ALL POSTS
Elizabeth Banks and Directing While Mothering
First things first, I am not a mom. Nor am I a director. But I have spoken with many moms who are directors and many directors who aren't moms. Second, this discussion is inherently sexist...
Kathryn Bigelow and Amy Sherman-Palladino Both Have Pilots in the Works
Two new shows are in the works from a couple of our favorite women in the industry. According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO has ordered a pilot from “The Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow....
Trailer Watch: “Jesus Camp” Directors Tackle TV Icon in “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You”
A newly released trailer for Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You” introduces the doc’s subject by saying, “He has been around approximately forever.”...
How Finding a Filmmaking Partner Changed My Career
Guest Post by Siobhan Devine Making an independent film takes a village, and that’s pretty much the only part that everyone likes to talk about; that two days or three weeks of crazy madness and...
Netflix Snags Cannes Hit “Divines”
“Divines” is headed from Cannes to your living room. Variety reports that Netflix has acquired Houda Benyamina’s directorial debut, the winner of this year’s Camera d’Or. Benyamina...
Trailer Watch: Atheist Doctor Teams Up with Nuns in Anne Fontaine’s “The Innocents”
A newly released trailer for European writer-director Anne Fontaine’s latest offering, “The Innocents,” has been released. The drama centers on a young, atheist French Red Cross doctor (Lou de...
Zoe Saldana to Produce Documentary About Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
According to Hollywood’s Black Renaissance, Zoe Saldana will produce a powerful feature documentary titled “Gone Missing.” Saldana is producing along with her sisters Cisely and Mariel Saldana...
Pearlena Igbokwe to Head Universal Television
Pearlena Igbokwe has been named the next president of Universal Television, reports Variety. The position was previously held by Bela Bajaria, who left the studio earlier this week. Igbokwe is...
Ava DuVernay Honored at LAFF, Promotes Diversity in Film
Last week at the Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF), director Ava DuVernay was recognized with the Spirit of Independence honor. DuVernay, who directed “Selma,” and became the first...
Amy Poehler and Natasha Lyonne Bringing “Zero Motivation” to TV
“Zero Motivation” stole the show at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, where it took home top honors, and now the social satire is coming to TV. Talya Lavie’s acclaimed directorial debut is...
“First Wives Club” Coming to TV, Alyson Hannigan and Megan Hilty Will Star
“The First Wives Club” is likely coming to the small-screen — the project was picked up to pilot in March — and now we know some of the leading ladies who will top line the potential...
“Me Before You” Defies Expectations at Box Office Proving the Power of Female Audiences
If you build it, they will come. No, we’re not talking baseball, we’re talking movies marketed to women, specifically the new romantic drama “Me Before You,” which outperformed projections...
Trailer Watch: “When the Bough Breaks” Doc Captures Postpartum Depression
Brooke Shields’ struggle with postpartum depression was documented in her 2005 memoir “Down Came the Rain.” Now, to continue her quest to raise awareness for the cause, she has executive...
Diane Lane Commits $20,000 for Female Music Educators Grant, Applications Open
Diane Lane has committed $20,000 towards a four-year, $5,000 annual grant for New York-based female educators focused in music in honor of late composer Elizabeth Swados. Swados, Broadway World...
Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith Team Up for a “Girl Trip”
Though they have a long history of working together off-screen, Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith haven’t appeared on-screen together since 1996’s “Set it Off,” but that may...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Dorie Barton — “Girl Flu.”
Writer-director Dorie Barton makes her feature film debut with “Girl Flu.” She has spent many years as a story consultant with filmmakers, from up-and-coming writers, to industry veterans. As a...
Submissions for Warner Bros. Pictures Emerging Directors Workshop Now Open
Attention filmmakers: the application process for the inaugural Warner Bros. Emerging Film Directors Workshop is now open. The nine-month intensive will guide participants through the film...
Weekly Update for June 3: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Dear followers: Welcome to the Women and Hollywood Weekly Update. Each week we will be sharing with you films by and about women that are opening around the U.S. We’ll also include information...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Finell — “Sensitivity Training”
Melissa Finell is an award-winning director and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. “Sensitivity Training” is her first feature film. Her script for the film won an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Finell — “Sensivity Training”
“Sensitivity Training”Melissa Finell is an award-winning director and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. “Sensitivity Training” is her first feature film. Her script for the film won an...
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.”...
Iranian Actress Causes Uproar Over Feminist Tattoo
Consider Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti our hero of the week. At a press conference on Monday for the movie “The Salesman,” photographers captured what appears to be a tattoo of the “woman...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Eve Marson — “Dr. Feelgood”
Eve Marson is a Harvard graduate, born and raised in New York City. She was the lead producer on the feature documentary “Fed Up,” an exposé of the food industry with journalist Katie Couric...
5 Ways to Stop Being Terrible When Discussing Amber Heard’s Bisexuality
Amber Heard: GabboT/Creative Commons Hey, tabloids, I get it. It probably seems almost irresistible when a rising starlet and her superstar husband break up. You probably pray daily to the divorce...
Effie Brown on “Project Greenlight,” Inclusiveness, and Loving Comic Book Films
You’d have to have been living under a rock for the past year to not know about the whole Effie Brown, Matt Damon, “Project Greenlight,” “Did he really say that? Oh god he did,” debacle....
Rachel Weisz Enters the Oscar Race with Holocaust Drama
Don’t be surprised to hear Rachel Weisz’s name mentioned when speculation about the 2017 Oscar nominees heats up. “Denial,” the British actress’s upcoming courtroom drama, has been given...
