ALL POSTS
Women and Hollywood’s Picks of the Week for January 23
Picks of the Week offers Women and Hollywood’s top recommendations — women-driven and women-made movies, series, VOD releases, and more — and tells you why they are worth your time and...
Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Fernanda Valadez – “Identifying Features”
Director and producer Fernanda Valadez’s short “400 Maletas” was nominated for a Silver Ariel and a finalist for a Student Academy Award. She produced Astrid Rondero’s...
Rosario Dawson Will Topline Ava DuVernay’s “DMZ” Adaptation at HBO Max
Rosario Dawson is joining another comic adaptation. The “Luke Cage,” “Iron Fist,” and “Defenders” alumna is set to topline “DMZ,” an HBO Max pilot...
Sundance, SXSW, TIFF, & More Will Earmark Portion of Press Credentials for Time’s Up Critical
Several fests including Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, TIFF, and Athena Film Festival will ensure more women, people of color, and other marginalized communities receive press credentials. According to...
Study: BFI Makes Progress with Implementation of Diversity Standards, but Further Change Is Needed
In June 2016, the British Film Institute (BFI) introduced guidelines to increase and improve diversity on-screen and off. These Diversity Standards addressed inclusion in regards to on-camera...
Trailer Watch: Taylor Swift Embraces Her True Voice in “Miss Americana”
“A nice girl doesn’t force their opinions on people. A nice girl smiles and waves and says thank you. I became the person everyone wanted me to be,” explains Taylor Swift in a new...
Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Radha Blank – “The 40-Year-Old Version”
Radha Blank is performer, writer, and director. A Helen Merrill Award recipient, Blank’s acclaimed play “Seed” was deemed “fresh, lively…and poetic” by the Huffington...
Trailer Watch: Unlikely Friends Bond Over Their Love of the Rodeo in Annie Silverstein’s “Bull”
A trailer has dropped for “Bull,” Annie Silverstein’s portrait of the unlikely friendship between two neighbors in Texas: Abe (Rob Morgan), a black, aging ex-bullfighter, and Kris...
Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Josephine Decker – “Shirley”
Josephine Decker’s feature “Madeline’s Madeline” made its world premiere at Sundance 2018 and went on to receive a nomination for Best Picture at IFP’s Gotham Awards as well as two...
Gal Gadot and Vanessa Roth Are Teaming Up for Nat Geo Doc Series About Inspiring Young Women
Gal Gadot is helping pay tribute to other heroines. The “Wonder Woman” star is signed on to exec produce a Nat Geo short-form doc series that “follows the stories of young women...
Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Phyllida Lloyd – “Herself”
Phyllida Lloyd is known for her award-winning work in theater, opera, and film. In 2008, she directed the film version of “Mamma Mia,” which went on to make over $600 million worldwide....
Laura Dern Will Play a Bartender in Quibi Series “Just One Drink”
Laura Dern coached Scarlett Johansson through a messy divorce in “Marriage Story,” and now the Oscar nominee is set to offer a sympathetic ear to a bunch of other unhappy characters....
Chicken & Egg Announces 2020 Award Recipients and Introduces Project: Hatched
Chicken & Egg Pictures is ringing in the new year by naming the recipients of its 2020 Chicken & Egg Awards and introducing its newest programs, Project: Hatched and the Chicken & Egg...
Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Kitty Green – “The Assistant”
Kitty Green is an award-winning Australian filmmaker. Her debut documentary feature, “Ukraine Is Not a Brothel,” explored a provocative feminist movement in Ukraine. After making its...
Trailer Watch: Alison Brie Makes Her Screenwriting Debut with “Horse Girl”
Alison Brie conquered the squared circle as Zoya the Destroyer and now the “GLOW” star is continuing to flex her muscles behind the scenes. In 2019 Brie made her directing debut on the...
Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Brenda Chapman – “Come Away”
Brenda Chapman began her career at Walt Disney Feature Animation, working on films that include the Academy Award–nominated “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King,” for...
Trailer Watch: Blake Lively Transforms into an Assassin in Reed Morano’s “The Rhythm Section”
“I’m gonna do this my way,” says Blake Lively in a new trailer for Reed Morano’s “The Rhythm Section.” The action-packed thriller sees Lively’s grieving...
