ALL POSTS
Feminist Comedy, Deaf Ears in War Zones & the Tangerine Juice Fund: This Week’s Crowdfunding Picks
This week’s crowdfunding picks include two projects by women determined to make a difference. “Tangerine Juice Fund” is the financing section of “Tangerine Entertainment,” a female-driven,...
New Female-Centric FX Comedy to Focus on TV Writer Returning Home to Rural PA
“You’re the Worst” writer Alison Bennett and creator Stephen Falk are creating a new comedy for FX. The untitled series is described as “a dirty, female-driven take on the “you can’t go...
Trailer Watch: Michelle Yeoh Returns in ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ Followup
Martial arts films tend to exalt honor and duty, but the trailer for Netflix’s followup to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” begins with its protagonist, Yu Shu-Lien (Michelle Yeoh, reprising...
Claudia Shear Developing 19th-Century NYC-Set Musical About Show Business for NBC
After finding ratings success in its live stagings of “The Sound of Music,” “Peter Pan” and “The Wiz,” NBC is working on bringing an original musical to its primetime programming....
Trailer Watch: Natalie Portman Pulls the Trigger in Western ‘Jane Got a Gun’
Jane got a gun — and a U.S. trailer. We previously got a peek at the Natalie Portman-led Western in October with a French trailer, and now more footage has been released. This newly cut...
Sundance Announces Its 2016 Premieres
Sundance has revealed the lineups for its narrative and nonfiction Premieres sections. Seventeen narrative films will be making their world premieres at Sundance next year. Only three (or 18% of the...
Queen Latifah to Star in Lee Daniels’ Girl-Group Drama
Queen Latifah has joined the cast of “Empire” co-creator Lee Daniels’ unnamed girl-group drama. An Oscar and Emmy nominee, Queen Latifah will play a beauty-salon owner who becomes a surrogate...
Oprah Winfrey to Pen Definitive Memoir, Establish Her Own Publishing Imprint
One of the most successful media personalities ever has a memoir on the way. Oprah Winfrey’s definitive autobiography, “The Life You Want,” will be published by Flatiron Books in January 2017....
Trailer Watch: Working-Class Pals Breed a Racehorse in Sundance Winner ‘Dark Horse’
Louise Osmond’s “Dark Horse” has a new trailer, and this is an underdog story you won’t want to miss. The documentary, which won the World Cinema Documentary Award at Sundance, focuses on a...
‘The Good Wife’ Creators Sell Drama About Female Papal Spokesperson to Amazon
Michelle King and Robert King, the wife-husband writing partners that created “The Good Wife,” have sold “Vatican City,” a new drama, to Amazon. “Vatican City” centers on an American...
Australia Launches Three-Tick System to Encourage Gender Diversity Onscreen and Behind the Scenes
Only fifteen percent of features backed by Screen Australia, that country’s state film fund, are directed by female filmmakers. Just 23% are written by women, and a mere 32% are produced by women....
Jennifer Johnson and Sue Chung Developing Female-Vigilante Drama for The CW
TV writers Jennifer Johnson (“Lost”) and Sue Chung (“Gotham,” “Marvel’s Agent Carter”) are teaming up for a new CW series about a team of female vigilantes. Previously titled...
Quote of the Day: Tina Fey: “When We Choose Projects, We Do Have Our Own Internal Bechdel Test”
Today’s New York Times profile of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler is full of wonderful details: Poehler’s nickname for Fey is “Betty,” the duo have ruled out hosting the Oscars and even they hope...
Ava DuVernay Barbie Goes on Sale Today
Great news just in time for the holiday season — the Ava DuVernay Barbie is available for purchase starting today. Mattel first introduced the doll back in April as part of its “Sheroes”...
Margaret Betts to Direct Melissa Leo in Nun Drama ‘Novitiate’
Writer-director Margaret Betts will make her narrative-feature debut with “Novitiate,” a coming-of-age drama that takes place in a convent during the early ’60s. Starring Margaret Qualley with...
Watch: Sisters Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet Argue Who “Counts” in Intimate ‘Bleeding Heart’ Clip
Yoga instructor May (Jessica Biel) attempts to help her sex-worker sister Shiva (Zosia Mamet) get out of an abusive relationship in writer-director Diane Bell’s “Bleeding Heart.” The first...
