#Feminism
Petra Volpe’s “The Divine Order” Wins Tribeca Audience Award
A woman-helmed film has won another major Tribeca honor. Just days ago we reported that women directors dominated the fest’s top awards, and now a press release has announced that Petra Volpe’s...
Barbra Streisand Started Directing Because She “Couldn’t Be Heard”
Barbra Streisand didn’t mince words when Robert Rodriguez interviewed her at the Tribeca Film Festival this past weekend —of course, we wouldn’t have it any other way. The famously outspoken...
Guest Post: Producing Partners Discuss How Men Can Support Female Filmmakers
Guest Post by Ela Thier My new film, “Tomorrow Ever After,” got made because in addition to relying on women, I rely on the men I work with to act as my allies. I do it by offering information...
Only Five of Disney’s Slated Films Through 2021 Are Directed by Women
Disney has unveiled the premiere dates for its upcoming films from next Friday’s “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2” through the end of 2021. Per Variety, none of the remaining 2017 films are...
“Lipstick Under My Burkha” Set for Release in India After Censorship Threat
“Lipstick Under My Burkha” will screen in India after all. Per The Hollywood Reporter, India’s Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) overruled the Censor Board’s initial decision to...
Help Us Build Resources
We are working to build some new resources on Women and Hollywood. We’re creating a list of all the databases that are out there for hiring women (The Director List, illuminatrix, etc.) We are...
Research: Women Writers Comprise 29% of Self-Reported Scripts on Black List Website
Elyse Hollander’s Madonna biopic “Blond Ambition” topped the 2016 Black List The lack of opportunities for women in Hollywood is disappointing, but isn’t really a surprise anymore. What may...
Globe Artistic Director Emma Rice Gives Primer on the Importance of Trust in Art
Emma Rice has been blazing trails throughout her short tenure as artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe. Per the New York Times, Rice has been open about her mixed feelings about Shakespeare’s...
Listen: Podcast with “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” Executive Producer Lydia Dean Pilcher
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” uncovers important history that’s gone largely unwritten. We should all know the name Henrietta Lacks. The African-American tobacco farmer’s cells...
Anne Hathaway Talks Internalized Misogyny and Working with Lone Scherfig
Anne Hathaway is an outspoken advocate of gender equality in Hollywood and beyond. The Oscar winner is a global goodwill ambassador for UN Women, the UN agency working towards gender equality and...
Trailer Watch: Nicole Kidman Gets an Unwanted Guest in Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled”
“You’re a most unwelcome visitor,” Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman) informs the wounded John McBurney (Colin Farrell) in a new trailer for Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled.” “And we do...
Cannes 2017: Directors’ Fortnight Lineup Is 35% Women-Directed
Cannes has announced its 2017 Director’s Fortnight lineup, and seven of 20 films screening are helmed by women, amounting to 35 percent of the slate. This is a dramatic improvement from last year,...
Glamour and Girlgaze Partner for #NewView Short Film Competition
Glamour magazine is teaming up with digital media company Girlgaze to support young female filmmakers. A press release announced that the two companies are launching #NewView, a film competition for...
Academy CEO Dawn Hudson Renews Contract Through 2020
Dawn Hudson has signed on for another three years at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. According to Variety, the Academy’s Board of Governors voted to renew the CEO’s contract...
Jessica Chastain on the Power of Saying “No” and Her Fight for Equal Pay
Jessica Chastain is continuing to fight the good fight. The wonderfully outspoken advocate for gender equality in Hollywood frequently draws attention to the industry’s double standards, and in...
450 Sexual Assault Survivors Draft Letter Demanding Fox News Fire Bill O’Reilly
Here’s a talking point for you, Bill. Over 450 sexual assault survivors wrote an open letter urging 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch to fire Bill O’Reilly, holding him accountable for his...
Quote of the Day: Romola Garai Explains How Hollywood Makes Women Feel Inadequate
Romola Garai is a two-time Golden Globe nominated actress, but she has a less than favorable opinion of Hollywood. “I did a bit of modeling when I was a teenager and, even then, nobody asked me to...
Kelly Marie Tran’s Character Will Be a Major Part of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
Kelly Marie Tran has joined the Resistance. The actress-comedian “has the biggest new part” — the character Rose — in the highly-anticipated “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,”...
