ALL POSTS
Exclusive: ShortsHD Announces Month-Long Programming Special Highlighting Women-Helmed Shorts
ShortsHD, the world’s only television channel dedicated to short films, is launching a month-long programming special dedicated to films created, written and directed by women. “Films By Her”...
Women Direct Lifetime’s 5 Most Popular TV Movies After Network Bets on Female Helmers
Six months ago, Lifetime launched Broad Focus, a major initiative to have more women writing, directing, developing and producing content for the network. It’s too soon to say what kind of impact...
Watch: ‘Suffragette’ Joins Equality Now to Support #HopeforOurDaughters
“Suffragette” is teaming up with Equality Now — and the general public — to raise money towards ensuring a brighter tomorrow for girls and women. What are your hopes and dreams for...
Watch: Adorable Ad Recreates Iconic Movie Scenes With Diverse Action Heroines
Lily James to Portray History-Making Swimmer Gertrude Ederle in ‘Young Woman And The Sea’
Lily James is gearing up for another period piece, but this time around, the English actress will swap her well-worn corset for a swimsuit. James has signed on to play Olympic gold medalist and...
Apply to Essence’s 3rd Annual Shorts Competition for Black Women Filmmakers
Essence’s shorts competition is back, this time with a new theme: the modern black family. The third iteration of the magazine’s contest for African-American women directors is seeking...
Confessions From Above the Celluloid Ceiling: The Truth About White Male Privilege
I don’t remember the first time I really thought about white male privilege, but in retrospect, one incident stands out. I was visiting a school where I was hoping to shoot a scene for a film....
Women and Hollywood is Looking for Interns for 2016
Women and Hollywood is looking for two interns for 2016. The positions will begin in January and end in June. Applicants must be willing to commit to six months, 10–15 hours per week. We are...
Study: Nearly Two-Thirds of Theater Productions Written by White Male Playwrights
This year’s edition of The Count — a tally of regional, non-Broadway theater productions by playwrights’ gender and race — is out, and the results are grim. In the last three...
Nicole Kidman in Talks to Co-Star in “Wonder Woman”
Nicole Kidman, Amazon? Sure, why not. The 5'11" Oscar winner is reportedly in talks to co-star as a “high-ranking Amazon warrior” in Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman,” according to...
SyFy Greenlights New Series About Female Van Helsing
SyFy has given a 13-episode series order to “Van Helsing,” a female take on the vampire hunter. The cable network promises a “bold and complex heroine” in Vanessa Helsing, the daughter of...
Gamechanger Films Announces Next Feature: Sarah Adina Smith’s ‘Buster’s Mal Heart’
Gamechanger Films, the studio devoted to women-directed narrative features, has announced its next project: Sarah Adina Smith’s “Buster’s Mal Heart.” The mystery will feature “Mr....
Quote of the Day: Reese Witherspoon Says Women Should Play 50% of the Roles On Screen
Receiving the American Cinematheque Award last Friday night, Reese Witherspoon made no secret of how she feels about how women are represented in Hollywood. “Women make up 50% of the population,...
Sandra Bullock to Head All-Female ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ Reboot
If you’re the betting sort, you’ll probably want to put some money down on the chances that more female-led reboots of franchises will be greenlit in the coming months. A new version of...
Keira Knightley Accepts Pay Cut for the Chance to Play an Interesting Female Character
Two-time Oscar nominee Keira Knightley has revealed that she accepted the scale rate — or the minimum set by a union — of $1,300 a week to star in “Therese Raquin,” her Broadway...
Trailer Watch: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Are an Emotional Mr. & Mrs. Smithereens in ‘By the Sea’
Just days ahead of its world premiere on November 5 at AFI Fest, “By the Sea” has a newly cut trailer. Written and directed by Angelina Jolie Pitt, the sun-drenched but dour-looking marital...
Catherine Hardwicke on the Universalness of ‘Miss You Already’ and Her Next Female-Centric Projects
It might seem puzzling that filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke isn’t more of a household name considering her achievements. Thanks to 2008’s “Twilight,” she held the record as the female director...
