Women Writers
Quote of the Day: Lena Waithe Wants to Tell More Black, Queer Stories
“I am tired of white folks telling my stories,” actress, writer, and producer Lena Waithe said in Vanity Fair’s April 2018 cover story. “We gotta tell our shit. Can’t no one tell a black...
Gay Conversion Drama “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” Acquired by FilmRise
Sundance winner “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” has found a home. FilmRise snagged North American rights to the Chloë Grace Moretz-starrer, Deadline reports. The LGBTQ coming-of-age drama...
Margot Robbie to Produce Female-Led Shakespearean Drama Series
Love William Shakespeare’s plays but wish characters like Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, and Goneril and Regan were more fully developed? Margot Robbie seems to be on the same page — the...
Melina Kanakaredes to Co-Write and Produce Pic About Death Studies Pioneer Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the award-winning psychiatrist behind the seminal book “On Death and Dying” and coiner of the five stages of grief, is getting her own film. Deadline reports that...
“Madam Secretary” Creator Barbara Hall Signs Overall Deal With CBS TV Studios
Barbara Hall is staying put at CBS, the network behind “Madam Secretary.” The political drama’s creator and showrunner has signed a new overall deal with CBS Television Studios, Variety...
Susan Johnson’s Adaptation of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” Goes to Netflix
YA favorite “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is coming to Netflix. A press release announced that the streamer has acquired global rights to Susan Johnson’s adaptation of Jenny Han’s...
Alia Shawkat and Holliday Grainger to Topline Sophie Hyde’s “Animals”
“Animals” is inching closer towards the big screen. Alia Shawkat (“Search Party”) and Holliday Grainger (“Tulip Fever”) have been cast in Sophie Hyde’s adaptation of Emma Jane...
Trailer Watch: Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon Are Hapless Agents in “The Spy Who Dumped Me”
Car chases through beautiful cities are a staple of the spy movie genre — but what if your getaway vehicle, the one thing between you and the bad guys, isn’t an automatic? That’s the...
Natalia Almada’s “Everything Else” Acquired by Cinema Tropical
Natalia Almada’s narrative debut has secured U.S. distribution. Cinema Tropical snagged the rights to “Everything Else,” a press release announced. After making its world premiere at the 2016...
Trailer Watch: Women Run Things “As Good As Any Man” in WWI Drama “The Guardians”
France, 1915. Hortense (Nathalie Baye) is trying to keep the family farm going as her sons fight in The Great War. “I stopped reading the papers,” she tells them in a letter. “The war scares...
Susan Sarandon and Edie Falco Starring in Maryam Keshavarz’s “Vulture Club”
Susan Sarandon is swapping Bette Davis’ Old Hollywood glamour for ER scrubs. The “Feud” actress is toplining “Vulture Club,” a film about a veteran nurse desperate to rescue her journalist...
Amy Poehler Is Making Her Feature Directorial Debut with “Wine Country”
Amy Poehler is directing her first movie and taking plenty of “SNL” friends along on the vino-filled journey. Variety reports that the “Parks and Recreation” alumna will helm, produce, and...
Women In Entertainment and TV Academy Foundation Team Up to Launch Women In Television Summit
Plans for the inaugural Women in Television Summit are underway. A partnership between Women in Entertainment (WIE) and the Television Academy Foundation, the initiative will “bring together...
Gurinder Chadha Gets Series Order from ITV
Gurinder Chadha has another period drama on the way. ITV ordered a six-part series from the “Viceroy’s House” writer-director and her Bend It TV. Set in Delhi on the cusp of the 19th century,...
Elisabeth Moss Joins Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish in Crime Drama “The Kitchen”
Andrea Berloff’s directorial debut just added even more star power. With Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish already on board, “The Kitchen” now counts Elisabeth Moss among its cast. The...
BAMcinématek Launches Lynne Ramsay Film Series
Brooklyn’s BAMcinématek is marking the occasion of Lynne Ramsay’s latest offering, “You Were Never Really Here.” The Cannes winner hits U.S. theaters April 6, but you can catch the film’s...
Submit Your Script to Athena Film Fest’s Summer 2018 TV and Screenwriting Labs
The Athena Film Festival (AFF) is launching a new program for rising women screenwriters. In partnership with IRIS and the Stephens College Master of Fine Arts in Television and Screenwriting, AFF...