Sundance 2020 Preview: #MeToo Stories, a Gloria Steinem Biopic, Biased Technology, & More
The 2020 Sundance Film Festival kicks off Thursday and its slate is packed with titles by and about women. Women and Hollywood has put together a rundown of some of the buzziest films screening in...
Chelsea Winstanley Forms New Production Company, Will Make Her Feature Directorial Debut
Chelsea Winstanley is flying high. She recently made history as the first indigenous woman producer to score an Oscar nod for Best Picture, for “Jojo Rabbit.” Now she’s launched a...
The Roles We Play: Crowdfunding Picks
Figuring out who you are — and who you want to be — can be a difficult process, especially in a world so eager to put limitations on which identities are considered acceptable. This is an...
Billie Holiday Doc “Billie” Lands at Greenwich Entertainment
Greenwich Entertainment, the distributor behind “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice,” one of 2019’s top docs, will release Billie Holiday documentary “Billie” this...
Teaser Watch: Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington Square Off in “Little Fires Everywhere”
A stunned Reese Witherspoon watches her picture-perfect home burn to the ground in a new teaser for “Little Fires Everywhere.” An adaptation of Celeste Ng’s best-selling novel, the...
Playwright Bess Wohl on Her Broadway Debut “Grand Horizons”
Playwright Bess Wohl is making her Broadway debut this season with “Grand Horizons,” the story of a couple (Jane Alexander and James Cromwell) who move to a quiet retirement community...
Weekly Update for January 17: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Troop Zero – Directed by Bert & Bertie; Written by Lucy Alibar (Available on Amazon Prime) Nine-year-old oddball Christmas Flint (Mckenna Grace) is obsessed with...
Trailer Watch: A Couple Navigates Love, Class, and Family in Ava DuVernay’s “Cherish the Day”
“It’s beautiful for the most part, but it comes at a cost,” Gently James (Xosha Roquemore, “The Mindy Project”) says of the connection she shares with Evan Fisher (Alano...
An Adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s “Binti” Is in the Works at Hulu
“Binti” is making its way to the screen. An adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s award-winning sci-fi novella is in the works at Hulu. The streamer handed out a script order to the TV...
Trailer Watch: Amy Ryan Leads the Search for Her Missing Daughter in Liz Garbus’ “Lost Girls”
A trailer has arrived for Liz Garbus’ first narrative feature. “Lost Girls” is inspired by true events and sees the Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker telling the story of a...
Suranne Jones Will Lead BBC Thriller “Vigil”
Suranne Jones is adding yet another series to her packed slate. The “Gentleman Jack” star recently signed on to star and produce a series based on the life of five-time female world...
Trailer Watch: Grace VanderWaal Brings Magic to Her New School in Julia Hart’s “Stargirl”
“Don’t you want the universe to hear you?” asks Grace VanderWaal in a new trailer for “Stargirl.” Disney+’s film adaptation of the best-selling YA novel sees the...
Chinonye Chukwu Will Direct the First Two Episodes of Lupita Nyong’o-Led “Americanah” Adaptation
The dream team behind HBO Max’s adaptation of “Americanah” just added another member to their folds. Deadline reports that “Clemency” writer-director Chinonye Chukwu has...
Guest Post: Tired of Playing the Replaceable Wife, I Decided to Pursue Directing
Guest Post by Ashley Williams I’d been counting the calls. The phone in my back pocket buzzed for the 10th time. Or was it the 11th? I still didn’t reach for it. Her face flashed in my head....
Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady Team Up with Ronan Farrow for HBO Doc About Threats Against Journalists
Oscar-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady will examine the threats, intimidation, and violence used to silence journalists with Ronan Farrow for their next project. Deadline confirms...
Women Directed or Co-Directed 70 Percent of SXSW’s 2020 Competition Titles
Women-directed offerings dominate South by Southwest’s (SXSW) 2020 Competition lineups. The Austin, Texas-based fest just announced the program for its 27th edition, and women helmed or...
Cate Blanchett Will Be Jury President at 2020 Venice Film Festival
Well, maybe the 77th Venice International Film Festival will include more than one or two woman-directed features in competition. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cate Blanchett has been named...
