ALL POSTS
Infographic: Cannes Women Filmmakers By the Numbers 2005–2015 #SeeHerNow
In one week, the media and the film world will descend on the South of France for the annual Cannes Film Festival. The worldwide press attention will be staggering. As we know, much of the attention...
Rediscovering Leigh Brackett, Sci-Fi Pioneer and “The Empire Strikes Back” Writer
Here’s more proof that sci-fi isn’t just for boys — and never has been. An essay from io9 published on Star Wars Day (May the Fourth) uncovers some fascinating history about Leigh Brackett...
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’s’ Unexpected Secret Weapon: Eve Ensler
As its title suggests, the highly anticipated “Mad Max: Fury Road” centers on one angry dude (played by Tom Hardy). But the sequel to the 1979 Mel Gibson vehicle boasts not only a presumed...
Anna Kendrick Confirms a Sexist Casting Practice in New Interview
Men are important, women are replaceable. That’s the thinking process that guides casting processes in the film business, where studios and financiers won’t seriously consider an actress until...
Shonda Rhimes and Dee Rees to Make Black Migration Miniseries ‘The Warmth of Other Suns’ for FX
Shonda Rhimes and Dee Rees will adapt Isabel Wilkerson’s bestselling historical book “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” for FX. Rees will write the...
Juliette Binoche to Play Nobel Prize Winner Pearl S. Buck in Roxanne Messina Captor’s Biopic
A new biopic of writer and activist Pearl S. Buck will find Juliette Binoche playing the Nobel laureate. Roxanne Messina Captor will direct Binoche in “Pearl,” which will be filmed in Prague,...
Marvel CEO Doesn’t Believe in Female Superheroes
Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter has his mind made up about superheroines — they aren’t profitable. An email exchange between Perlmutter and Sony CEO Michael Lynton has been made public after...
EXCLUSIVE: First Look at Poster for Isabel Coixet’s ‘Learning to Drive’ Starring Patricia Clarkson
Rose McGowan’s Seven Bold Tips for Fighting Sexism in the Film Industry
The following speech was originally delivered on April 21 to the Sisterhood of Traveling Producers, a small, invite-only group of young female executives and producers founded three years ago by...
Bentonville Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth Van Meter — ‘Thao’s Library’
Elizabeth Van Meter’s documentary work has taken her from the AndesMountains of Peru to the Tohoku region of Japan. Van Meter hasdirected/produced 40 short films for Gorgeous Entertainment,...
Dakota Fanning to Play Autistic Woman in Road-Trip Drama with Helen Hunt
Dakota Fanning and Helen Hunt will star in the road-trip drama “Please Stand By.” Fanning will play an autistic genius who escapes her care facility to enter her screenplay in a screenwriting...
Lucy Walker to Direct ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ Sequel
Oscar-nominated documentarian Lucy Walker (“The Crash Reel,” “Waste Land,” “Devil’s Playground”) will helm a follow-up film to “Buena Vista Social Club.” The original Academy...
Weekly Update for May 1: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Far From the Madding Crowd Carey Mulligan is luminous and inspiring as self-reliant landowner Bathsheba Everdene in “Far from the Madding Crowd.” The Thomas...
Why Wendy Wasserstein’s ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ is Still Relevant Today
Not 24 hours after producers announced that “The Heidi Chronicles” revival will close three months early on May 3rd (after only 80 performances), an article appeared in The New YorkTimes...
Listen: Women and Hollywood Podcast #10: Helen Hunt Directs Herself in ‘Ride’
In “Ride,” Helen Hunt’s second time behind the camera, the actress plays a Type A editor from New York who’s too busy working to see that she has become disconnected from life. When her son...
Leslie Mann to Star in R-Rated Comedy About Motherhood
Leslie Mann is teaming up with “The Hangover” writers for her next project. Details are scarce on the untitled R-rated comedy, but Mann praised Jon Lucas and Scott Moore’s “funny and...
