ALL POSTS
Pretty Little Liars Showrunner Marlene King to Adapt Teen Occult Thriller
With four seasons of the teen thriller Pretty Little Liars under her belt (the fifth season debuts June 10), showrunner I. Marlene King will adapt the upcoming YA thriller The Merciless for the...
Crosspost: Stories About Women Dominate at Cannes, Even If Female Filmmakers Are Rare
This post was originally published at Awards Daily. In case you’ve been wondering why it’s so difficult to get movies about women made, you don’t have to look any further than 2014’s 67th...
Veep’s Selina Meyer and the Art of the Tantrum
“Temperament” is a word that’s been kicking around a lot over the last week in relation to women and the workplace. But let’s talk about the thing that’s really verboten for female bosses:...
Quvenzhane Wallis Lands Third Starring Role in Counting by 7s
After playing an orphaned Louisiana girl in Beasts of the Southern Wild* and an orphaned New Yorker in the upcoming Annie remake, Quevenzhane Wallis will continue her strange streak of parentless...
Catherine Breillat to Make First English-Language Film
After making the most autobiographical film of her career in Abuse of Weakness, in which she recreated her own victimization by a con artist after a stroke, director Catherine Breillat will veer in...
Patricia Clarkson and Debra Winger to Be Honored by Provincetown Film Festival
The Provincetown International Film Festival will honor actresses Patricia Clarkson and Debra Winger on its 16th anniversary. Clarkson will receive the Excellence in Acting Award, and her most...
Susanna Fogel’s Female-Friendship Comedy Life Partners Finds Distribution
Director Susanna Fogel’s Life Partners, about a couple of almost-thirty BFFs whose friendship becomes suddenly strained when one finds her new life partner, has found a distribution deal with...
Niki Caro to Write and Direct Maria Callas Biopic
Director Niki Caro has lined up her sixth feature: a biopic of Maria Callas that focuses on the iconic opera singer’s two-year relationship with billionaire Aristotle Onassis. Caro, who will also...
Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Cate Blanchett Defends Mothers
Cate Blanchett has been on a roll calling out double standards in Hollywood. After blasting the film industry for giving movies about women the short shrift and lambasting E! for having its camera...
Cannes Sales Roundup: Films Starring Brie Larson, Anne Hathaway Get Distribution Deals
Several more films by/about women have found distribution deals at the “seller’s market” in Cannes. Among them are: — Anne Hathaway’s romantic drama Song One. Kate Barker-Froyland’s...
Cannes Dispatch: Women Directors Panel Reveal It’s a Man’s World, Suggest Gender Quota
Not manytopics make people squirm more than gender-based quota systems, but afterhearing significant statistics about women in the film and televisionindustries, a somewhat ambivalent panel at...
Guest Post: Directing a Feature Film With Sword in Hand
Myfirst experience in “keiko,” or fight practice in kendo, the Japanese art ofsword play, was over 20 years ago. Confronted with an experienced player’s bamboo sword, I was taken aback by the...
Halle Berry Goes to Space: First Look at Extant
The trailer for Halle Berry’s Extant is here, and it’s mighty creepy. After a 13 month solo space mission, astronaut Molly Woods returns home… pregnant. Piecing together what happened on her...
Weekly Update for May 16: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening The Immigrant In James Gray’s The Immigrant, Ewa Cybulski (Marion Cotillard) and her sister sail to New York from their native Poland in search of a new start and the...
A List of the Women-Directed and Women-Centric Films Looking for Deals in Cannes
It’s a “seller’s market” at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, according to Deadline. Some US sales include The Amy Adams-starring sci-fi pic Story of Your Life which sold for $20 million to...
Glenn Close Books a Movie and a Broadway Show
Big news day for Glenn Close, who will be returning to Broadway and the silver screen. Close’s most recent appearance on Broadway was in Sunset Boulevard back in 1994. Her portrayal of Norma...
Guest Post: Bridging the Generational Gap Through Technology
In 2009, a documentary idea simply fell into my lap. My two younger sisters were in highschool when they decided to create a volunteer program called “Cyber-Seniors.” Inspiredby seeing our...