Alicia Slimmer on Bad Dog Actors and Her Kick-Ass Retro Soundtrack in “Creedmoria”
Alicia Slimmer has worked on many independent films as an actor, assistant director, set dresser, and producer. “Creedmoria” is her debut feature film. It took home the juried prize of Best...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Tracy Wares — “Political Animals”
Tracy Wares has made documentaries on five continents. She’s worked on projects such as “Bomb It,” “Gay Republicans,” and “Smokin’ Fish.” Wares’ work has aired on ABC, PBS,...
Julie Andrews Will Star in Netflix Preschool Series with The Jim Henson Company
Netflix has announced that Mary Poppins herself Julie Andrews will star in “Julie’s Greenroom,” a new preschool show with puppets from The Jim Henson Company that will feature “an all-new...
Why Isn’t Emily Blunt in the Sequel to Her Own Movie?
It’s bad enough when women aren’t even considered for roles that typically go to men, but when a film like “Sicario,” which was notable for having a female lead in an action-thriller, omits...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Alexi Pappas — “Tracktown”
Alexi Pappas completed her thesis in poetry at Dartmouth College where she graduated magna cum laude before running off to compete in the 2012 Olympic Track & Field Trials. Alexi then joined the...
Women and Hollywood is Looking for Interns
Women and Hollywood is looking for two interns for the remainder of 2016. The positions will begin on July 1 and end on December 31. Applicants must be willing to commit to six months for 15 hours...
Oscar Winner Brie Larson May Play Captain Marvel
Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel: Marvel.com Rumor has it we’re getting another Oscar-winning superhero. As Variety reports, Brie Larson, who won Best Actress this year for her performance in...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Heidi Saman — “Namour”
Heidi Saman was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces to Watch in 2014. Her short film, “The Maid (Il Shaghala),” premiered as an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival in...
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...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Amber Tamblyn — “Paint It Black”
Amber Tamblyn is a writer, director, and actress from Los Angeles. She has received an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Award nomination for her work in television and film. Her acting...
“UnREAL” Season 2: Happily Never After
“UnREAL”: Lifetime The new season of Lifetime’s caustic reality-TV satire “UnREAL” (premiering June 6 at 10 p.m.) kicks everything — and everyone — up a notch. Rachel (Shiri...
June 2016 Film Preview
“The Fits” by Eboni Boykin and Diana Martinez The women-centric, directed, and written films hitting theaters this month will make you laugh, cry, and cringe. There is plenty to choose from,...
Athena Film Festival 2017 Submission Period Now Open
The 2017 Athena Film Festival, co-founded by Women and Hollywood’s Melissa Silverstein, and Kathryn Kolbert of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College, is now accepting...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors Meet Chanya Button — “Burn Burn Burn”
Chanya Button made her start in the industry at an early age, working as an Assistant Director on the “Harry Potter” feature-film franchise. Button has since worked extensively across both the...
Susanne Bier May Be James Bond’s First Female Director
Well this would be a first. According to The Guardian, “The Night Manager” director Susanne Bier is on a shortlist of directors being eyed for the next James Bond film. The Guardian nabbed the...
“G.L.O.W.” Female Wrestler Series Set for Netflix
“Orange is the New Black” creator and showrunner Jenji Kohan is on board for a fun new series for Netflix. The streaming network has green lit “G.L.O.W.” Variety has reported. Kohan will...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Maria Govan — “Play the Devil”
Maria Govan is a self-taught filmmaker from the island of New Providence in the Bahamas. After working on sets in Hollywood, she returned home and began making small guerilla-style local...
“Babadook” Director Jennifer Kent Reveals Info About Her Next Films
Writer-director Jennifer Kent has offered a taste of what audiences can expect next from her emerging talent. Her feature directorial debut, “The Babadook,” won rave reviews from critics, and...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Leila Djansi — “Like Cotton Twines”
Leila Djansi began her directing career while still studying at the ArtCenter College of Art and Design. Her directorial debut “I Sing of a Well” netted an unprecedented 11 nominations at the...
Casting for Quentin Tarantino-Produced Film Calls for “Whores”
Quentin Tarantino: Georges Biard/Wiki Commons Consider this your daily dose of “Are you fucking kidding me?!” At the end of last week, a Los Angeles-based agency put up a casting call on Facebook...
“Me Before You” Director Thea Sharrock on Choosing Emilia Clarke and Her Film Debut
“Me Before You” is Thea Sharrock’s film directorial debut. Plucked from the London theater scene, she was brought in to direct one of the most popular novels in the world; one that has spent...
Melissa McCarthy to Star in Dark Comedy Directed By Marielle Heller
Melissa McCarthy and “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” helmer Marielle Heller are joining forces for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, a dark comedy based on Lee Israel’s memoir of the...
Amy Schumer to Star in New Comedy from Producer Reese Witherspoon
We have yet another Amy Schumer movie to look forward to. The Tracking Board is reporting that the comedian will topline a new comedy from Universal, “Who Invited Her?” The project will be...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Amber Sealey — “No Light and No Land Anywhere”
Amber Sealey is an LA-based award-winning filmmaker and performer. Her films include “A Plus D” (2008), and “How to Cheat” (2011), which won the Best Performance Award at the Los Angeles...
Ellen Burstyn Having Trouble Getting Her Directorial Debut Off the Ground
Ellen Burstyn is in the midst of getting her first directing project off the ground, but is running into a few issues that she says epitomize how the industry has changed over the years. The...