ALL POSTS
Lorene Scafaria’s ‘The Meddler’ Picked Up in Advance of TIFF Premiere
Looks like TIFF 2015 is going to be a victory dance for writer-director Lorene Scafaria. Sony Pictures Classics has bought the rights to “The Meddler,” Scafaria’s follow up to her directorial...
Marti Noxon Developing High-Stakes Soap Opera Set in NYC’s Restaurant Scene for Fox
Marti Noxon continues to expand her TV empire. While heading Lifetime’s “UnReal” and “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce,” Noxon has been EPing Marcia Gay Harden’s upcoming medical drama...
Lesbian Mobsters and Google’s Next Big Thing: August 2015’s VOD and Web Series Picks
Girls just want to have fun, but how much fun is it the next day, waking up with a massive hangover and no recollection on how one ended up on a lawn, in a bathtub or on a boat in the middle of the...
Kari Lizer’s Girls’ Soccer Comedy ‘Dream Team’ Sold to ABC
TV comedy vets Kari Lizer and Bill Wrubel have received a pilot production commitment from ABC for their new single-cam series set in the world of girls’ soccer. Written and EP’d by Lizer and...
TIFF Announces In-Depth Convos with Moore, Hayek, Silverman; Adds Women-Centric Series of Talks
TIFF 2015 is just over two weeks away, and the festival is still releasing a steady stream of announcements. Earlier today, the fest revealed the lineup for the In Conversations With… program,...
NYFF ’15: World Premieres from Laura Poitras, Docs About Nora Ephron, Ingrid Bergman, Kitty Genovese
The 2015 edition of the New York Film Festival (September 25 to October 11) will host the world premiere of Laura Poitras’ follow-up to her Oscar-winning documentary “CITIZENFOUR,” as well as...
Trailer Watch: Meryl Streep Narrates ‘Shout Gladi Gladi’ Doc About Maternal Care for African Women
The trailer for “Shout Gladi Gladi,” a new doc narrated by Meryl Streep, includes a startling statistic: In Africa, one in 39 women die during childbirth. “Shout Gladi Gladi” focuses on the...
Niki Caro to Direct Jessica Chastain in Holocaust Drama ‘The Zookeeper’s Wife”
Director Niki Caro seems to have put her Maria Callas biopic (to star Noomi Rapace) on hold to helm “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” based on the historical best-seller by Diane Ackerman. Featuring...
An Open Letter to Colin Trevorrow
Dear Colin, Congratulations on the huge box-office success of “Jurassic World” this summer. It must feel good to be the king of the world. Interestingly, while you said several months ago that...
Internet Uproar Prompts NY Theater to Announce Woman-Written Play Early
The Manhattan Theatre Club has been announcing its season piecemeal since December, but an uproar over the lineup caused the company to reveal the play filling its final spot before contracts have...
Embracing Gender and Racial Diversity Pays Off (And Then Some) for Universal Pictures
Summer’s big success story isn’t just “Straight Outta Compton,” which topped the box office for the second week in a row this past weekend, but also its studio, Universal Pictures. Without...
Jasmila Zbanic Reveals Info About Her Upcoming Srebrenica Massacre Film
Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic has revealed what to expect from her upcoming drama about the Srebrenica massacre, a genocide that took place during the Bosnian War in that country’s eastern...
Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers Developing Divorce Comedy for ABC With ‘Trophy Wife’ Creators
Divorced women may be TV’s next big trend. Lifetime has renewed Marti Noxon’s “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce,” starring Lisa Edelstein, while Sarah Jessica Parker will make her...
Flying Headscarves, Trans Dating, and Plus-Size Models: Crowdfunding Projects of August 2015
The dating lives of transgender women. An Arab-American girl searching forfreedom on her motorcycle. Plus-size models rebelling against size-zero tyranny.If you want to see films about women defying...
Jocelyn Towne and Simon Helberg Sign Deal With Warner Bros. TV
The husband-and-wife team of writer-director-actress Jocelyn Towne and “Big Bang Theory” star Simon Helberg has signed an exclusive two-year deal with Warner Bros. TV. Via their Wildline...
Weekly Update for August 21: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This WeekGrandma — Women and Hollywood’s Pick of the Week It’s Lily Tomlin’s year: She received an Emmy nomination for the first season of her Netflix series...
