ALL POSTS
Elite Zexler’s Sundance-Winning Debut “Sand Storm” Acquired by Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Elite Zexer’s “Sand Storm,” Deadline has reported. The Israeli drama won the World Cinema Grand Jury Dramatic Prize at the...
Trailer Watch: Issa Rae is “Insecure”
Issa Rae, the creator of the hit web series “Awkward Black Girl,” is about to land on HBO with her new series “Insecure.” The eight-episode, half-hour comedy stars Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay...
Amy Poehler Scores New Deal at NBC
“Amy Poehler is staying put at NBC,” says The Hollywood Reporter. The actress, writer, and producer and her company, Paper Kite Productions, have signed a deal with Universal TV. The multi-year...
Teaser Watch: Ava DuVernay’s First TV Series “Queen Sugar”
A new teaser trailer for “Queen Sugar,” the highly-anticipated new series from Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network, has just hit the web, and it’s making us here at Women and...
Reed Morano May Direct “The Handmaid’s Tale” Adaptation Starring Elisabeth Moss
Reed Morano is in talks to helm “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Hulu’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s classic 1985 dystopian novel. The streaming service has given a straight-to-series order for...
The Women of “Ghostbusters” Speak Out
It seems like people have been talking for so long about the all-female “Ghostbusters” reboot that it’ll never arrive. But come next month, July 15 to be exact, the new cast of Melissa...
Proof the Dudeocracy of Film Writers Exists Thanks to Latest Study of Top Critics
When we here at Women and Hollywood published The Dudeocracy of Film Writers, we were basing our theory on observations of the film writing industry, and what we saw going on around us. But now,...
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...
Motherhood and Martyrdom: June 2016’s Crowdfunding Picks
Women content creators touch on some heavy topics in this month’s crowdfunding picks. From a web series about the underbelly of motherhood, to the reconsideration of the martyrdom of a patron...
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...
How Can We Help the Working Mothers of Hollywood? Raising Films Has a Plan
Diane Keaton in “Baby Boom” Guest Post by Sophie Mayer Raising Films is a campaign for parent-filmmakers — and it’s urgently needed. While writing “Political Animals: The New Feminist...
Two Movies About Agatha Christie in the Works with Potential Big Stars Attached
Agatha Christie’s mysteries have riveted readers and viewers for nearly a century, so it comes as no surprise that there’s interest in uncovering some clues about the legendary wordsmith...
Elizabeth Banks Was “Too Old” To Play Tobey Maguire’s Girlfriend at 28
Add Elizabeth Banks to the list of actresses who have been arbitrarily found to be too old to be the love interest of a male co-star practically the same age. Banks told Glamour Magazine, she was...
Kathryn Bigelow’s Next Film To Tackle 1967 Detroit Riots
Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s next film will begin production this summer. The drama will focus on the 1967 Detroit riots. As the BBC reports, “The Detroit riots began after...
Trailer Watch: “The Girl With All The Gifts” Could Save the World and the Zombie Genre
When you think of the zombie movie genre, the films that pop into your head don’t necessarily include great female characters. That may be starting to change, with films like “Pride &...
Catherine Deneuve Named the 2016 Recipient of the Lumière Award
Catherine Deneuve will be honored with the 2016 Lumière Award at the Lumière Grand Lyon Film Festival in France, Variety reports. The event focuses almost exclusively on film classics as opposed...
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...
Why We Should Care About the 2016 National Film Registry
“A League of Their Own” Guest Post by Haley Beasley and Zeyn Faddoul of Women in Film & Video DC Human identity remains paramount in its potential as an agent for societal change. Works in...
Another Male Director With Little Experience Given a Big-Budget Project
In today’s dose of “Are you fucking kidding me?” another male director with very little directing experience has been given the job of directing what’s most likely a big-budget film. As...
Netflix Making Margaret Atwood’s “Alias Grace” Into Miniseries with Sarah Polley
After the success of “Making a Murderer,” Netflix is keen on continuing the addicting trend that is true-crime entertainment. Now, the streaming site has just green-lit a six-hour miniseries...
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...
Trailer Watch: Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey” Hits the Heartland
Andrea Arnold’s much-anticipated “American Honey” will soon hit theaters, and a gorgeous new trailer has just been released. If we weren’t already really excited about this film, the...
Inspirational Women in Theater To Be Celebrated By London’s Tonic Theatre
Tonic Theatre is launching an event to honor women in theater. The inaugural celebration will take June 22 at the Ambassadors Theater in London, England. Lucy Kerbel, Tonic’s director, will...
Amma Asante’s “A United Kingdom” to Open 60th BFI London Film Festival
The 60th BFI London Film Festival, which runs from October 5–16 this year, will open with “A United Kingdom,” directed by Amma Asante (“Belle”). The film will make its European premiere on...
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...
Ryan Murphy Creates Foundation For Diversifying Directors
Ryan Murphy, creator of “Glee” and “American Horror Story,” is launching a foundation within his 20th Century Fox-based production company aiming to diversify Hollywood, according to The...