Elaine May to Direct Mike Nichols Doc
Elaine May has signed on to helm a PBS documentary about Mike Nichols, the Oscar-winning director of “The Graduate” and her old comedy partner. May will revisit Nichols’ career — which...
November 2015 Film Preview
Awards season is getting closer, and so several of the much-talked-about contenders — many of them grand romantic dramas — will open in theaters this November. The always glorious Cate...
Weekly Update for October 30: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Our Brand is Crisis After her Oscar-nominated performance in “Gravity,” Sandra Bullock returns to comedy in “Our Brand is Crisis,” in which she plays a...
Jennifer Lopez’s Cop Drama ‘Shades of Blue’ Gets Premiere Date
Jennifer Lopez’s “Shades of Blue,” about a Brooklyn detective forced into secretly spying on her precinct by the FBI after the agency finds her committing a crime, has gotten a premiere date...
Trailer Watch: Maggie Smith is Cranky Again in Homelessness Drama ‘The Lady in the Van’
“I’m not a beggar! I’m self-employed!” insists Miss Shepherd, played with defiant brio by Maggie Smith. But the fact remains that Miss Shepherd has only a van to call her home, despite an...
Nicole Kidman to Play Stepford Spouse in Thriller ‘The Silent Wife’
Nicole Kidman will headline a thriller about a married woman scorned in the suspense thriller “The Silent Wife.” According to a press release, Kidman will play Jodi, a dedicated wife who,...
Listen: Women and Hollywood Podcast #19: ‘The Armor of Light’ Director Abigail Disney
In “The Armor of Light,” documentarian Abigail Disney journeys to the belly of conservative America to try and understand how you can be “pro-life” and pro-gun. She tracks Reverend Rob...
What to Make of GLAAD’s New Report on the State of LGBT TV
Depending on how you look at the numbers, things are either better or still sorely lacking for LGBT characters on television. GLAAD released its annual “Where We Are On TV” report, and its...
Lionsgate Acquires ‘Dirty Thirty’ Comedy Starring Three of YouTube’s Biggest Stars
YouTube sensations Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart and Hannah Hart are reteaming to make another digital feature. Lionsgate has acquired “Dirty Thirty,” a comedy starring the stream queens. Variety...
Watch: Lena Dunham, Wendy Davis, Janet Mock and Others Pay Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg
https://medium.com/media/5b8377431ebbef99852bc5b769eb864f/href
Emily Ting’s Romance “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong” to Be Released by Gravitas Ventures
Writer-director Emily Ting’s neon-lit romance between a Chinese-American woman and an American expat in Hong Kong has found a distribution deal. Gravity Ventures will release “Already Tomorrow...
Chloe Sevigny to Play Lizzie Borden in New Movie, Kristen Stewart in Talks to Co-Star
Kristen Stewart has received some of the best notices of her career playing opposite more experienced actresses like Julianne Moore in “Still Alice” and Juliette Binoche in “Clouds of Sils...
Trailer Watch: Sally Field is a Lovable Eccentric in Lust in ‘Hello, My Name is Doris’
“Hello, My Name is Doris” has been generating awards buzz for its leading lady since the film premiered at SXSW back in March. The comedy marks Sally Field’s first starring role in almost 20...
Jocelyn Moorhouse’s ‘The Dressmaker’ Leads Aussie Oscar Nominations
The nominations for the Aussie Oscars have been announced, and Jocelyn Moorhouse’s “The Dressmaker” is up for a whopping 12 awards. The revenge comedy-drama starring Kate Winslet as a...
Trailer Watch: High-School Programmer Girls Compete to Change the World in ‘CodeGirl’
Where’s TV’s Golden Age of Equal-Opportunity Sex?
George Lucas Pledges Multi-Million Diversity Endowment to USC Students
“Star Wars” helmer George Lucas is taking a big step towards a more inclusive film and television industry. The George Lucas Family Foundation has announced that $10 million dollars of its 2006...