Four Books from “Big Little Lies” Author Liane Moriarty Headed to the Screen
The “Big Little Lies” finale was less than two weeks ago and fans are clamoring for more time with Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Bonnie, and Renata. There have been rumors of a possible second season...
Gurinder Chadha Joins UK Initiative Tackling Gender Imbalance in the Film Industry
Based in the UK and want to learn from the best and brightest in the film business? Listen up. Female Film Leaders is an industry forum that “aims to equip up-and-coming female film industry...
Laura Poitras’ Julian Assange Doc “Risk” Gets Release Date & Trailer
The Julian Assange documentary “Risk” is receiving a theatrical release. According to a press statement, Showtime Documentary Films and NEON will bring Laura Poitras’ doc to theaters May 5. It...
Melissa McCarthy to Be Honored at Artemis Women in Action Film Fest
Melissa McCarthy’s filmography includes roles such as a ghost-catcher, spy, and cop, so it comes as no surprise that the Oscar-nominated actress will be honored with the Powerhouse award by the...
Cannes 2017: Women in Motion Announces Young Talents Award Details & Names Isabelle Huppert as Face…
Cannes 2017: Women in Motion Announces Young Talents Award Details & Names Isabelle Huppert as Face of Program The film lineup for the 70th Cannes Film Festival will be announced in a couple...
Lynn Nottage Becomes the First Woman to Win Pulitzer Prize Twice for Drama
Playwright Lynn Nottage has been honored with the Pulitzer Prize for “Sweat,” her play about dissatisfaction, anger, and resentment among the working class. To make the occasion even more...
Teaser Watch: “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” with Sam Bee Toasts the Free Press
The fascist-in-chief won’t be attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, but “Full Frontal’s” Samantha Bee isn’t passing up the chance to honor the peaceful coexistence of the...
Guest Post: A Summary of the Inaugural Women’s Media Summit
Guest Post by Maria Giese On March 31, 2017, 114 women gathered in Provincetown, Massachusetts for the inaugural Women’s Media Summit, a three-day think-tank forum designed to solve gender...
“UnREAL” Co-Creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro Inks Deal with A+E Studios
Looks like Sarah Gertrude Shapiro will be creating more content for A+E Studios. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the “UnREAL” co-creator has signed a multiyear overall deal with the...
Quote of the Day: “Good Girls Revolt’s” Genevieve Angelson on Equal Pay
In an article for Elle, “Good Girls Revolt” alumna Genevieve Angelson writes about an aspect of the gender pay gap that doesn’t get much attention: There is a stigma surrounding any and all...
Iliza Shlesinger’s Late-Night Show “Truth & Iliza” Gets Premiere Date
“Confirmed Kills” stand-up Iliza Schlesinger will soon be joining the Late Night Wars. The Tracking Board writes that Schlesinger’s “Truth & Iliza” will debut May 2 on Freeform and its...
Gemma Arterton Talks Sexism and Likability in “Their Finest”
“Their Finest” sees Gemma Arterton playing Catrin, a young woman hired to write lines for women in British war propaganda movies. It’s a movie within a movie dealing with gender roles in the...
Catherine Hardwicke Set to Direct “Miss Bala” Remake for Sony
Catherine Hardwicke has found her next gig. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the “Twilight” director will helm Sony’s remake of “Miss Bala,” a 2011 Mexican drama from...
Theresa Rebeck Opens Up About Being Fired from “Smash”
“The misogyny is beyond anything that people believe,” “Smash” creator and former showrunner Theresa Rebeck writes in an essay entitled “What Came Next.” “On my first job in...
Kelly Ripa Developing “Geek Girl Rising” as Scripted TV Series for ABC
Kelly Ripa is bringing women in tech to the small screen. The “Live! with Kelly” host and her husband, Mark Consuelos, will develop the upcoming book “Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood...
Lifetime and National Women’s Soccer League Announce 2017 Game of the Week Schedule
Credit: NWSL’s Twitter account Lifetime and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) have revealed the 2017 NWSL Game of the Week on Lifetime live broadcast schedule. According to a press...
