#Women Writers
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Eva Orner – “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator”
Eva Orner’s directing credits include “The Network,” “Chasing Asylum,” and “Out of Iraq.” She’s also produced many films, including “Taxi to the...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Lauren Greenfield – “The Kingmaker”
For the last 25 years, Lauren Greenfield has made documentaries about consumerism, youth culture, and gender. Her feature film credits include “Thin,” “The Queen of...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Kopple – “Desert One”
Barbara Kopple’s “Harlan County, USA” and “American Dream” both went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In addition to documentaries, she has also...
Weekly Update for September 6: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (Documentary) At the height of unprecedented success, Linda Ronstadt, a restless and adventurous artist, turned away from pop music to...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Eva Mulvad – “Love Child”
Eva Mulvad had her international breakthrough in 2006, with the release of documentary “Enemies of Happiness,” which followed a female politician in Afghanistan. The film won the World...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Marielle Heller – “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Marielle Heller’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” was nominated for three Academy Awards in 2019. Heller’s 2015 directorial debut, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” won...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Sanja Živković – “Easy Land”
Sanja Živković is a writer, director, and film professor. Her work is influenced by having grown up in both Serbia and Canada. She’s directed multiple short films, including...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Julie Delpy – “My Zoe”
Julie Delpy began her international career as an actress, then turned to writing and directing. Her first feature was 2007’s “2 Days in Paris,” for which she later directed a...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Antoneta Kastrati – “Zana”
Originally from Kosovo, Antoneta Kastrati’started directing in the late-1990s after surviving the war. She began tackling issues of post-war society in documentaries that she collaborated on...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Paula Hernández – “The Sleepwalkers”
Paula Hernández’s debut film, “Inheritance,” won Best First Feature from Argentina’s National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts. Her next two features,...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Heather Young – “Murmur”
“Murmur” is director Heather Young’s first feature. Her 2016 short “Fish” has played at festivals around the world. It won Best Short Film in the NSI Online Short Film...
Quote of the Day: “Crazy Rich Asians” Co-Writer Adele Lim On Pay Parity & Exiting the Sequel
“Crazy Rich Asians” grossed over $238 million worldwide at the box office, but one of the women paramount to its success found herself undervalued at the negotiating table for the smash...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Rojda Sekersöz – “My Life as a Comedian”
Rojda Sekersöz’s first feature, “Beyond Dreams,” debuted in 2017 and won the Göteborgs Film Festival’s Angelos and Audience Choice for Best Film. It also won Best Picture at...
“Grace and Frankie” to Conclude with Season 7, Making It Netflix’s Longest-Running Original
Some bittersweet news for “Grace and Frankie” fans. The platonic soulmates’ journey is coming to an end — but not before making history. Netflix has renewed the Jane Fonda and...
Ursula Le Guin’s “Earthsea” Being Developed as TV Series
Jennifer Fox is joining forces with A24 to bring Ursula Le Guin’s magnum opus to the small screen. The Oscar-nominated “Michael Clayton” producer is developing a TV series based on Le...
Trailer Watch: Jennifer Lopez Leads “Hustlers” to the Bank
Jennifer Lopez has scamming down to a science in a new trailer for “Hustlers.” She tells her fellow strip club employees that the Wall Street bros they’re targeting should be...
Lisa Langseth Has a Netflix Series on the Way
Lisa Langseth is bringing “Love & Anarchy” to Netflix. The streamer has commissioned the eight-part Swedish drama from the “Euphoria” filmmaker, Deadline...
Weekly Update for August 30: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Official Secrets – Written by Sara Bernstein, Gregory Bernstein, and Gavin Hood Based on world-shaking true events, “Official Secrets” tells the gripping...
Venice 2019 Women Directors: Meet Isabel Sandoval – “Lingua Franca”
Isabel Sandoval is a New York-based Filipina filmmaker. Her feature directorial debut, “Señorita,” premiered in competition at the 2011 Locarno Film Festival, and won the Emerging...