Quote of the Day: Maisie Williams Is Fed Up With Female Characters Being Just the “Hot Piece”
Last month, “Game of Thrones” star Maisie Williams declared, “It’s time for society to stop telling girls what they should and shouldn’t do.” In a new interview with the Evening...
Adrianne Palicki to Star as Mockingbird in ABC’s ‘Marvel’s Most Wanted’
Former “Friday Night Lights” actress Adrianne Palicki is set to star in a new Marvel series on ABC. The alphabet network has given a pilot order for “Marvel’s Most Wanted,” which will give...
Win an Online Master Class with BAFTA-Winning Director Amma Asante
BAFTA-winning director Amma Asante is offering three emerging women directors the opportunity to take part in a master class with her. Asante helmed the wondrous period romance “Belle” and the...
Ellen Page Explains How Starring in Lesbian Drama ‘Freeheld’ Prompted Her to Come Out
EXCLUSIVE: Watch the First Trailer for Elisabeth Scharang’s Philosophical Thriller ‘Jack’
There are a lot of “bad boys” in literature, but Jack Unterweger is the real deal: he’s as famous for being a killer as he is an author. In director Elizabeth Scharang’s thriller, Jack...
Meryl Streep to be Honored at 2015 Brittania Awards
Apparently there’s an award out there that Meryl Streep hasn’t already won. The “Ricki and the Flash” actress will receive the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film at the...
‘Lucy’ Inspires ‘Sarah,’ Another Sci-Fi Action Thriller With a Female Ass-Kicker
After the successes of female-led action films like “Lucy,” “Gravity,” “Spy” and the “Hunger Games” and “Divergent” franchises, we’ve been waiting for Hollywood to do the...
Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Melissa McCarthy Top Forbes’ 2015 Highest-Paid Actresses List
Jennifer Lawrence has been named the highest-paid actress by Forbes’ annual survey of Hollywood’s top-earning on-screen talent. The list is based on actresses’ income from June 2014 to June...
Christine Evangelista to Star in ‘The Arrangement,’ E!’s Scripted, Cynical Take on Celebrity Culture
Rising star Christine Evangelista (“Chicago Fire”) will assume the lead in E!’s second scripted series as a (hopefully) different type of rising star: one who’s offered a Faustian bargain of...
Less Than Zen: ‘Om City’ on Life as a Female Yoga Teacher
‘Learning to Drive’ Helmer Isabel Coixet on Middle-Age Life Lessons, the Hazards of Shooting in a Car
“Learningto Drive” is a lovely meditation on aging, expectations and learning to livelife on your own terms. Patricia Clarkson stars as Wendy, a writer whose husbandleaves her literally stranded...
Whoopi Goldberg Producing Movie About Emmett Till
Sixty years ago, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped from his home. Three days later, his body was found, naked and mutilated. Till’s death was retribution for the black teenager’s reported...
Happy Humpday: Most Badass Female Marvel Characters (INFOGRAPHIC)
Just because Marvel hasn’t made any female-led movies (and is increasingly running out of reasons why) doesn’t mean the comic-book company hasn’t created any superheroines worth telling...
‘Scandal’ Inspiration Judy Smith Sells NOLA Political Family Drama ‘House of the Rising Sin’ to NBC
Judy Smith, the political fixer who was Shonda Rhimes’ inspiration for Olivia Pope, is making her own mark on the small screen. NBC has bought the Smith-produced “House of the Rising Sin,” an...
Anne Hathaway Returns to TV Roots with Kidnapping Miniseries ‘The Ambassador’s Wife’
Anne Hathaway is heading to the small screen, joining the ranks of other Oscar-winning A-Listers like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. The “Les Misérables” actress will star in “The...
Rebecca Ferguson in Talks to Star in ‘The Girl on the Train’ Opposite Emily Blunt
After breaking out in “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation,” Rebecca Ferguson will likely follow up in a supporting role in “The Girl on the Train.” The film adaptation of Paula...
Sandra Bullock Took Role Meant for George Clooney After Not Finding Any “Exciting” Female Characters
Sandra Bullock is gunning for a second Oscar with the political comedy “Our Brand is Crisis,” in which she plays a Machiavellian genius described as a “female Karl Rove.” The mega-popular...
Taissa Farmiga Deals with Boyfriend Drama in the First 7 Minutes of Hannah Fidell’s ‘6 Years’ (CLIP)
“6 Years,” Hannah Fidell’s follow-up to 2013’s “A Teacher,” starts off real steamy. College students Melanie (Taissa Farmiga) and Dan (Ben Rosenfield, “Boardwalk Empire”) have been...
