With everything surrounding this year’s Oscars there has been a wealth of really great commentary out there.
Martha Lauzen for The Wrap gets it spot on in her article:
What did the latest...
Women and Hollywood: What made you come up with the idea for this massive undertaking?
Dyllan McGee: As a filmmaker who had covered many historical events and figures (The Kennedys, Lincoln,...
The 42nd New Directors/New Films has announced their lineup. Co-hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art the series takes place from March 20-31.
Here are the women...
After Melissa McCarthy’s latest movie, Identity Thief, opened to a $36.6 million weekend and currently holds the biggest film opening of 2013, it slipped last weekend to number two.
But...
The Independent Spirit Awards were also held this weekend. Some of our favorite films of the past year, Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere and The Invisible War were recognized.
Here are the...
With Seth McFarlane hosting the Oscars, we here at Women and Hollywood weren’t expecting much. But the sexist, racist, homophobic and completely unfunny spree that McFarlane hosted was even...
Lake Bell’s directorial debut In A World finally got a post-Sundance pick up by Roadside Attractions and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. This was one of our favorite movies at...
Here’s some recent women-centric film news that we wanted to make sure didn't get pased by:
‘Pitch Perfect’ Helmer Jason Moore In Tune With Tina Fey For Uni Comedy ‘The...
Emily Spivey has signed a two year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television.
Spivey recently left the NBC sitcom, Up All Night, which she created. The ongoing mess, of Up All Night continues...
Ramona S. Diaz's documentary Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey follows the story of Arnel Pineda, a Filipino man who through being discovered on YouTube became the new lead...
Films About Women Currently Playing
Beautiful Creatures
Lore – Directed by Cate Shortland
Side Effects
Mama
Zero Dark Thirty – Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Rust and...
Yesterday, Bloomberg published a great article 'Why Women in Hollywood Can't Get Film Financing?' by Lauren Sandler. Sandler discusses the dismal statistics, the research out of Sundance...
We predict the winners this weekend will be a bunch of dudes since that's mostly who is nominated. But we wanted to make sure you knew all the names of the women who are nominated...
I was a happy person a couple of months ago. I walked out of seeing Zero Dark Thirty very much liking the film, but also sighing a bit in relief that Kathryn Bigelow had hit another one out of...
Homeland showrunner Alex Gansa has picked the woman (hopefully she won't be the only woman) to replace Meredith Stiehm who last year was the lone woman writer on staff. Stiehm left to work on...
Here's the latest trailer of Ginger & Rosa from Sally Potter. It premiered in Toronto last September and has played the festival circuit last year to good reviews.
The film focuses on the...
This totally made my day. As a big women's sports fan here are NINE short films about women's sports directed by women. Executive producer Robin Roberts (who returned to Good Morning America...
Legacy Records, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is celebrating Nina Simone as their February 2013 Artist of the Month in honor of Black History Month and Simone's 80th...
I attended the launch of Melissa Silverstein's book, In Her Voice: Women Directors Talking at the Athena Film Festival at Barnard College. This is a collection of interviews with over-40 female...
IFP’s Independent Filmmakers Lab is on the lookout for new voices in film. It’s a year-long fellowship supporting new, independent filmmakers through completion, marketing and...
In 1968, a group of four talented Australian Aboriginal girls (Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell) start an all girl group called The Sapphires and travel to Vietnam with...
In television news, New Girl star Zooey Deschanel alongside Hello Giggles co-founder Sophia Rossi have launched their own production company. The pair have signed a two year first look deal...
It's Academy Awards week and the ballots are closed. While we don't know the winners yet, one thing we know for sure is that no women have again been nominated for best director.
This...
If you are a regular reader of Women and Hollywood, you know that we are big fans of Connie Britton here. We love her as Rayna James in Callie Khouri’s Nashville and Tami Taylor is one of our...
Anne Fontaine's Two Mothers premiered at Sundance to mixed reviews. The film follows the friendship of two mothers (Robin Wright and Naomi Watts) who both sleep with each other's extremely...
As a recently decided film major midway through the fall of my sophomore year, I was sitting in the back of 511 Dodge Hall at Columbia University, idly doodling in the minutes before my Script...