Trailer Watch: Uzo Aduba Starts an Education Reform Movement in “Miss Virginia”
“School or juvenile hall?” Uzo Aduba asks in the trailer for “Miss Virginia. “You have got to choose.” Her character, Virginia Walden, is talking to her son (Niles...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge to Be Honored with BAFTA LA Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s winning year continues. The “Fleabag” and “Killing Eve” creator has been announced as this year’s recipient of the BAFTA LA Britannia Award...
Exclusive: Kitty Green’s “The Assistant” Teams Up with The New York Women’s Foundation
Set to make its world premiere today at Telluride Film Festival, Kitty Green’s “The Assistant” follows one day in the life of a recent college grad and aspiring filmmaker who finds...
Julie Plec’s Adaptation of Amy Chozick’s “Chasing Hillary” Gets Series Order at Netflix
The TV adaptation of journalist Amy Chozick’s memoir “Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns and One Intact Glass Ceiling” is moving forward at Netflix. Per Variety, the...
Jill Soloway to Direct Julianne Moore in “Mothertrucker”
Emmy-winning “Transparent” creator, writer, director, and exec producer Jill Soloway is teaming up with Julianne Moore on their next project. They’ll direct the Oscar favorite in...
September 2019 Film Preview
By Jenna Dorsi and Camryn Garrett September is an exciting month for films from women with different stories, backgrounds, and experiences. From crowd-pleasers about women turning the tables on...
Rotten Tomatoes Added Over 600 Critics in Past Year, 55% Are Women
Last summer Rotten Tomatoes overhauled its critics criteria in an effort to be more inclusive, and added more than 200 writers to its ranks. It seems that forward momentum has not slowed down over...
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” Renewed for Season 2
Robin Thede and Co. will be bringing more hilarious sketches like “Negro League Groupies,” “No Makeup,” and “Bad Bitch Support Group” to the small screen. HBO has...
Sarah Hyland and Emily V. Gordon Team Up for ABC Comedy
“Modern Family’s” Sarah Hyland is joining forces with the Oscar-nominated co-writer of “The Big Sick.” Hyland will collaborate with Emily V. Gordon on a...
Trish Sie to Direct “The Sleepover” for Netflix
Trish Sie has lined up her next feature. Deadline reports that she’s locked in to direct “The Sleepover” for Netflix. Penned by Sarah Rothschild, the family pic tells the story of...
Melina Matsoukas’ “Queen & Slim” Will Open AFI FEST 2019
Melina Matsoukas is returning to the American Film Institute (AFI). According to a press release, the AFI alumna’s feature directorial debut, “Queen & Slim,” will make its world...
Ava DuVernay to Be Honored with PEN America’s Voice of Influence Award
A well-deserved honor is coming Ava DuVernay’s way. The Emmy-nominated “When They See Us” creator is set to receive Pen America’s Voice of Influence Award. Deadline broke the...
Teaser Watch: Hailee Steinfeld Can’t Be Tamed in “Dickinson”
Hailee Steinfeld refuses to be shackled by society’s constraints in a new teaser for “Dickinson.” The Oscar-nominated actress plays Emily Dickinson in the upcoming Apple TV+ series...
Weekly Update for August 23: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Vita & Virginia – Directed by Chanya Button; Written by Chanya Button and Eileen Atkins (Available on VOD August 30) Set amidst the bohemian high society of 1920s...
Wanda Sykes, Page Hurwitz, and Kim McKoy Developing “W.H.I.P.s” at BET
Wanda Sykes recently scored two Emmy nods for her Netflix special, “Not Normal,” and now the comedian is set to add another project to her packed slate. BET has put a half-hour...
Trailer Watch: Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe Find the Horror in Suburbia in “Greener Grass”
“On the surface, ‘Greener Grass’ is a comedy satirizing suburbia, but to us it’s a horror movie,” writer-directors Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe told Women and Hollywood...