Quote of the Day: Ellen Pompeo Praises Shonda Rhimes’ Leadership
Ellen Pompeo made her directorial debut on last night’s episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” after 13 seasons of portraying the titular Dr. Meredith Grey. And it seems as though her boss,...
Guest Post: How One Non-Profit Changed The Game For Parents At SXSW
Guest Post By Christy Lamb and Mathilde Dratwa INT. BEDROOM — VERY EARLY MORNING Actress and director Foster Wilson has just found out that a film she worked on, “The Archer,” will be...
Drew Barrymore, Samantha Bee, America Ferrara, & More to Be Honored at the Gracie Awards
The recipients of the 42nd annual Gracie Awards have been announced via the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF). Taking place June 6 in Beverly Hills, the Gracies “honor exemplary...
Listen: Podcast with “Harlots” Producer Alison Owen
“Harlots” premieres today on Hulu. I had a conversation with producer Alison Owen about the brothel drama, set in London during the 18th century. In this podcast, we talk about her foray into...
Male Privilege Watch: Chris Addison to Make Feature Debut with “Nasty Women”
Here we go again. Yet another newbie male director has been given the reins to a much anticipated women-centric project. This time it’s Chris Addison making his feature directorial debut with the...
A Conversation with “The Zookeeper’s Wife” Director Niki Caro
We have been anxiously awaiting “The Zookeeper’s Wife” ever since Jessica Chastain’s 2015 guest feature for The Hollywood Reporter. Long before its release, Niki Caro’s film was labeled a...
Jessica Chastain and Niki Caro on “The Zookeeper’s Wife” and the Importance of Recognizing Women in…
Jessica Chastain and Niki Caro on “The Zookeeper’s Wife” and the Importance of Recognizing Women in History “The Zookeeper’s Wife” “The Zookeeper’s Wife” tells the powerful story...
WTF of the Day: Aaron Sorkin Was Unaware of Hollywood’s Diversity Problem
“Are you saying that women and minorities have a more difficult time getting their stuff read than white men and you’re also saying that [white men] get to make mediocre movies and can continue...
What Happened to the Women Directors in Hollywood? Part 5: 2000–2017
Mira Nair and Ava DuVernay: Wikimedia Commons/IndiaFM/Bollywoodhungama/usbotschaftberlin by Carrie Rickey This five-part Truthdig series by Carrie Rickey is published in partnership with Women and...
Brie Larson to Play First Female US Presidential Candidate in “Victoria Woodhull”
Brie Larson has her eyes set on the White House. The “Room” actress has signed on to play trailblazing women’s rights activist Victoria Woodhull, who made history as the first woman to run for...
Number of Comedy Central Specials from Women Slowly-but-Surely Increasing
At the beginning of the decade it was pretty much bros making stuff for other bros — plus “The Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” — at Comedy Central. But since the advent of...
Quote of the Day: Jennifer Lopez Says Roles Like “Selena” Are “Few and Far Between”
“It was a meaty role, but it was few and far between, especially for Latinos to have a role like that,” Jennifer Lopez recently told Variety, discussing her Golden Globe-nominated role in...
Toxic Masculinity in “Beauty and the Beast”
“Beauty and the Beast” is doing huge numbers at the box office. Its first weekend in theaters proved — yet again — that women can more than hold their own at the box office. The...
New Play “Offside” Explores British Women’s 50-Year Ban from Soccer
A new play will tell the story of how Britain’s Football Association (FA) banned women from soccer for 50 years, The Guardian writes. Written by Sabrina Mahfouz and Hollie McNish, “Offside”...
“A Woman, a Part” Director Elisabeth Subrin on Making a Movie About a Woman Over 40
Elisabeth Subrin’s critically acclaimed films and video art have screened widely internationally, including at The New York Film Festival, The Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Vienna...
Artemis Women in Action Film Festival Announces 2017 Honorees
The Artemis Women in Action Film Festival has announced the honorees for its 2017 edition. Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Cynthia Rothrock, Gina Carano, and Luci Romberg will be celebrated in April, a press...
“Beauty and the Beast” Wins U.S. and Global Box Office and Smashes Records
Turns out Belle’s life is anything but provincial. The Emma Watson-led “Beauty and the Beast” opened huge this past weekend, earning $170 million in North America and $350 million globally. If...