ALL POSTS
Ava DuVernay to Direct Nipsey Hussle Documentary for Netflix
Ava DuVernay’s next film will honor late rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle. She’s set to direct a feature-length documentary about him for Netflix, Deadline confirms. “A...
Sharon Choi, Bong Joon-ho’s Interpreter, Is Working on a Film About Awards Season
Sharon Choi has been a staple on the awards circuit in recent months, taking the stage to accept award after award, most notably at Sunday’s Oscars. Choi has been serving as...
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson Joins “Thor” Sequel’s Writing Team
“Someone Great” writer-director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is teaming up with a recent Oscar winner on a high-profile project. Variety reports that the “Sweet/Vicious” creator...
Guest Post: Collaborating Taught Me Different Ways of Making Films and Seeing the World
Guest Post by Lynne Sachs Most people imagine the structure for making a film as a pyramid with one person sitting proudly at the top. The industry as we know it endows the director with almost...
Essence Honors Niecy Nash, Melina Matsoukas, Lashana Lynch, Janet Mock, and the Cast of “Pose”
Essence’s recent Black Women in Hollywood event did what the rest of the 2020 awards season wouldn’t: it honored women of color, multiple women of color. The annual awards ceremony and...
Josephine Decker’s Sundance Winner “Shirley” Acquired by Neon
“Shirley” is continuing its Sundance hot streak. Following its Special Jury Award for Auteur Filmmaking win and the stigma-shattering portrait taken of breastmilk-pumping director...
Spirit Award Winners Include “The Farewell” and “Booksmart”
Unlike the Golden Globes and Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards recognized the fact that women directed some of 2019’s finest films. The winners at Saturday’s ceremony included Lulu...
“Sex Education” Has Been Renewed for a Third Season on Netflix
Otis has plenty more to teach — and learn — about sex and relationships. Deadline reports that Netflix has renewed “Sex Education” for a third season. The second season of the...
Oscars 2020: Female Composers Make History, Natalie Portman Honors Women Directors
Exactly zero women were up for Best Director at last night’s Academy Awards, but Natalie Portman helped ensure that some of 2019’s leading female filmmakers got attention on film’s...
Quote of the Day: Josephine Decker on Pumping at Sundance, Normalizing Everyday Parts of Motherhood
While at Sundance promoting her new film, “Shirley,” director Josephine Decker did something that’s both radical and a part of millions of women’s everyday routines: she...
Minnie Driver Renews Deal with 20th Century Fox TV, Sets New Project Under the Pact
Oscar winner Minnie Driver has extended her overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV and lined up a new dramedy series at FX. Deadline confirms the “Speechless” alumna and her Huge Fan...
Weekly Update for February 7: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – Directed by Cathy Yan; Written by Christina Hodson You ever hear the one about the cop, the...
Paz Vega to Topline and Produce MGM Comedy Series “Tacowood”
Paz Vega is headed to “Tacowood.” The Cannes award-winning actress is set to star in and produce the MGM International TV comedy series, Deadline reports. The story focuses on a single...
Carol Shields Prize Will Award $150,000 to a Woman or Nonbinary Author
A new literary prize has been launched to raise the visibility of women writers. Named in honor of the Pulitzer Prize- winning author of “The Stone Diaries,” the Carol Shields Prize will...
Guest Post: Why Do We Reduce “Little Women’s” March Sisters to Types?
Guest Post by Sarah Rebell Which March sister are you? The Internet is full of online quizzes asking that question, and promising to tell you whether you’re more of a reliable Meg or a headstrong...
Meryl Streep Is Backing Rachel Feldman’s Lilly Ledbetter Biopic
Meryl Streep has joined Rachel Feldman’s long-in-the-works biopic about fair pay whistleblower and activist Lilly Ledbetter. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the three-time Oscar winner is...
“Little Women” Has Grossed Over $100 Million at Domestic Box Office
Greta Gerwig and the March sisters are making a major mark at the box office. “Little Women,” which cost $40 million to make, has surpassed $100 million in North America, Variety...
