Lab
Earlier this year Women In Film, Los Angeles and The Black List announced that they would join forces to launch a new episodic television lab for women writers. The eight-week lab offers an...
Apply Now for the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship Through The Black List
If you’re an aspiring screenwriter and member of The Black List, here’s some good news: For the fourth year of the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship, two screenwriters instead...
Apply Now for New York Film Festival Critics Academy
Attention aspiring female film critics! Are you ready to break the glass ceiling that is the dudeocracy of film writers? Are you ready to change the dismal numbers of female film critics out there?...
Fork Films Announces Funding Grants for Female Directed and Women-Centric Films
“Even When I Fall” New York-based production company Fork Films has announced funding for 10 film projects in various stages of development, 90 percent of which are female-directed. The 10...
New Georges to Celebrate 25th Anniversary with World Premieres by Hilary Bettis and Sheila…
New Georges to Celebrate 25th Anniversary with World Premieres by Hilary Bettis and Sheila Callaghan New Georges, a theatrical production company devoted to women, has announced that they will...
Trailer Watch: Clea DuVall’s “The Intervention” is the New Millennium’s “The Big Chill”
First-time feature film director Clea DuVall has taken some of your favorite TV actors, put them in a blender, and created the amazing ensemble cast that makes up “The Intervention.” In the...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Weekly Update for June 24: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“The Shallows” Films About Women Opening This Week The Shallows When Nancy (Blake Lively) is surfing on a secluded beach, she finds herself in the feeding ground of a great white shark. Millions...
Trailer Watch: Romance Fiction’s Sisterhood Shines in “Love Between the Covers”
Romance fiction grosses over a billion dollars a year. Its intensely devoted readership spans six continents, and the genre is sold in 34 languages. So why aren’t people talking about this hugely...
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...
Andrea Berloff to Adapt “The Kitchen” Comic Series for New Line Cinema
Great news for fans of comics and female-fronted stories: “The Kitchen” is coming to the big-screen. The Vertigo comic series, which The Tracking Board notes “has been celebrated for its...
Clio Barnard Starts Shooting “Dark River,” Starring Ruth Wilson
Principal photography for Clio Barnard’s “Dark River,” a family drama starring Ruth Wilson (“The Affair”), has kicked off. Filming will take place in Yorkshire, a county in Northern...
Paramount Acquires Julia Cox’s Black List Script “Do No Harm”
In total, 16 of the 81 scripts featured on the 2015 Black List, or 20%, were written or co-written by women. The list included Julia Cox’s “Do No Harm,” which has now been acquired by...
“I Dream Too Much” Writer-Director Katie Cokinos on Her Bright and Uplifting Coming-of-Age Story
Katie Cokinos began her film career in the late 1980s working at Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP) in Houston, where she co-produced Eagle Pennell’s “Heart Full of Soul” in 1989. She...
Margaret Atwood Wins PEN Pinter Prize
Margaret Atwood has been named this year’s recipient of the PEN Pinter Prize, an honor celebrating champions of free speech. The Canadian writer is perhaps best known for her novels “The...
Mindy Kaling Signs Multi-Year Deal with Universal TV
Mindy Kaling has secured a multi-year deal with Universal TV, Variety has reported. The deal is for acting, producing, and writing. Universal produces her current series “The Mindy Project,”...
Helena Bonham Carter to Star in, Produce “Saint Mazie” Miniseries
Helena Bonham Carter is coming to the small-screen. The two-time Oscar nominee will star in the miniseries “Saint Maizie,” a portrait of a big-hearted New Yorker in the Jazz Age. Bonham Carter...
Akosua Adoma Owusu Will Adapt Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “On Monday of Last Week”
Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who last year granted Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”) the film rights to her novel “Americanah,” will now see another of her works adapted for the...
Lisa Joy to Write “Battlestar Galactica” Movie
A long-awaited, new big-screen adaptation of the 1970s TV series “Battlestar Galactica” is in the works at Universal with a female screenwriter. Lisa Joy, executive producer and scriptwriter for...
BBC’s Adaptation of Zadie Smith’s “NW” Will Star Nikki Amuka-Bird and Phoebe Fox
The leading ladies for BBC’s adaption of Zadie Smith’s 2012 novel “NW” have been revealed. Deadline announced that Nikki Amuka-Bird (“Luther,” “Jupiter Ascending”) and Phoebe Fox...
Genne Murphy Wins Leah Ryan Prize for Emerging Women Writers
Leah Ryan’s Fund for Emerging Women Writers has announced Genne Murphy as the winner of the seventh annual prize for her play “Giantess.” Ryan was a playwright, essayist, writer of post-modern...
Sloane Crosley’s Debut Novel Optioned By Universal
Sloane Crosley is getting the big-screen treatment. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the essayist’s debut novel, “The Clasp,” has been optioned by Universal. The book centers on a...
Anna Rose Holmer on Hysteria and Collaboration in Her Genre-Blending Dance Film “The Fits”
Anna Rose Holmer was listed as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film 2015.” She recently produced Jody Lee Lipes’ “Ballet 422” and Mike Plunkett’s “Salero.”...