Mahalia Belo Will Helm Slavery Drama Series “The Long Song” for BBC
Up and coming director Mahalia Belo has booked her next gig. Deadline reports that the “Requiem” helmer has signed on to the BBC drama series “The Long Song.” Based on Andrea Levy’s...
Trailer Watch: Melissa McCarthy Forges Her Way into History in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Lee Israel is months behind on her rent, her cat is sick, and she’s been told no one is going to pay for her writing. Urged to “find another way to make a living,” the biographer and freelance...
Weekly Update for March 16: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Tomb Raider” Films About Women Opening This Week Tomb Raider — Co-Written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric...
Women Sweep the National Book Critics Circle Awards
Women claimed victory in all six competitive categories at this year’s National Book Critics Circle Awards, The LA Times reports. The winners were announced at the annual event held yesterday in...
Miranda July Has a New Film On the Way
Miranda July is stepping behind the camera again. The award-winning writer-director is set to kick off production on her third feature, a press release has announced. Currently untitled, the heist...
Abi Morgan to Adapt Psychological Thriller “Tangerine”
Abi Morgan is set to tell another female-led story. Deadline reports that the Emmy winner is following up women’s rights drama “Suffragette” with an adaptation of “Tangerine,” an upcoming...
Alice Birch Named Winner of 2018 Blackburn Prize
Alice Birch is this year’s recipient of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, American Theatre reports. She’s being honored for “Anatomy of a Suicide,” a play about three generations of women...
Sarah Drew and Michelle Hurd to Topline “Cagney & Lacey” Reboot, Rosemary Rodriguez Directing
“Grey’s Anatomy” star Sarah Drew and “Blindspot” actress Michelle Hurd are the new Cagney and Lacey. Deadline confirms that the duo have been cast as the leads of the “Cagney &...
Madonna to Direct Adaptation of Ballerina Michaela Deprince’s Memoir
Madonna is set to return to the director’s chair. The Golden Globe winner will direct an adaptation of Michaela Deprince’s 2016 memoir “Taking Flight” for MGM, a press release has announced....
Biopic About Pippi Longstocking Author “Becoming Astrid” Acquired by Music Box Films
A biopic of Pippi Longstocking’s creator is on the way. Deadline reports that Music Box Films has snagged U.S. rights to “Becoming Astrid,” Pernille Fischer Christensen’s look into the life...
Pilot News: Projects for Nina Dobrev and Cazzie David, Directing Gig for Patricia Riggen
“Vampire Diaries” alumna Nina Dobrev, “Eighty Sixed” web series co-creator and star Cazzie David, and “Miracles from Heaven” director Patricia Riggen have all booked pilots. Dobrev is...
Nicole Kidman to Star in and Exec Produce HBO Miniseries “The Undoing”
Nicole Kidman’s last collaboration with HBO earned her great ratings, critical acclaim, and two Emmy Awards. It’s no wonder that the “Big Little Lies” star and exec producer is heading back...
Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington’s Adaptation of “Little Fires Everywhere” Goes to Hulu
“Little Fires Everywhere” has found a home just over a week after Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington announced the project. Hulu gave a straight-to-series order for the eight-episode...
Trailer Watch: A Girl Steps into the Wrestling Ring to Win Her Father Over in “First Match”
“Put her in her place,” a teenage boy is told by a teammate just before facing off against a girl on a wrestling mat. It’s not long before she has her opponent pinned and his sexist...
Lily James-Starrer “Guernsey” and Augustine Frizzell’s “Never Goin’ Back” Get Distribution
Lily James-led period piece “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” and Augustine Frizzell’s coming-of-age pic “Never Goin’ Back” have both found homes. “Guernsey” will...
Alfre Woodard to Play a Prison Warden in “Clemency” From Chinonye Chukwu
Alfre Woodard’s recent roles have seen her playing the President of the United States and a comic book villain, and now she’s set to take on the role of a prison warden. The Emmy and Golden...
Weekly Update for March 9: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“A Wrinkle in Time” Films About Women Opening This Week A Wrinkle in Time — Directed by Ava DuVernay; Written by Jennifer Lee A reimagining of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel that...