TIFF Announces More Films, Incl. Works by Catherine Hardwicke, Natalie Portman, Chantal Akerman
TIFF continues to roll out additions to its lineup on a near daily basis, and thankfully many of the newly announced crop of films are helmed by women. Three female directors have been added to the...
‘Cleopatra’ TV Show in the Works With ‘Elizabeth’ Director
Angelina Jolie isn’t the only Hollywood creative looking to resuscitate antiquity’s most famous queen. Slingshot Global Media is working with “Elizabeth” director Shekhar Kapur to develop...
Comedy Central Renews ‘Another Period’ for Season 2
One of this summer’s best new shows, Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” has been renewed for a second season. Created by and starring Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome, the mockumentary...
Mill Valley Film Fest’s 2015 Lineup Boasts Cannes Alums ‘Carol,’ ‘Mustang,’ ‘My Mother,’ ‘Girl King’
The 38th Mill Valley Film Festival in Marin County, California, will include Cannes picks and local works in its 2015 lineup. Among the Cannes alum to screen at MVFF 2015 (October 8–18) are Todd...
European Film Industry Passes Gender Equality Declaration (UPDATED)
Representatives from European film funds and ministries of culture passed a declaration embracing gender equality in the industry on the first day of the Sarajevo Film Festival (August 14–22). The...
Gloria Estefan’s Broadway Musical ‘On Your Feet!’ to Open Nov. 15; Tickets Available Starting Today
Tickets are now available for “On Your Feet!,” Gloria Estefan’s Broadway musical about her rise to stardom. Starring Ana Villafañe, the production traces Gloria and her husband Emilio’s...
NBC Orders Tina Fey Sitcom, Two Other Female-Driven Comedies
Tina Fey is returning to the peacock fold after taking “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” to Netflix. NBC has all but picked up an untitled series by Fey and Robert Carlock, as well as two other...
Trailer Watch: Rooney Mara is Enthralled by Captivating Older Woman Cate Blanchett in ‘Carol’
The first teaser trailer for Todd Haynes’ much-anticipated adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s lesbian romance “The Price of Salt” has been released just as word comes that the film has been...
Trailer Watch: ‘Doll & Em’ Launch an Off-Broadway Play About Their Friendship in Season 2
TIFF’s Inaugural ‘Platform’ Program Includes Films by Sue Brooks, Eva Husson, Fabienne Berthaud
The 2015 Toronto International Film Festival (September 10–20) will introduce a new program. Platform will showcase “artistically ambitious” works at the festival, and the winner of the...
Sham Marriage and ‘Fast Fashion’ Workers: August 2015’s Women-Centric VOD & Web Series Picks
This month’s VOD and web series picks are projects driven by the evocative experiences and masterful talents of women. Available on VOD are works that dive head-first into the depths of women’s...
Weekly Update for August 14: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Mistress America — Co-Written by Greta Gerwig — Women and Hollywood’s Pick of the Week As the titular character in 2012’s “Frances Ha,” Greta...
Trailer Watch: A Family and a Nation Face Crises in Natalie Portman’s ‘A Tale of Love and Darkness’
Sara Bareilles’s ‘Waitress’ Musical Headed to Broadway
After wrapping up a successful run in Cambridge on September 27, the Sara Bareilles’ stage musical “Waitress” is heading to Broadway. Starring Tony-winning actress Jessie Mueller, the...
Sanaa Hamri to Helm Film Adaptation of Black Ballerina Michaela DePrince’s Memoir
Prolific film and TV director Sanaa Hamri will adapt Sierra Leonese-American ballerina Michaela DePrince’s memoir for MGM. An orphaned survivor of the Sierra Leonese civil war, DePrince’s...
Trailer Watch: Three Women Hold the Fort Down in Feminist Western ‘The Keeping Room’
The long-anticipated feminist Western “The Keeping Room” has a trailer. The Civil War thriller, which premiered at TIFF 2014, focuses on sisters Augusta and Louise (Brit Marling and Hailee...
Marvel Launches New Comic-Book Series About Black Pre-Teen Heroine Moon Girl
After debuting America’s first Muslim superheroine two years ago, Marvel is devoting a new comic-book series to an 11-year-old black genius and her friendship with a dinosaur. Moon Girl, AKA...