Miranda July’s “Kajillionaire” Acquired by Focus Features
Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to Miranda July’s latest hot off its premiere at Sundance Film Festival, where the con-artist comedy was met with positive reviews. A press release...
Writer to Watch: Playwright and “Rocks” Scribe Theresa Ikoko
For Theresa Ikoko, writing is about “loving people back.” As the playwright and screenwriter recalled in an interview with International Cinephile Society, she had this epiphany when she...
Jameela Jamil Teams Up with Women of Color Unite to Combat Sizeism in Entertainment Industry
Jameela Jamil is no longer in “The Good Place” but she’s determined to make the entertainment industry a better place. The actress and I Weigh founder has joined forces with Women...
2020 Diversity Report: Women and POC Make Strides in Film, Remain Underrepresented
UCLA has released Part 1 of its annual Diversity Report, focusing on representation on both sides of the camera among the top 200 films released in 2018 and 2019. Like the 2019 report and the 2018...
Frameline Completion Fund Winners Announced
Frameline has announced the awardees of the 2019 Frameline Completion Fund. Culled from 173 applications that included features and shorts in documentary, narrative, and episodic, the seven projects...
WMC Report: Women Make Up 30 Percent of Non-Acting 2020 Oscar Nominees
The good news: there are more women nominated in non-acting categories at the Oscars this year (56, or 30 percent of all non-acting nominees) than in 2019 (51, 25 percent). The bad news: 30 percent...
Radha Blank’s Sundance Winner “The 40-Year-Old Version” Lands at Netflix
Radha Blank’s banner week continues. Just days ago her feature directorial debut, “The 40-Year-Old Version,” landed her the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic at Sundance Film Festival,...
Navigating an Ever-Changing World: VOD and Web Series Picks
Whether we like it or not, technology has changed the world we live in. Our communication has gotten faster, but maybe less personal. And the ways we understand ourselves and the people around us...
Emer Kenny Adapting Val McDermid’s Karen Pirie Novel “The Distant Echo” for ITV
Emer Kenny is taking Karen Pirie’s cold cases to the small screen. The “Harlots” scribe has been tapped to adapt Val McDermid’s “The Distant Echo” for ITV. Deadline...
Trailer Watch: Andrea Riseborough Returns to “Luxor”
“Don’t you miss how hopeful we were?” asks Andrea Riseborough in a new trailer for “Luxor.” Zeina Durra’s sophomore feature tells the story of Hana (Riseborough),...
“First Ladies” Ordered to Series at Showtime, Viola Davis Stars as Michelle Obama
Viola Davis is paying tribute to Michelle Obama’s legacy. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Showtime has given a series order to “First Ladies,” an anthology series that sees the...
Study: Films Led by People of Color Tend to Out Earn Those with White Leads
A new report from USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative and ReFrame concludes — yet again — that diversity sells. “The Ticket to Inclusion” analyzed the economic...
Brenda Chapman Will Write and Direct “Ghost Squad”
Brenda Chapman is ready to step behind the camera again. Just weeks after the world premiere of “Come Away,” her “Alice in Wonderland” and “Peter Pan” prequel,...
Trailer Watch: Elle Fanning and Sally Potter Reunite to Explore “The Roads Not Taken”
Elle Fanning struggles to make sense of her dad’s chaotic mind in Sally Potter’s latest. A trailer has landed for “The Roads Not Taken,” which will make its world premiere at...
“FanGirl” Series in the Works from NFL’s First Female Coach
If you’re still on a football high thanks to the Super Bowl — and Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s dazzling half-time performance — you’ll be happy to know a new project is...
Trailer Watch: Rosamund Pike Is Marie Curie in Marjane Satrapi’s “Radioactive”
“I have been haunted my entire life trying to understand the impossible,” says Rosamund Pike in a new trailer for Marjane Satrapi’s “Radioactive.” The biopic sees the...
Women and POC Hit New Highs as Leads/Co-Leads in 2019’s Top Films, Study Finds
The Oscars and BAFTAs are still #SoWhite, but show business seems to be upping its on-screen inclusivity as of late. A new research brief from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that...
Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick’s “On the Record” Lands at HBO Max Following Sundance Premiere
After much controversy, Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick’s “On the Record” has found a new home. The film made headlines weeks ahead of its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival when...
Toni Collette Will Star in Netflix’s “Pieces of Her” Series Adaptation
Toni Collette is joining another Netflix series. She’ll follow up her Golden Globe-nominated role in “Unbelievable” with “Pieces of Her,” an adaptation of Karin...
Zheng Lu Xinyuan’s “The Cloud in Her Room” Wins IFFR’s Tiger Award
“The Cloud in Her Room” has been named as the 2020 winner of International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) Tiger Award. Founded in 1995 with the aim of “discovering, raising...
Tabitha Jackson Makes History as Sundance’s First Woman and POC Festival Director
Sundance is bringing on its first new Festival Director in 11 years — and she’s the first woman and person of color to take on the role. A press release has announced that, following a...
Trailer Watch: “Black Widow” Has a Choice to Make in Super Bowl Spot
“The Avengers weren’t my first family,” Natasha Romanoff reveals in “Black Widow’s” Super Bowl spot. The upcoming Marvel pic, the first from a solo woman director,...
Sundance: Women Sweep Major Directing Awards
The 2020 edition of Sundance Film Festival has come to a close. An awards ceremony was held Saturday in Park City, and “of the 28 prizes awarded … to 25 films – comprising the work of...
Trailer Watch: “Mulan” Takes the Oath of the Warrior and Goes to Battle
A new trailer for Disney’s live-action take on “Mulan” sees Yifei Liu taking the oath of the warrior, committing to be “loyal,” “brave,” and...
Sarah Shahi to Topline Netflix Series”Sex/Life,” Stacy Rukeyser Will Serve as Showrunner
Sarah Shahi is teaming up with former “UnREAL” showrunner Stacy Rukeyser on “Sex/Life,” a look inside an unusual love triangle that sees a woman torn between her past,...
Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Channing Godfrey Peoples – “Miss Juneteenth”
Channing Godfrey Peoples is an MFA graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and one of Filmmaker magazine’s 2018 “25 new faces of independent film.” She wrote two episodes of “Queen...
Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Susanne Regina Meures – “Saudi Runaway”
Susanne Regina Meures is a Swiss-German filmmaker. Her debut film, “Raving Iran,” premiered in 2016 and has been shown at over 130 film festivals worldwide, including Hot Docs and Visions...
Weekly Update for January 31: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING The Rhythm Section – Directed by Reed Morano Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively) is an ordinary woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed...
Jenny Bicks & Paul Feig’s Adaptation of UK Mockumentary Show “This Country” Gets Pilot Order at Fox
Jenny Bicks explored NYC with “Sex and the City” and the suburbs with “Divorce” — and now she’s heading to small town America. The writer-producer’s...
Julie Delpy Will Write and Star in Netflix/Canal+ Dramedy Series
Julie Delpy is taking on another medium. The prolific multi-hyphenate is set to write, exec produce, and star in a dramedy series that will air on Canal+ in France and Netflix around the rest of the...
Quote of the Day: Cynthia Erivo on Oscars’ Lack of Inclusivity & the Roles She Wants for Black Women
Despite the success and critical acclaim of films with racially inclusive casts this past year — “The Farewell,” “Hustlers,” and “Parasite” among them...
Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Zoé Wittock – “Jumbo”
Originally hailing from Belgium, Zoé Wittock grew up travelling the world. She attended the International Film School of Paris. Her shorts include “A demi-mot,” “Still,” and...
Trailer Watch: Issa Rae Is Afraid to Love in Stella Meghie’s “The Photograph”
“How are you supposed to know if you want to spend forever with someone?” asks Issa Rae in a new trailer for “The Photograph.” Stella Meghie’s romance sees the...
“The Crown” to End with Season 5, Imelda Staunton Will Star
“Harry Potter” actress Imelda Staunton will wear “The Crown” for the Netflix drama’s final season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the epic saga of Queen Elizabeth...