Weekly Update for December 4: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This WeekChi-Raq “Chi-Raq” is a modern-day adaptation of the ancient Greek play “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. After the murder of a child by a stray bullet, a group...
Theater Now Has Its Own Bechdel Test
Just over a third of theater roles in England are for women, according to a 2014 study by Tonic Theatre. To help correct the gender lopsidedness on stage, the London-based Sphinx Theatre Company has...
Trailer Watch: Helen Mirren’s ‘Eye in the Sky’ Makes Black Comedy Out of Drone-Warfare Morality
http://video.vulture.com/video/Eye-in-the-Sky-Official-North-A/player?layout=compact&read_more=1
Barbra Streisand’s First Directorial Project in 20 Years Will Be Catherine the Great Biopic
One of Hollywood’s most prominent women filmmakers is attached to direct a biopic about one of history’s most powerful women rulers. Barbra Streisand has announced that she’ll helm a movie...
Trailer Watch: British Princesses Let Loose and Celebrate the End of WWII in ‘A Royal Night Out’
When victory over the Germans is announced on VE Day, all of England comes together — including Princesses Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon,”The Amazing Spider-Man 2") and Margaret (Bel Powley,...
‘Transparent’ Returns, in All Its Complicated Glory
Trailer Watch: Pregnant Claire Heads to France to Change History in ‘Outlander’ Season 2
“Outlander” is coming back, but much has changed since the first season concluded back in May. For starters, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is visibly pregnant. Starz has released a sneak peek of the...
Sundance 2016 Competition Lineup Unveiled, Over 40% Directed by Women
Sundance has released the competition slate for the 2016 installment of the festival, and nearly half of the program is women-directed. Of the 54 films that have been announced in competition with a...
Trailer Watch: The ‘Girls’ Contend With Japan, “Gay Emergencies” and a Wedding in Season 5
Stephany Folsom to Pen ‘Thor 3’
Stephany Folsom has been confirmed as the writer for “Thor 3.” That makes Folsom the third female screenwriter for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after Nicole Perlman (“Guardians of the...
‘Carol’ Sweeps NYFCC Awards, Saoirse Ronan and Kristen Stewart Also Recognized by Critics Group
The New York Film Critics Circle gave “Carol” the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography in a major coup for the period lesbian romance. Todd Haynes’...
Deepa Mehta Honored by Toronto Critics, to Bestow $50,000 to Fellow Filmmaker
Indian-Canadian director Deepa Meehta has been named the recipient of the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award by the Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA). Mehta will receive $50,000, which she will...
‘Waitress’ to Make Broadway History
When it begins previews on March 25, 2016, “Waitress” will make Broadway history as the first musical with women in all four key positions. Based on the 2007 film by the late writer-director...
Emma Watson Told Not to Say the Word “Feminism” in Feminist Speech
Since the end of the “Harry Potter movies, one of Emma Watson’s most public roles has been as a women’s rights activist partnered with the UN. Watson’s 2014 HeForShe speech was not only a...
Moving the Needle on Hollywood’s Gender Disparity: 4 Solutions
Under media pressure and the threat of possible government intervention, Hollywood seems to finally be taking its female-protagonist and woman-director problems more seriously. Forty-four industry...
‘Amy,’ ‘Malala,’ ‘Hunting Ground,’ ‘What Happened, Miss Simone?’ Make Oscars’ Doc Shortlist
Three women-directed films and another three women-centric ones have made the 2016 Oscars documentary shortlist. Among the 15 finalists for an Academy Award nomination are Liz Garbus’ “What...
Carrie Fisher Wants Princess Leia Toys, Reveals She Was Told to Lose Weight for ‘Force Awakens’
“Star Wars” fans have been protesting the lack of Leia goodies for ages, and now General Leia herself is weighing in via Twitter. It’s hard to believe that one of the most iconic characters in...
12 of BFI’s Top 20 Films About Girls and Women
It’s been a good year for women at the movies, at least where the arthouse is concerned. That impression is bolstered by the British Film Institute’s list of the top 20 best films of 2015, as...