Jennifer Garner and Director Patricia Riggen to Team Up for ‘Miracles From Heaven’
Jennifer Garner has landed her first leading role since 2011’s “Butter” in Patricia Riggen’s faith-based film “Miracles From Heaven.” Based on Christy Beam’s novel, the plot centers on...
Quote of the Day: Kristen Stewart Calls Hollywood “Disgustingly Sexist”
Kristen Stewart’s career trajectory has taken an interesting and exciting turn as of late. But in a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, the young actress argues that the odds are against...
Amy Berg’s Exposé of Hollywood Sexual Exploitation, ‘An Open Secret,’ Gets Distribution Deal
Oscar-nominated documentarian Amy Berg was afraid that the world premiere of her latest nonfiction film, “An Open Secret,” at DOC NYC last November would be its last. “We get one screening,”...
Female Spin-Off of ’21 Jump Street’ in the Works, ‘Broad City’ Writers Attached
“Ghostbusters” isn’t the only franchise getting a female-friendly makeover. Variety reports that Sony has begun development on a “female-driven spinoff” of the immensely popular and...
Trailer Watch: Nina Simone is “as Fragile as She is Strong” in ‘What Happened, Miss Simone?’
Guest Post: Why I Decided to Direct Lifetime’s Ariel Castro Movie ‘Cleveland Abduction’
Likemany people around the world, I was shocked and gripped by the story of thewomen who were abducted and kept for over a decade by Ariel Castro in a housein Cleveland, Ohio. When Sony first...
An Open Letter to Joss Whedon from a Disappointed Feminist Fan After Watching ‘Age of Ultron’
Is There Room for Women of Color In TV Comedy?
Last week, Amy Schumer made waves with the third season premiere of her sketch show, “Inside Amy Schumer.” The episode mocked everything from ageism in Hollywood to the absurdity of rape culture...
Ballet in the Media: New Fellowship for Fem. Choreographers; Dance Drama ‘Flesh & Bone’ Gets Trailer
Ballet is making headlines this week, thanks to a newly launched fellowship for women choreographers and the first trailer for “Flesh And Bone,” the new Starz ballet drama from former...
Trailer Watch: Nicole Kidman Hides Secrets During a Search for Her Lost Children in ‘Strangerland’
Warner Brothers to Release Patricia Riggen’s Chilean Mining Drama ‘The 33’
HBO’s ‘The Casual Vacancy’: Even in Rowling’s Adult Work, It’s the Kids Who Shine
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Donna LoCicero — ‘3 Still Standing’
Donna LoCicero is a writer, producer and documentary filmmaker with more than 15 years experience working on dozens of groundbreaking film projects for network, cable and international television....
Trailer Watch: Hailee Steinfeld Kicks Ass in ‘Barely Lethal,’ Books Another Film
Hailee Steinfeld seems poised for stardom in the imminent future. The “Pitch Perfect 2” actress — and one-time Academy Award nominee — has a number of exciting projects set for...
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Amber Fares — ‘Speed Sisters’
Amber Fares is a Canadian-born filmmaker with Lebanese roots. In the aftermath of 9/11, Fares left her career in marketing to deepen her understanding of life in the Middle East. In response to her...
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Company Developing ‘The Fever’ for MTV
Fresh off the news that Sarah Jessica Parker will produce and star in a new comedy from HBO comes word that the former “Sex and the City” star’s production company, Pretty Matches Productions,...
‘Obvious Child’ Dream Team Reunites: Slate, Robespierre, and Holm To Make FX Pilot
Jenny Slate is set to reunite with the team behind “Obvious Child,” writer/director Gillian Robespierre and producer/writer Elisabeth Holm. Slate will star in an untitled FX comedy pilot...
Trailer Watch: The Journey from Oxford to the Trenches in WWI Drama ‘Testament of Youth’
Fresh off the sci-fi indie “Ex Machina,” for which she’s receiving rave reviews, budding star Alicia Vikander is demonstrating excellent range as she switches gears from a playing a futuristic...
Women & Hollywood’s Summer Preview, Part 1: May and June 2015
The summer movie landscape can often feel like a haze of one huge blockbuster after another, each more testosterone-drenched than the last. However, this summer is packed with titles about...