Sony Pictures TV Kicks Off Diverse Directors Program: Apply Now
Sony Pictures Television is accepting applications for its Diverse Directors Program, now in its third year. The program aims to offer opportunities to directors with diverse backgrounds. Fifteen...
“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...
Judi Dench to Play Queen Victoria Once Again
Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench will play Queen Victoria in Working Title Films’ “Victoria and Abdul.” According to a press release, the film is slated to go into production this year...
Eight Female Producers on What it Takes to Make it in Hollywood
This year’s Women in Film Crystal Award for Excellence in Film went to eight female producers: Denise Di Novi, Lianne Halfon, Lynda Obst, Jane Rosenthal, Paula Wagner, Lucy Fisher, Lauren Shuler...
Catch a Sneak Peek of “Ghostbusters” With Its Screenwriter Katie Dippold
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced an upcoming event centered around one of summer’s most anticipated releases. “Ghostbusters” won’t hit theaters until July 15,...
“Me Before You” Director Thea Sharrock Attached to Next Project “The Selection”
After the great success of “Me Before You,” director Thea Sharrock has been hired for another book-to-film adaptation, Variety reports. Sharrock is attached to direct YA novel “The...
Nicole Kidman to Star in Big Screen Version of Anna Ziegler’s “Photograph 51”
Playwright Anna Zielger will adapt her play “Photograph 51” for the big screen, The Tracking Board reports, and Nicole Kidman, who starred in the 2015 West End production, is attached to star....
ACLU Supports NY Film and TV Diversity Bill
The ACLU is putting pressure on New York legislators to pass a bill that would make the state the first to grant financial incentives to TV shows that hire women and minority writers and directors,...
Trailer Watch: Sick of the 2016 Election? How About “Roseanne for President!”
“Here I go, running for president,” Roseanne Barr declares in the new trailer for the doc, “Roseanne for President!” The film, which follows Barr’s unsuccessful 2012 campaign for...
Weekly Update for June 17: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Finding Dory “Finding Dory” reunites the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few...
Liz Garcia Sets Her Second Feature Film
Liz Garcia is set to direct her second feature film. According to The Tracking Board, Garcia will write and direct “One Percent More Humid.” Garcia will produce through her La Pistola, Inc....
“Making a Murderer” Creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos Adapting New TV Series with George…
“Making a Murderer” Creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos Adapting New TV Series with George Clooney The female filmmakers behind Netflix’s hit true crime series “Making Murderer” will...
Stacey Snider to Replace Jim Gianopulos As Head of Fox
There’s a lot of movement going on at Fox, where Chief Executive Jim Gianopulos will step down from his post next year, replaced by Stacey Snider, who was brought on less than two years ago as...
Helen Mirren Adds “Fast and Furious 8” to Her Eclectic Career
Dame Helen Mirren is about to drive a suped-up race car. The prestigious actress has confirmed that she’s signed on to appear in “Fast and Furious 8.” In an interview with Elle Magazine,...
ESSENCE Festival Names Tina Knowles-Lawson Winner of the Inspiring Leadership Award
Tina Knowles-Lawson is best known for being Beyonce’s mother, but her accomplishments extend far beyond raising an uber successful daughter: Knowles-Lawson is a philanthropist, author, and fashion...
“Orphan Black” Renewed for Fifth and Final Season
The good news: “Orphan Black” is returning for a fifth season. The bad news: Season 5 will mark the end of the series. The fifth and final season, composed of 10 episodes, is set to air in 2017....
“Wicked” Musical Coming to the Big Screen
After almost 13 years on Broadway, “Wicked” is finally set to fly on the big screen. Universal has announced that the musical film adaptation of the hit show and book will open in theaters...
Zoe Saldana Was Denied Child Care and Wishes More Women Were on Sets
It’s becoming more and more common for actresses to reveal the issues of sexism they’ve faced on set, from studios, and in their careers. Only when the problems are talked about will we have any...
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...
Anne Hathaway Becomes Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women
Oscar winner Anne Hathaway has a new role to play: the actress has been named a global goodwill ambassador for UN Women, the UN agency working towards gender equality and female...
Whitney Houston Documentary Coming From Miramax and Roadside
Miramax has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “Whitney,” the officially authorized Whitney Houston documentary that’s in the works, Deadline has reported. Miramax will team up with Roadside...
Re-Writing the Script: June’s Web Series Picks
“Caring” This month’s women-helmed web series picks are clever, innovative, and and wide-ranging in their representations of women. By putting experiences usually cast aside front and center,...
Anika Noni Rose to Produce and Star in Shirley Chisholm Biopic
Anika Noni Rose is attached to produce and star in a film based on Shirley Chisholm, Shadow and Act has reported. Chisholm was the first African-American woman elected to the United States Congress,...
5,000 Women Descend on Washington D.C. to Discuss the #StateofWomen
Yesterday, I was one of the masses (and I mean masses) of women, and a couple of men in the audience for the United State of Women conference, sponsored by The White House. I was blown away by...