The directorial debut from Lana Wilson and Martha Shane, After Tiller, has been picked up by Oscilloscope Laboratories.
The documentary, which premiered at Sundance, looks at the state of third...
At the annual Writers Guild Award’s, women writers did well this year — in television. Film, not so much. Lena Dunham’s Girls won best new series, one of Mad Men’s best...
If you are like me you are devastated that the third season of Downton Abbey is over. I don't know how I will wait at least a year until the fourth season, which they are filming now, and...
This weekend, the 2013 Berlinale drew to a close and the major awards went to male directed films about strong women. The talk throughout the week was about the Romanian film Child's Play...
As a complete movie nerd, I dragged my reluctant friends and family to my tiny local movie theater quite a few times over this past winter break. There have been just too many great movies to choose...
Ten years ago, when I began work on the short documentary that would become Kings Point, issues of aging weren’t really a part of the public discussion. In a way, that helped me: because they...
Films About Women Opening This Week
Beautiful Creatures
Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich) longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena (Alice Englert). Together, they...
On Sunday, February 17, the Writer’s Guild of America, East will hold their annual awards ceremony. They’ve just announced that included in the ceremony will be a tribute to Nora Ephron,...
Viola Davis’s latest film, Beautiful Creatures comes out today. Based on a YA novel, the film follows a teen girl, Lena (Alice Englert) who moves to a small Southern town. At her new high...
SXSW has announced another round of films to their lineup, adding more films directed by women. They have also added many films written by women, such as Sundance favorite The East, co-written and...
At a recent press conference in New York, Tina Fey said that feminism remains a factor in choosing her projects:
Feminism is certainly something that appeals to me and I certainly try to avoid any...
FX has picked up creator Meredith Stiehm’s The Bridge for a thirteen episodes. Production is set to begin in April.
The detective drama stars Diane Kruger and Demian Bichir. Marco Ruiz...
Here’s a look at the newly released poster for the new film from Joan Carr-Wiggin, If I Were You, starring Marcia Gay Harden.
The film follows Madelyn (Gay Harden) who saves a young woman...
I arrived in Berlin two days ago from NY after the huge success of The Athena Film Festival. Did you hear we had a blizzard and people still came. I missed the opening weekend craziness...
Lilly Ledbetter has chosen Rachel Feldman to direct a biopic based on her life and her fight for equal pay for women.
Ledbetter worked for over two decades in an Alabama Goodyear Factory. After...
Ava DuVernay has directed a new short film for fashion label, Miu Miu. The film is the fifth in their ‘The Women's Tales’ series.
Starring Gabrielle Union, as a woman whose marriage...
Unsurprisingly, media outlets have created a “feud” between Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence. The Oscar-nominated actresses were apparently fighting because of Jennifer...
On Sunday, the BAFTAS held their annual awards ceremony. As awards season comes to a close, there weren’t many upsets but a couple interesting things of note. Emmanuelle Riva won lead actress...
Sorry Rex Reed—looks like there are many, many people who want to see a Melissa McCarthy starring in a movie.
Despite the blizzard on the east coast, McCarthy’s Identity Thief opened...
Rex Reed’s review of Identity Thief in The New York Observer is a scathing takedown of the film, which is fine. He's entitled to his opinion. He's a critic. What’s not...
The Brass Teapot, directed by Ramaa Mosley, centers around a down on their luck couple (Juno Temple and Michael Angarano) who are struggling to make it until they find a magical teapot at a local...
This year’s Berlin Film Festival kicked off yesterday—screening over 400 films—19 of which are in competition.
Festival director Dieter Kosslick says that gender is a central...
Films About Women Opening This Week
Side Effects
Emily (Rooney Mara) and Martin (Channing Tatum) are a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's...
After yesterday’s news that Melissa McCarthy would be directing her first feature, more news about upcoming women directed films has been announced. The legendary Barbra Streisand will be...
The very funny Melissa McCarthy announced three movies that she and her writing partner/husband, Ben Falcone will be developing with their production company, On the Day. They have also signed on to...