‘Supergirl’ Ratings Soar in Biggest Fall Premiere of the Year
Looks like the public isn’t suffering superhero fatigue — or maybe they are, and that’s why they’ve embraced a superheroine so warmly. The ratings are in for CBS’s series premiere of...
Listen: Women and Hollywood Podcast #18: Journalist Anne Thompson
https://medium.com/media/960cc4df899eb69ede609515b97ad504/href
Kerry Washington to Exec-Produce New Shondaland Series About Nannies
Kerry Washington and Katie Lowes are teaming up with their “Scandal” boss Shonda Rhimes, but this time around, they’ll be joining her behind the scenes. The actresses will executive produce an...
Trailer Watch: Elizabeth Bennet Won’t Give Up Her Saber in ‘Pride & Prejudice & Zombies’
A new, full-length trailer has been released for the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling novel “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” This gory take on Jane Austen’s 19th-century romance...
Rom-Com Doc ‘Meet the Patels’ to Be Remade as Rom Com for Fox Searchlight
The crowd-pleasing “Meet the Patels” is best described as a nonfiction romantic comedy. After breaking up with his girlfriend of two years because she’s not Indian, 30-year-old Ravi allows his...
Elizabeth Banks to Direct ‘Pitch Perfect 3’
Elizabeth Banks is taking the Barden Bellas to trilogy town. After making her directorial debut with “Pitch Perfect 2,” which grossed $285 million worldwide on a $29 million production budget,...
Kate Winslet to Be Honored at the British Independent Film Awards
Kate Winslet is getting another award she can store in her bathroom. The “Steve Jobs” star is set to receive The Variety Award at the 2015 Moet British Independent Film Awards on December 6. The...
Women of ‘Wild’ to Reunite for HBO Series
The stars of last year’s “Wild,” Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, are collaborating with the author of the film’s source material, Cheryl Strayed, on a HBO series. Witherspoon, Dern,...
Watch: Chicken & Egg Pictures Celebrates 10 Years of Supporting Female Filmmakers
Since its founding in 2005, Chicken & Egg Pictures has awarded nearly $4 million in grants and offered 5,200 hours of mentorship to over 190 films. And now the only non-profit film fund...
‘Bad Moms’ Gets New Title and Cast; Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Christina Applegate On Board
A moms-gone-wild project has undergone a makeover with a new title and cast. Previously named “Bad Moms,” the currently untitled comedy project is slated to star Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and...
Study: 2014’s Top 700 Films Confirm That Women Hire Women
A new study looking at the top 700 domestic films of 2014 concludes that women directed 13% of last year’s theatrical releases and demonstrates that female filmmakers are much more likelier than...
The Love of Fangirls and the Hate of Online Harassers: October 2015’s Crowdfunding Picks
While teenage girls pour their hearts out to their chosen boy band in the documentary “I Used to Be Normal,” another (as-yet-untitled) documentary spotlights the hatred certain men express...
Trailer Watch: Pakistani Musicians Preserve Their Culture and Defy the Taliban in ‘Song of Lahore’
A trailer has been released for “Song of Lahore,” Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s new documentary. The Oscar-winning co-director of 2012’s “Saving Face,” an account of two Pakistani women...
33% of 2015 Oscar-Submitted Docs Directed by Women
Of the 124 documentary features submitted for the 2016 Oscar race, 41, or exactly a third, are directed or co-directed by women. Nine of thosee 41 films are co-directed with a male helmer. Half of...
Research Shows Box-Office Hits with Female Protagonists Outearn Blockbusters With Male Leads
More data has been released comparing the box-office success of movies about women versus movies about men, and the results reinforce what we’ve been saying for ages: female-led movies not only...
Alexandra Shiva on ‘How to Dance in Ohio,’ Her Coming-of-Age Doc About Teens with Autism
“How to Dance in Ohio” is a portrait of young adults on the autism spectrum in the months leading up to a formal dance. After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, it will...
What It’s Like to Be a Woman in Film School
The following cross-post was originally published on Victoria Rozler’s blog. It has been lightly edited. For the past two days, I have been more than prepared to flex my feminist muscles. Whether...