Lulu Wang, Céline Sciamma, and More Women Directors Spotlighted by Alice Initiative
If you’re still (rightfully) pissed about the male-dominated Oscar nominations, the Alice Initiative has something that will make you feel better. The org has unveiled its annual list of rising...
Elizabeth Banks Is Hasty Pudding’s Woman of the Year
Elizabeth Banks is following in the footsteps of the likes of Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, and Meryl Streep. The multi-hyphenate has been named Hasty Pudding’s 2020 Woman of the Year....
2020 Athena Film Fest to Open with “I Am Woman” and Close with “Rocks”
The Athena Film Festival (AFF) at Barnard College has announced its 2020 program. The 10th annual edition of the fest will kick off with the New York Premiere of “I Am Woman,” Unjoo...
Peggy Holmes Will Direct “Luck”
Peggy Holmes is boarding “Luck.” She’s replacing Alessandro Carloni as director on the Skydance Animation feature due to the latter’s “creative differences” with...
“Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens” Renewed at Comedy Central Ahead of Series Premiere
Awkwafina will be “Nora From Queens” for at least two seasons. Deadline reports the Golden Globe winner’s upcoming Comedy Central show, “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens,”...
Tilda Swinton to Be Honored with BFI Fellowship and BFI Southbank Season
The BFI is paying tribute to Tilda Swinton. The Oscar and BAFTA winner will receive the BFI Fellowship to honor and celebrate her “daringly eclectic and striking talents as a performer and...
Sarah Gavron Named Jury Chair for the BFI Future Film Festival Awards
Sarah Gavron will help celebrate the next generation of auteurs. A press release announced that the “Suffragette” helmer has been named Jury Chair of the BFI Future Film Festival, a UK...
PBS to Honor Women’s Vote Centennial with Programming About Suffragists, Feminists, & More
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment — which granted women the right to vote in the U.S. — PBS is highlighting stories about groundbreaking women this...
Trailer Watch: Aidy Bryant Is Figuring Things Out in “Shrill” Season 2
Aidy Bryant is convinced she’s “finally figuring things out” in a new trailer for “Shrill’s” second season, but there are still plenty of bumps along the road....
“Fleabag,” “GLOW,” “When They See Us,” and More Receive ReFrame’s TV Stamp
Twenty-one television series from the 2018-2019 season have received the ReFrame Stamp — “Fleabag” and “When They See Us” among them. As Variety reports, 10 of those...
Rachel Bloom and Betsy Sodaro Score Pilot Order from Pop TV for “Mother Mary”
Our favorite crazy ex-girlfriend is set to play the mother of the Antichrist. Rachel Bloom will follow-up her beloved CW musical series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” with “Mother...
Cynthia Nixon Will Direct Groundbreaking Lesbian Play “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove” on Broadway
Theater mainstay Cynthia Nixon is returning to Broadway — but this time as a director. The “Sex and the City” alumna is set to helm a 40th anniversary production of Jane Chambers’...
Watch: Scarlett Johansson and Cate Shortland Discuss the Evolution of “Black Widow” in Featurette
Scarlett Johansson has played Natasha Romanoff — better known as Black Widow — for a decade. The former KGB assassin was introduced in 2010’s “Iron Man 2,” and now,...
Judith Helfand’s “Cooked: Survival By Zip Code” to Air on PBS’ “Independent Lens”
“Cooked: Survival By Zip Code” will air on PBS as part of “Independent Lens.” A press release confirmed that Judith Helfand’s documentary about the 1995 Chicago heat...
Suranne Jones to Star in and Produce TV Series Inspired by World Boxing Champ Jane Couch
Suranne Jones is set to play another trailblazer. The star of HBO/BBC’s “Gentleman Jack” will star in and produce a series based on the life of five-time female world boxing...
Mélanie Laurent to Write and Direct Adaptation of “The Mad Women’s Ball”
Just over a month after word came that Mélanie Laurent will direct Elle and Dakota Fanning in an adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s “The Nightingale” comes news that she’s...
“The L Word: Generation Q” and “Work in Progress” Renewed at Showtime
Two series about the lives and loves of queer women are getting second seasons at Showtime. Variety confirms that the cabler has renewed both “The L Word: Generation Q” and “Work in Progress”...