DGA Women’s Steering Committee Rejects Proposal to Expand Diversity Options for Women
Two weeks ago, the Women’s Steering Committee at the DGA rejected a proposal that could have increased the opportunities for women directors in TV. As we all know, the numbers of women directing...
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Erinnisse Rebisz — ‘Shoulder the Lion’
Erinnisse Rebisz is a seasoned editor for television and film, born and based in NYC. Her credits include numerous unscripted TV shows and documentaries such as “What Not To Wear,” “24 Hour...
Viola Davis Developing and Planning to Star in Harriet Tubman Movie for HBO
One of the most important women in American history might finally have a movie made about her life. Viola Davis is developing and planning on starring in a HBO movie about Harriet Tubman. The...
Writer-Director Pamela Romanowsky’s ‘The Adderall Diaries’ Acquired by A24
Pamela Romanowsky’s feature debut, “The Adderall Diaries,” has found distribution via A24. Based on the memoir of the same name, the drama stars James Franco as author Stephen Elliott, a...
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Amy Benson — Drawing the Tiger
Amy Benson is the co-owner of Nonfiction Media, a production company in Seattle. She has shot and edited over 25 short films, telling the stories of nonprofits in the Pacific Northwest, Africa and...
Ava DuVernay Gets Her Own Barbie, ‘Selma’ DVDs Donated to Every High School in America
Ava DuVernay fans, rejoice: This week brings news that Mattel has immortalized the “Selma” director with a Barbie in her likeness and that Paramount Pictures will be donating copies of...
Broadway Star Kelli O’Hara on Maintaining Self-Worth in a Male-Dominated Industry
Cross-posted from The Interval. You know how when you’re applying to college people always ask you those cliché questions like, “What is a moment that changed your life?” and you think they...
Gay Divorce and Rock-umentaries: April’s Noteworthy Women-Centric Crowdfunding Projects
We at Women and Hollywood are always in pursuit of women-centric projects to promote and encourage, which is why, starting this month, we are beginning a new feature. Once a month, we will highlight...
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Rebecca Parrish — ‘Radical Grace’
Rebecca Parrish is director, cinematographer and an editor on “Radical Grace.” She has run her Chicago-based film company, Interchange Productions, since 2007. She has worked as an editor and...
Feminism in Action: Lena Dunham Discusses Her Rape, Cecily Strong Kills at White House Corr. Dinner
Guest Post: The Challenges of Filming a Sexual Health Workshop in an Ultra-Conservative Country
“Leaving Africa” is a story of friendship andstrength. Finnish doctor Riitta has been working in Uganda for morethan 25 years. Together with her Ugandan friend Catherine, she brings sex...
Weekly Update for April 24: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week The Age of Adaline The best reason to watch “The Age of Adaline,” a romance starring Blake Lively as a lonely woman who can’t age past 29, is the...
Quote of the Day: Carey Mulligan Criticizes the “Massively Sexist” Film Industry
Carey Mulligan had much to say about the sorry state of the film industry, especially as it pertains to gender, in a recent interview with Time Out. The Academy Award-nominated actress echoed...
Laura Bispuri’s Transgender Odyssey ‘Sworn Virgin’ Wins Tribeca Film Fest’s Nora Ephron Prize
Italian director Laura Bispuri has won the third annual Nora Ephron prize at the Tribeca Film Festival. Awarded to female filmmakers “with a distinctive voice” since 2013, the recognition comes...
Trailer Watch: Gemma Arterton Follows in Tragic Footsteps in Anne Fontaine’s ‘Gemma Bovery’
2015 promises to be a great year for fans of “Madame Bovary,” with two adaptations of Gustave Flaubert’s classic novel set for release. While Sophie Barthe’s “Madame Bovary,” a period...
Woodstock, Bounty Hunters and Sexy Apples: New and Noteworthy Women-Created VOD and Webseries
From music to war to Jewish identity, this month sees a number of excellent films releasing to streaming services. With “Always Woodstock,” director and writer Rita Merson takes us on a tale...