Trailer Watch: Eliza Scanlen Is Transformed by Love in Shannon Murphy’s “Babyteeth”
A trailer has dropped for Shannon Murphy’s feature directorial debut. “Babyteeth” sees “Sharp Objects” breakout Eliza Scanlen playing another disturbed, rebellious teen....
Billie Piper to Topline Sky Drama “I Hate Suzy”
Billie Piper is re-teaming with “Secret Diary of a Call Girl” scribe Lucy Prebble. The pair are credited as co-creators on “I Hate Suzy,” an eight-part series that’s...
Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Program Surpasses Parity Target, Sets New Goal
In December 2015 Australian state film fund Screen Australia unveiled Gender Matters, an initiative encouraging greater gender representation in film and TV. As part of the program, women would...
Agnieska Holland’s “Mr. Jones” Acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films
Samuel Goldwyn Films has snagged North American rights to Agnieska Holland’s latest, “Mr. Jones.” Variety confirmed the news. Penned by Andrea Chalupa, “Mr. Jones” is based on...
Trailer Watch: “Sister Aimee” Is an Evangelist With a Hell of a Story to Tell
“I’m just an entertainer, that’s all,” says Aimee Semple McPherson (Anna Margaret Hollyman, “20 Weeks”) in a new trailer for “Sister Aimee.” “I...
Women and Hollywood’s Picks of the Week for August 22
Note: Picks of the Week will be going on hiatus until mid-September. We hope you have a great end of the summer. Picks of the Week offers Women and Hollywood’s top recommendations —...
Germany Adds “System Crasher” to the International Feature Film Oscar Race
“System Crasher” may be heading to the Oscars. A press release announced that Germany has selected Nora Fingscheidt’s debut feature as their submission for Best International...
Lena Dunham Launches Production Company and Announces a Slew of New Projects
Lena Dunham, “a voice of a generation,” continues to make a major mark on pop culture post-“Girls.” The Golden Globe-winning multi-hyphenate has launched a new production...
Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger, and Fan Bingbing’s “355” Gets Release Date
“355” has a release date. The star-studded Universal Pictures spy thriller sees Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger, and Fan Bingbing teaming up to prevent an international...
Lana Wachowski to Write and Direct a Fourth “Matrix”
A whole new generation will have to decide between red pills and blue pills. Neo and Trinity are headed back to theaters. A fourth “Matrix” installment is on the way with the...
Stacy Rukeyser Lands Series Order from Netflix for “Sex/Life”
Former “UnREAL” showrunner Stacy Rukeyser has another soapy dramedy on the way. Netflix has given a straight-to-series order for “Sex/Life,” The Hollywood Reporter confirms....
Exploring Trauma: VOD and Web Series Picks
In media, women’s pain is usually used to motivate men. So there’s a real demand for nuanced portrayals of female trauma, which looks at what women are actually going through — as...
HBO Max Slate Includes Projects from Meryl Streep, Lena Dunham and “Practical Magic” Prequel
HBO Max’s lineup is coming into focus. The upcoming WarnerMedia streaming service has ordered pilots for a half-hour dramedy from “Girls” alumna Lena Dunham and a “Practical...
Trailer Watch: Gitanjali Rao Tells an Epic Love Story in “Bombay Rose”
Variety has dropped a trailer for Gitanjali Rao’s feature debut, “Bombay Rose.” The musical romance is slated to kick off the 2019 Venice Critics’ Week on August 28. Set on the...
Trailer Watch: Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon Reinvent “The Morning Show”
“Good morning. I’m bringing you some sad and upsetting news. And while I don’t know the details of the allegations, Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell), my co-host and partner of 15 years...
Writer to Watch: Sofia Alvarez of the “To All the Boys” Films
Though “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is screenwriter Sofia Alvarez’s first feature film, she’s been writing for the majority of her life. As the Baltimore native told the Baltimore...