‘Inside Out’ Dominates Annie Award Nominations with 14 Nods
“Inside Out” leads this year’s Annie Award nominations. The Pixar coming-of-age film, voiced in part by Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Phyllis Smith (“The Office”), scored a whopping 14...
December 2015 Film Preview
Fitting well with the festive spirit of Christmas (if that’s your thing), December brings us a number of women-centric and female-directed films that will help end the year on a high. The...
Women Take Home Only Acting and Web Series Accolades From 2015 Gothams
A trio of actresses and a web series duo were the only creative female honorees of last night’s 25th Gotham Independent Film Awards. “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” was nominated in four...
‘Supergirl’ Picked Up for Full Season at CBS
You have a lot more “Supergirl” to look forward to. CBS has ordered an additional seven episodes of the series, bringing Season One from 13 episodes to 20. The Hollywood Reporter notes that,...
‘Motley’s Law,’ About an American Lawyer’s Fight for Afghan Human Rights, to Air on Al Jazeera Am
Nicole N. Horanyi’s “Motley’s Law,” a documentary profile of human rights lawyer Kimberley Motley, has found a new home at Al Jazeera America (AJAM). The winner of the Grand Jury Prize at...
Trailer Watch: ‘Agent Carter’ Gets a New, Violent Hobby and Relocates to LA in Season 2
Peggy Carter is back, but Season Two of “Marvel’s Agent Carter” will see the secret agent working in a new locale. Like so many mid-century dreamers and schemers, she’s moving from New York...
Reese Witherspoon to Produce Movie About Barbie Inventor Ruth Handler
Reese Witherspoon has optioned a biography about Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll. It is being considered as a starring vehicle for the Oscar-winning actress. Author Robin Gerber’s...
Jennifer Lawrence to Direct, Continues to Speak Out Against Sexism
Katniss Everdeen is reigning over the box office for the second week in a row in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2,” but we’re currently most inspired by her real-life counterpart,...
Carol Morley Wins 2015 Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Fellowship
Carol Morley has been named the 2015 Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Fellowship recipient. Best known as the writer-director of the 2014 fainting-epidemic drama “The Falling,” Morley also penned...
Weekly Update for November 25: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Janis: Little Girl Blue (Documentary) — Directed by Amy Berg (Opens November 27) Musician Cat Power narrates this documentary on Janis Joplin’s evolution...
Spirit Award Nods Announced: ‘Carol,’ ‘Tangerine,’ ‘Diary of a Teenage Girl’ and More
The nominations for the Film Independent Spirit Awards are in, and while the indie film world — including its own awards circuit — is slightly more hospitable to female filmmakers than...
Films by 15 Queer Female Filmmakers To Stream This Thanksgiving
With the prospect of a long holiday weekend surrounded by family and/or loved ones ahead, the question naturally arises of what to do with all that free time after digesting your turkey (or Tofurky,...
Listen: Women & Hollywood Podcast #21: ‘Hunger Games’ Producer Nina Jacobson
Nina Jacobson is best known as a producer of the four “Hunger Games” films, the three “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movies and FX’s “American Crime Story.” Women and Hollywood spoke with...
“The Hunting Ground,” “Meru,” “Something Better to Come” Nominated for PGA’s Top Doc Award
Two documentaries directed/co-directed by female filmmakers have been nominated for the Producers Guild of America’s nonfiction award. Hanna Polak’s “Something Better to Come,” a portrait...
THR Roundtable Actresses on Ageism, the Pay Gap and Playing “Strong Women” & Gender-Swapped Roles
Much of the response to The Hollywood Reporter’s 2015 actress roundtable, published last week, focused (rightly) on the all-white line-up. But the roundtable participants — Jennifer Lawrence,...
Trailer Watch: Samantha Bee Can’t Harness The Force in Star Wars-Themed ‘Full Frontal’ Spot
A new spot for “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” has been released, and the setting isn’t exactly what you’d associate Bee with: She’s in a galaxy far, far away from the “Daily Show”...
Isabel Coixet’s Production Company Announces 5 Upcoming Women-Directed Titles
The upcoming slate of “Learning to Drive” director Isabel Coixet’s production company, Miss Wasabi Films, has been unveiled. Among the titles will be five female-helmed features, including...