ALL POSTS
News
Oscar Commentary Round Up
With everything surrounding this year’s Oscars there has been a wealth of really great commentary out there. Martha Lauzen for The Wrap gets it spot on in her article: What did the latest...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 26, 2013Features
Interview with Dyllan McGee – Executive Producer of MAKERS: Women Who Make America
Women and Hollywood: What made you come up with the idea for this massive undertaking? Dyllan McGee: As a filmmaker who had covered many historical events and figures (The Kennedys, Lincoln,...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 26, 2013News
Women-Directed Films Announced for 42nd New Directors/New Films Series
The 42nd New Directors/New Films has announced their lineup. Co-hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art the series takes place from March 20-31. Here are the women...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 26, 2013News
Melissa McCarthy Wins the Box Office Again
After Melissa McCarthy’s latest movie, Identity Thief, opened to a $36.6 million weekend and currently holds the biggest film opening of 2013, it slipped last weekend to number two. But...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 26, 2013News
Middle of Nowhere and The Invisible War Win at Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards were also held this weekend. Some of our favorite films of the past year, Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere and The Invisible War were recognized. Here are the...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 26, 2013News
Women Deserved Better at the 2013 Oscars
With Seth McFarlane hosting the Oscars, we here at Women and Hollywood weren’t expecting much. But the sexist, racist, homophobic and completely unfunny spree that McFarlane hosted was even...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 25, 2013News
Lake Bell’s In A World Gets Post-Sundance Pick Up
Lake Bell’s directorial debut In A World finally got a post-Sundance pick up by Roadside Attractions and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. This was one of our favorite movies at...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 25, 2013News
Women-Centric Film News Round Up
Here’s some recent women-centric film news that we wanted to make sure didn't get pased by: ‘Pitch Perfect’ Helmer Jason Moore In Tune With Tina Fey For Uni Comedy ‘The...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 25, 2013Television
Emily Spivey Signs Deal with 20th Century Fox TV
Emily Spivey has signed a two year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. Spivey recently left the NBC sitcom, Up All Night, which she created. The ongoing mess, of Up All Night continues...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 25, 2013News
Trailer Watch: Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey – Directed by Ramona S. Diaz
Ramona S. Diaz's documentary Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey follows the story of Arnel Pineda, a Filipino man who through being discovered on YouTube became the new lead...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 25, 2013News
Weekly Update February 22: Women-Centric, Directed, Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Currently Playing Beautiful Creatures Lore – Directed by Cate Shortland Side Effects Mama Zero Dark Thirty – Directed by Kathryn Bigelow Rust and...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 24, 2013News
Bloomberg Story On Why Women in Hollywood Can’t Get Financing
Yesterday, Bloomberg published a great article 'Why Women in Hollywood Can't Get Film Financing?' by Lauren Sandler. Sandler discusses the dismal statistics, the research out of Sundance...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 22, 2013News
Highlighting the Women Nominated for 2013 Academy Awards
We predict the winners this weekend will be a bunch of dudes since that's mostly who is nominated. But we wanted to make sure you knew all the names of the women who are nominated...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 22, 2013Features
How the Case of Zero Dark Thirty Reflects on Hollywood’s Treatment of Women
I was a happy person a couple of months ago. I walked out of seeing Zero Dark Thirty very much liking the film, but also sighing a bit in relief that Kathryn Bigelow had hit another one out of...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 22, 2013Television
Barbara Hall Joining Homeland as Co-Executive Producer
Homeland showrunner Alex Gansa has picked the woman (hopefully she won't be the only woman) to replace Meredith Stiehm who last year was the lone woman writer on staff. Stiehm left to work on...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 22, 2013News
Trailer Watch: Ginger & Rosa – Directed by Sally Potter
Here's the latest trailer of Ginger & Rosa from Sally Potter. It premiered in Toronto last September and has played the festival circuit last year to good reviews. The film focuses on the...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 22, 2013News
Trailer Watch: Nine for IX
This totally made my day. As a big women's sports fan here are NINE short films about women's sports directed by women. Executive producer Robin Roberts (who returned to Good Morning America...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 21, 2013News