Jojo Moyes on Creating “Me Before You” From Book to Film
Author Jojo Moyes penned the screenplay for the upcoming film “Me Before You,” which opens June 3, a love story about two very different characters who should have never met, but do due to very...
Tangerine Fellowship for Outstanding Female Screenwriter Now Accepting Applications
Stowe Story Labs and Tangerine Entertainment have announced that the application period for the second annual Tangerine Fellowship for an Outstanding Female Screenwriter is now open. The goal of the...
“Pitch Perfect’s” Rebel Wilson To Star in Rom Com
Consummate sidekick Rebel Wilson is finally set to top-line a high-profile film. Variety is reporting that the “Pitch Perfect” franchise breakout will star in an as-yet untitled romantic comedy...
Hedgebrook Screenwriters Lab Now Accepting Applications
Get your applications ready, women screenwriters! The application period for Hedgebrook’s 2nd annual Screenwriters Lab is now open. Hedgebrook’s Screenwriters Lab is one of multiple programs...
“Broadchurch’s” Phoebe Waller-Bridge to Write and Star in Amazon Comedy Series
“Broadchurch” co-stars Olivia Colman (“The Night Manager”) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge are reuniting: the actresses are teaming up for an Amazon Prime Video series written by Waller-Bridge....
Emily Carmichael to Write and Direct “Powerhouse” for Amblin Entertainment
Are we finally getting a female director go from the indie world into a big-budget project? According to The Hollywood Reporter, indie filmmaker Emily Carmichael will write and direct...
Angela Davis Biopic Acquired By The Firm
An unauthorized biopic of activist Angela Davis is coming to the big-screen. Deadline reports that The Firm has acquired an as-yet untitled script from LaToya Morgan, who previously served as a...
Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Fest Lineup Includes Sharon Stone, Teyonah Parris and Q’orianka Kilcher
The Bentonville Film Festival has announced the lineup for its second installment. This year’s festival will screen 34 films, including 12 world premieres and runs in Bentonville, Arkansas from May...
YA Author Meg Rosoff Wins Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
YA author Meg Rosoff has won the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children and young adult literature. The world’s largest prize for the genre will award Rosoff with five million...
Shonda Rhimes to Receive International Emmy Founders Award
The International Television Academy announced it will honor showrunner, writer and producer extraordinaire Shonda Rhimes with its International Emmy Founders Award. The International Emmy Awards...
Charlize Theron and Diablo Cody Reunite for Film About Motherhood
It’s looking like Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Diablo Cody may reunite. The star and screenwriter of 2011’s “Young Adult” would join its director, Jason Reitman, for a project about...
Women in Film and The Black List Team Up To Launch TV Lab for Women Writers
Women in Film, Los Angeles and The Black List have announced a new episodic television lab for women writers. Eight non-professional writers will be invited to join the lab. The joint venture is now...
Humor Saves the Day (and the Marriage): ‘Catastrophe’ Returns
The wait is over: Season 2 of Amazon’s blissfully filthy-mouthed comedy “Catastrophe” premieres on Amazon Prime next Friday, and once again you will find yourself wishing it had three times as...
‘Scream Queens’ Star Keke Palmer to Release a Memoir and Self-Help Guide
Keke Palmer has signed a book deal. The “Scream Queens” star will release an inspirational memoir and self-help guide via Simon & Schuster. The book, titled “I Don’t Belong to You: Quiet...
2015 Vida Count: WOC, LGBTQ and Women with Disabilities Underrepresented in Publications
The 2015 VIDA Count was released Wednesday and though the figures demonstrate small gains overall, the picture looks different for women of color, LGBTQ women and women with disabilities. VIDA dubbed...
Guest Post: My Peek Under the Niqab — A Muslim Filmmaker’s Journey Breaking Her Own Stereotypes
In 2009, I quit my job as Gulf Correspondent for The Washington Post and decided to pursue filmmaking full-time. I had become a journalist to tell realistic stories about the Arab world, having...
Emily Schwend Wins Prestigious Yale Theater Prize, Both Runners-Up Are Women
Playwright Emily Schwend has won the 2016 Yale Drama Series prize for her play “Utility,” a family drama set in Texas. Schwend will receive $10,000, publication by Yale University Press and a...
Smile, Baby: How ‘The Catch’ Does Mireille Enos Wrong
I have a simple litmus test for female-centric shows and movies that almost never steers me wrong. It sounds petty, but it’s very revealing: Does the main character wear impractical footwear in...
Listen: Women and Hollywood Podcast #25 — ‘Consumed’ Star, Co-Writer and Producer Zoe Lister-Jones
Women and Hollywood spoke with the star, co-writer and producer of “Consumed,” Zoe Lister-Jones. The film addresses a hot topic — Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Typically we see...
Playwright of the Moment: Danai Gurira Has Two Plays Running in NYC
If you’re only familiar with Danai Gurira from her role as Michonne on “The Walking Dead,” AMC’s hit zombie apocalypse drama, it’s time to familiarize yourself with her other works, namely...