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” Co-Creator Aline Brosh McKenna Has a New Project in Development
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” co-creator and showrunner Aline Brosh McKenna has a new female-led comedy in the works. She’s joining forces with two writer-producers from the Rachel Bloom-starrer,...
Sasheer Zamata to Star in Stella Meghie’s Next Film “The Weekend”
Sasheer Zamata and Stella Meghie are teaming up. The “SNL” alumna is set to topline “The Weekend,” a comedy from “Everything, Everything” helmer Meghie, Deadline reports. The pic sees...
Daryl Hannah’s Feature Directorial Debut Scores Distribution Ahead of SXSW Premiere
Daryl Hannah’s feature directorial debut is set to make its world premiere at SXSW in just over a week, and the pic has already found a home. Deadline reports that Netflix has snagged global...
Ry Russo-Young to Direct Yara Shahidi-Starrer “The Sun Is Also a Star”
Ry Russo-Young is set to adapt another YA novel. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that she’ll follow up “Before I Fall,” released last year, with “The Sun Is Also A Star,” a star-crossed...
Cheryl Dunye to Write and Direct Adaptation of “The Wonder of All Things”
The groundbreaking writer-director of “The Watermelon Woman” has a new project in the works. Cheryl Dunye will write and direct female-led supernatural story “The Wonder of All Things” for...
Rachel Brosnahan on Playing an Undercover Feminist in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Brosnahan in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”: Sarah Shatz At a recent event at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Rachel Brosnahan was asked about the #MeToo movement and its potential impact on...
Trailer Watch: Catherine Keener Fights Corporate Giants in “Little Pink House”
“I feel happy here. I feel like I’m home,” says Catherine Keener in a new trailer for “Little Pink House.” Written and directed by Courtney Moorehead Balaker, the drama sees Keener playing...
Sundance Winner Desiree Akhavan to Write, Direct, and Star in Comedy Series “The Bisexual”
“The Miseducation of Cameron Post” co-writer and director Desiree Akhavan has a TV series on the way. Titled “The Bisexual,” her first project on the small screen sees her writing,...
Indie Spirit Awards: Greta Gerwig, Dee Rees, and Agnés Varda Win Big
Saturday’s Indie Spirit Awards were a takedown of sexist bullshit and a celebration of inclusive talent. Hosts John Mulaney (“SNL”) and Nick Kroll (“Big Mouth”) had plenty to say about...
Eve Ensler on Her New One-Woman Show “In the Body of the World”
Ensler in “In the Body of the World”: Joan Marcus/bodyoftheworldplay.com Eve Ensler is a Tony Award-winning playwright, performer, author, and social activist. Twenty years ago her name became...
Weekly Update for March 2: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Red Sparrow” Films About Women Opening This Week Red Sparrow When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika (Jennifer Lawrence) and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That...
Biopic About Computer Scientist Grace Hopper in the Works
Another unsung heroine is set to receive some long overdue recognition. Computer scientist and Navy admiral Grace Hopper is getting the biopic treatment. Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth...
“Oh Lucy!” Writer-Director Atsuko Hirayanagi on Exploring Identity Through Comedy
Atsuko Hirayanagi was born in Nagano and raised in Chiba, Japan. She graduated from NYU Tisch School of The Arts, Asia, with an MFA in Film Production. Her shorts include “Mo ikkai,” “Wake,”...
Trailer Watch: “Fifty Shades of Grey” Rocks Jane Fonda and Diane Keaton’s Worlds in “Book Club”
Jane Fonda introduces her friends to Christian Grey in a new trailer for “Book Club.” The comedy sees four friends — played by Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, and Mary...
Film Adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Telling” On the Way, Leena Pendharkar to Write & Direct
Ursula K. Le Guin fans are still mourning the loss of the iconic sci-fi writer, but just over month after her death comes word that an adaptation of “The Telling” is in the works. The Hollywood...
Viola Davis and Lupita Nyong’o to Play Dahomey Amazons in “The Woman King”
Well, this sounds awesome: Viola Davis and Lupita Nyong’o are teaming up for a film about African female warriors. The Oscar winners will star in “The Woman King,” a story inspired by true...
Vanessa Taylor to Adapt “Hillbilly Elegy”
The Oscar-nominated co-writer of “The Shape of Water” has booked her next gig. She’ll follow-up the otherworldly fairy tale with a gritty drama set in the Rust Belt, an adaptation of...