Watch This: Nina Simone Singing “To Be Free”
Legacy Records, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is celebrating Nina Simone as their February 2013 Artist of the Month in honor of Black History Month and Simone's 80th...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 21, 2013Features
Cross Post: This Is What Directors Look Like (Or at Least 9% of Them)
I attended the launch of Melissa Silverstein's book, In Her Voice: Women Directors Talking at the Athena Film Festival at Barnard College. This is a collection of interviews with over-40 female...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 21, 2013News
IFP’s Independent Filmmakers Lab Seeking New Filmmakers
IFP’s Independent Filmmakers Lab is on the lookout for new voices in film. It’s a year-long fellowship supporting new, independent filmmakers through completion, marketing and...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 21, 2013News
Trailer Watch: The Sapphires
In 1968, a group of four talented Australian Aboriginal girls (Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell) start an all girl group called The Sapphires and travel to Vietnam with...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 21, 2013News
Zooey Deschanel to Launch Production Company and Women Centric TV News Round Up
In television news, New Girl star Zooey Deschanel alongside Hello Giggles co-founder Sophia Rossi have launched their own production company. The pair have signed a two year first look deal...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 21, 2013News
To the Academy: Consider the Women Directors
It's Academy Awards week and the ballots are closed. While we don't know the winners yet, one thing we know for sure is that no women have again been nominated for best director. This...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 20, 2013News
Connie Britton on Hollywood, Nashville and Aging
If you are a regular reader of Women and Hollywood, you know that we are big fans of Connie Britton here. We love her as Rayna James in Callie Khouri’s Nashville and Tami Taylor is one of our...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 20, 2013News
Trailer Watch: Two Mothers – Directed by Anne Fontaine
Anne Fontaine's Two Mothers premiered at Sundance to mixed reviews. The film follows the friendship of two mothers (Robin Wright and Naomi Watts) who both sleep with each other's extremely...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 20, 2013Features
Cross Post: A Female Tarantino
As a recently decided film major midway through the fall of my sophomore year, I was sitting in the back of 511 Dodge Hall at Columbia University, idly doodling in the minutes before my Script...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 19, 2013News
Lana Wilson and Martha Shane’s After Tiller Picked Up by Oscilloscope Laboratories
The directorial debut from Lana Wilson and Martha Shane, After Tiller, has been picked up by Oscilloscope Laboratories. The documentary, which premiered at Sundance, looks at the state of third...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 19, 2013News
The 2013 Writers Guild Awards
At the annual Writers Guild Award’s, women writers did well this year — in television. Film, not so much. Lena Dunham’s Girls won best new series, one of Mad Men’s best...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 19, 2013News
Maggie Smith on 60 Minutes
If you are like me you are devastated that the third season of Downton Abbey is over. I don't know how I will wait at least a year until the fourth season, which they are filming now, and...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 19, 2013News
Women Directed Film Winners in Berlin
This weekend, the 2013 Berlinale drew to a close and the major awards went to male directed films about strong women. The talk throughout the week was about the Romanian film Child's Play...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 18, 2013Features
Cross Post: My Two Favorite Golden Globe Winners: JLaw & Anne Get it Right on Body Image
As a complete movie nerd, I dragged my reluctant friends and family to my tiny local movie theater quite a few times over this past winter break. There have been just too many great movies to choose...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 18, 2013Features
Guest Post: What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Aging: An Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker’s Conversation-Starter on Women and Aging
Ten years ago, when I began work on the short documentary that would become Kings Point, issues of aging weren’t really a part of the public discussion. In a way, that helped me: because they...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 15, 2013News
Weekly Update February 15: Women-Centric, Directed, Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Beautiful Creatures Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich) longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena (Alice Englert). Together, they...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 15, 2013News
WGA Awards to Hold Tribute to Nora Ephron
On Sunday, February 17, the Writer’s Guild of America, East will hold their annual awards ceremony. They’ve just announced that included in the ceremony will be a tribute to Nora Ephron,...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 15, 2013News