Fed Up Director Stephanie Soechtig on Voting with Our Forks, Working with Katie Couric, and the Power of Knowledge
“For the past 30 years, everything we thought we knew about food and exercise is dead wrong. Fed Up is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see. From Katie Couric, Laurie David and...
Women and Hollywood is Looking for a Summer Intern
Women and Hollywood’s amazing current intern, Laura Berger is taking a summer leave. (I hope you have enjoyed her writing on the blog this week.) So we need someone to cover for her beginning in...
Quote of the Day: Elle Fanning on Female Characters
In a recent interview for FASHION Magazine, the ultra-talented Elle Fanning discussed the limited roles available to women: There are still a lot of movies where women are dependent on the guy. We...
Trailer Watch: Tea Leoni Is Madam Secretary
Some sources (i.e. the whole world) have speculated that CBS’s new series Madam Secretary will focus on a character loosely based on — or inspired by — former U.S. Secretary of State...
Kathryn Bigelow Books Her Next Film: The True American
We have a new Kathryn Bigelow film to look forward to. Bigelow will direct and produce an adaptation of the non-fiction book The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas, written by New York Times...
Trailer Watch: Helen Mirren Stars in The Hundred-Foot Journey
The trailer is out for The Hundred-Foot Journey, which stars Helen Mirren as Madame Mallory, the owner of a swanky French restaurant. Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg joined forces to produce the...
Guest Post: For Female Indie Filmmakers, The Woman-Child Wins: Obvious Child and Zero Motivation
As readers of Women & Hollywood, you’re fully aware of the bleak statistics concerning women working in the film industry, onscreen and behind-the-scenes. In spite of those incredible odds,...
Quote of the Day: Jane Campion Acknowledges the “Inherent Sexism” of the Film Industry At Cannes
Jane Campion is Cannes Jury President this year, and she’s using her platform to speak out against sexism in the film industry. While Campion is known for being outspoken about gender inequity in...
The Unbelievable Privilege of Being a Male Director
To say this post is a long time coming would be an understatement. I’ve been thinking about it for months. But last night I was pushed over the edge so here we are. The line that women directors...
Trailer Watch: Shonda Rhimes’ How To Get Away With Murder
A full trailer has arrived for How To Get Away With Murder right on the heels of ABC’s upfront presentation. Unsurprisingly, it looks very addictive — the legal thriller is co-created and...
A Call to Action on Behalf of Female Filmmakers
Here’s my latest post on Forbes: The Cannes Film Festival kicks off today and the film world as the world’s press have descended to seek out the next “it girl”, the next “master” and...
Louis CK’s “So Did the Fat Lady” Is Not The Last — Or The First — Word On Fat Women On TV
Louis CK is getting heaped with accolades for “So Did the Fat Lady,” the third episode of his current season of Louie, which aired Monday night. I get why: it is, in its way, a progressive move...
Trailer Watch: Jennifer Jason Leigh Stars in Jane Weinstock’s The Moment
The trailer has been released for psychological drama The Moment, which stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as a woman questioning reality — and whether or not she’s a murderer. The film is directed...
Reese Witherspoon’s Wild Will Open December 5th
Will Wild usher in Reese Witherspoon’s own version of a “McConaissance”? A release date has been set for Wild — and that release date is very Oscar-friendly. Wild, an adaptation of...
Exclusive Clip from Jocelyn Towne’s I AM I
I AM I is written and directed by Jocelyn Towne and is “story of a young woman, Rachael (Towne), who meets her estranged father Gene (Kevin Tighe) at her mother’s funeral. Eager to get to know...
Reading Ellen Page’s Sexuality
“I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission” film star Ellen Page said, during her much celebrated coming out speech at an HRC event in Las Vegas on Valentine’s Day. “I...
Trailers for NBC’s New Women-Centric Series: Bad Judge, State of Affairs, and The Mysteries of Laura
Las week we told you about some of the women-centric pilots that have been picked up, and now we can share some footage from the series. NBC has released trailers for Bad Judge, State of Affairs,...