Viola Davis Speaks About Beautiful Creatures and Black Characters in 2013
Viola Davis’s latest film, Beautiful Creatures comes out today. Based on a YA novel, the film follows a teen girl, Lena (Alice Englert) who moves to a small Southern town. At her new high...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 15, 2013News
SXSW Adds More Women Directed Films to Schedule
SXSW has announced another round of films to their lineup, adding more films directed by women. They have also added many films written by women, such as Sundance favorite The East, co-written and...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 15, 2013Features
Tina Fey on her new film Admission, Feminism, Motherhood and Lily Tomlin
At a recent press conference in New York, Tina Fey said that feminism remains a factor in choosing her projects: Feminism is certainly something that appeals to me and I certainly try to avoid any...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 14, 2013News
FX Picks Up The Bridge from Meredith Stiehm
FX has picked up creator Meredith Stiehm’s The Bridge for a thirteen episodes. Production is set to begin in April. The detective drama stars Diane Kruger and Demian Bichir. Marco Ruiz...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 14, 2013News
Poster Release: If I Were You Written and Directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin
Here’s a look at the newly released poster for the new film from Joan Carr-Wiggin, If I Were You, starring Marcia Gay Harden. The film follows Madelyn (Gay Harden) who saves a young woman...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 14, 2013News
On the Ground in Berlin
I arrived in Berlin two days ago from NY after the huge success of The Athena Film Festival. Did you hear we had a blizzard and people still came. I missed the opening weekend craziness...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 14, 2013News
Rachel Feldman to Direct Lilly Ledbetter Biopic
Lilly Ledbetter has chosen Rachel Feldman to direct a biopic based on her life and her fight for equal pay for women. Ledbetter worked for over two decades in an Alabama Goodyear Factory. After...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 13, 2013News
Ava DuVernay Directs Short Film ‘The Door’ for Miu Miu
Ava DuVernay has directed a new short film for fashion label, Miu Miu. The film is the fifth in their ‘The Women's Tales’ series. Starring Gabrielle Union, as a woman whose marriage...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 13, 2013News
Jessica Chastain Shoots Down Fabricated Feud with Jennifer Lawrence
Unsurprisingly, media outlets have created a “feud” between Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence. The Oscar-nominated actresses were apparently fighting because of Jennifer...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 12, 2013News
Emmanuelle Riva, Lynne Ramsay and Juno Temple Win at 2013 BAFTAS
On Sunday, the BAFTAS held their annual awards ceremony. As awards season comes to a close, there weren’t many upsets but a couple interesting things of note. Emmanuelle Riva won lead actress...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 11, 2013News
Melissa McCarthy Dominates Weekend Box Office
Sorry Rex Reed—looks like there are many, many people who want to see a Melissa McCarthy starring in a movie. Despite the blizzard on the east coast, McCarthy’s Identity Thief opened...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 11, 2013News
Hollywood Sexist of the Day: Rex Reed
Rex Reed’s review of Identity Thief in The New York Observer is a scathing takedown of the film, which is fine. He's entitled to his opinion. He's a critic. What’s not...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 8, 2013News
Trailer Watch: The Brass Teapot – Directed by Ramaa Mosley
The Brass Teapot, directed by Ramaa Mosley, centers around a down on their luck couple (Juno Temple and Michael Angarano) who are struggling to make it until they find a magical teapot at a local...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 8, 2013News
Let’s Talk About Gender and Women Directors at the Berlin International Film Festival
This year’s Berlin Film Festival kicked off yesterday—screening over 400 films—19 of which are in competition. Festival director Dieter Kosslick says that gender is a central...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 8, 2013News
Weekly Update: Women-Centric, Directed, Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Side Effects Emily (Rooney Mara) and Martin (Channing Tatum) are a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 8, 2013News
Barbra Streisand, Ellen Page Directing New Films
After yesterday’s news that Melissa McCarthy would be directing her first feature, more news about upcoming women directed films has been announced. The legendary Barbra Streisand will be...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 8, 2013News
Melissa McCarthy Developing Three New Films and Directing Tammy
The very funny Melissa McCarthy announced three movies that she and her writing partner/husband, Ben Falcone will be developing with their production company, On the Day. They have also signed on to...
BY Women and HollywoodFebruary 8, 2013