Reese Witherspoon/Sofia Vergara Unnamed Film Directed by Anne Fletcher Targets Mother’s Day 2015 Release
Reese Witherpoon and Sofia Vergara will co-star in an unnamed buddy comedy directed by Anne Fletcher (The Guilt Trip, The Proposal, 27 Dresses). New Line Cinema/Warner Brothers will co-produce...
Reese Witherspoon/Sofia Vergara Unnamed Film Directed by Anne Fletcher Targets Mother’s Day 2015 Release
Reese Witherpoon and Sofia Vergara will co-star in an unnamed buddy comedy directed by Anne Fletcher (The Guilt Trip, The Proposal, 27 Dresses). New Line Cinema/Warner Brothers will co-produce with...
Leslie Mann Becomes a Movie Star: The Supporting Actress is A Leading Lady in Las Madres
Leslie Mann is finally being given the chance to lead a movie. The talented and funny actress won’t be “The Wife” or “The Friend” in Las Madres, a new comedy from...
Jane Campion Close to Deal to Direct The Flamethrowers for Producer Scott Rudin
One of the things that I will enjoy watching over the next two weeks at the Cannes Film Festival is the high profile of one of the most talented female directors, Jane Campion. She is the 10th woman...
Cannes Trailer Watch: Alice Rohrwacher’s Le Meraviglie
The trailer for Alice Rohrwacher’s Le Meraviglie has been released. The film will premiere at Cannes and is in competition for the Palme d’Or. Only one other film directed by a woman will be...
No Cannes Do — The Status of Women Directors at Cannes Over the Last Decade
As the press and the film industry descend on Cannes this week, this gives us an opportunity to remind people one of the biggest problems that plague this festival as well as the industry in...
Trailer Watch: The Final Trailer for Maleficent
The final trailer for Maleficent has been released. As can be said of all of the footage revealed in the trailers, it looks beautiful; the film is gorgeously shot. In a previous featurette for the...
Guest Post: “No One Would Ever Say That to Larry David”: Female Showrunners and the Hypocritical Critical Edge
It’s tough out there for female showrunners. Women and Hollywood has been documentingthis for years, and it remains true that the women working in these roles — incomedy and drama, on...
Weekly Update for May 9: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return — Co-Written by Randi Barnes Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is a 3D-animated musical based on the adventure books by Roger...
Fun Home is Coming to Broadway: The Graphic Memoir Turned Musical Aims to Open in Spring 2015
After a successful run at The Public Theatre, Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s musical reimagining of Fun Home is hopefully going to be ready for a Broadway debut next spring. Fun Home has already...
TV: Shonda Rhimes Books Third ABC Show Starring Viola Davis
The female flight from features to TV continues with Viola Davis booking the leading role on the third ABC show from Shonda Rhimes to appear on ABC’s fall schedule. According to the Hollywood...
Patty Jenkins Signs On For Second Film — Sweetheart
It’s been over a decade since Patty Jenkins directed Charlize Theron to her Oscar for Monster. We all know that Theron has worked on numerous films since then, but Jenkins, who wrote and directed...
Rebel Wilson to Star in Remake of Private Benjamin
Rebel Wilson has been cast as the lead in New Line’s remake of the 1980 classic “Private Benjamin.” She will portray a “redneck” who enlists in the Marines as a means of escaping a bad...
Andrea Arnold’s New Film American Honey: Her First Picture Set in the U.S.
Academy Award winning British filmmaker Andrea Arnold (she won for her 2003 short) will shoot her fourth feature — her first based in the U.S. — this summer. American Honey will...
Directors UK: Women Represent Only 14% of the Directors in UK TV
According to a new report from Directors UK entitled Who’s Calling the Shots?, women in the UK are directing only 14% of the TV shows. Weirdly, or not so weirdly, those stats exactly match the...
Dawn Hudson Signs New Three Year Contract With the Academy
Dawn Hudson’s early tenure at the Academy was tumultuous but let’s be real, it takes time to figure out how to run something this big, but also it takes the will of the board to allow a new...
TV: Series Pick-Ups for Katherine Heigl, Alfre Woodard, Octavia Spencer, Gabourey Sidibe
With the fall television season just four months away, here are some of the new women-starring network shows that have been confirmed to air: — Red Band Society (Fox). After the Murder, She Wrote...