#Women Writers
Swipe Right: September’s VOD and Web Series Picks
This month’s VOD and web series picks offer a few different takes on dating in the modern age. With the adoption of social media, smart phones, and apps, navigating the dating world in a sea of...
Trailer Watch: Rachel Brosnahan Reinvigorates the Neighborhood in “Change in the Air”
Think of “Change in the Air” as “The Marvelous Ms. Miller.” A trailer for Dianne Dreyer’s new drama sees Rachel Brosnahan’s character, Wren Miller, enchanting...
TIFF Horror Pic “The Wind” Lands at IFC Midnight
“The Wind,” a horror-Western from Emma Tammi, made its world premiere earlier this month at the Toronto Film Festival, and now it’s making its way to theaters. A press release has...
International Documentary Association Awards $850,000 to Journalistic Documentaries
Documentary filmmaking is all the more important in the era of “fake news.” So the fact that the International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced a cohort of 12 films that will...
Emmys 2018: Amy Sherman-Palladino Makes History and Hannah Gadsby Calls Out #NotAllMen
“Gilmore Girls” was repeatedly and egregiously snubbed by the Emmys, but show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino finally got the last laugh. Her latest series, “The Marvelous Mrs....
Angelina Jolie to Topline and Produce Revenge Thriller “The Kept”
As “Tomb Raider,” “Wanted,” and “Salt” have shown, Angelina Jolie is not to be trifled with. The Oscar winner is set to headline another thriller, “The...
Amy Chozick’s 2016 Election Memoir “Chasing Hillary” Getting Series Treatment at Warner Bros.
Nearly two years later, it’s still hard to process what exactly happened on November 8, 2016 — and how Hillary Clinton lost the election. Journalist Amy Chozick has already shed some...
Elaine May Film Series to Screen in London
Elaine May’s filmography is being revisited. London’s Badlands Collective is hosting “Painfully Funny: The Complete Directorial Works of Elaine May,” a series celebrating...
Weekly Update for September 14: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Where Hands Touch – Written and Directed by Amma Asante “Where Hands Touch” is a coming of age story set in the most brutal of times: Germany, 1944. Leyna (Amandla...
TV News: Woman-Led “Lean On Me” Remake and Ann Patchett Adaptation On the Way
Two women-driven television adaptations are in the works. “Lean On Me,” a gender-flipped TV reboot of the classic Morgan Freeman film, is in development at The CW, and Emily Mortimer is...
Elizabeth Banks and LeBron James Team Up for Female-Led Basketball Drama at NBC
Elizabeth Banks is teaming up with one of the NBA’s all-time greats for “Hoops,” a basketball drama in development at NBC. The three-time Emmy nominated actress will exec produce...
Production Set on Cynthia Erivo-Led Harriet Tubman Biopic, Kasi Lemmons Directing
Production will soon be underway for Cynthia Erivo-starrer “Harriet.” Over a year and a half after news of the Harriet Tubman biopic originally broke, Focus Features has announced...
Kyra Sedgwick to Direct Supernatural Jennifer Lee Script “The Way Between”
“Frozen” and “A Wrinkle in Time” scribe Jennifer Lee is set to bring another otherworldly story to the big screen, and Kyra Sedgwick is steering the ship. “The...
Writer to Watch: Sierra Teller Ornelas of “Superstore”
Working on “Superstore,” the NBC comedy about a motley crew of employees at a big-box store, marked the first time Sierra Teller Ornelas wasn’t the only Latina in the...
Quote of the Day: “Designing Women” Creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason Calls Out Les Moonves
“In spite of my proper Southern mother’s admonition to always be gracious, I am all out of grace when it comes to Mr. Moonves,” Linda Bloodworth Thomason writes in a guest column for...
Trailer Watch: Kathryn Hahn Wants to Have a Baby in Tamara Jenkins’ “Private Life”
“Having a baby is an immoral act,” says Kathryn Hahn in a new trailer for “Private Life.” She cites “overpopulation, climate change, [and] rise of neo-fascism” as...
Learning to Heal: Crowdfunding Picks
Loss is a form of trauma that is universally felt yet difficult to describe. Because of this, countless creators and artists have attempted to depict it onscreen. Perhaps by doing so, we as viewers...
Pics from Aislinn Clarke & Tinna Hrafnsdóttir Among Boudica Films’ New Female-Led Projects
Boudica Films, the Rebecca Long and Ian Davies-led UK film fund that supports women-centric and -made pics, has announced its latest slate of projects. Per Screen Daily, two movies about...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Eva Husson — “Girls of the Sun”
Eva Husson is a writer and a director. Her short “Hope to Die” gained international recognition, including nominations at the Student Academy Awards, the American Society of...
Laura Moss to Make Feature Debut with “Frankenstein”-Inspired “After Birth”
A retooling of the “Frankenstein” tale is in development, and this version of Mary Shelley’s classic story centers on women. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Fangoria has...
Aleshea Harris to Adapt Her Award-Winning Play “Is God Is” for the Screen
“Is God Is” is heading to the big screen. Aleshea Harris will adapt her award-winning play about twin sisters on the revenge trail for Scott Rudin and A24, Broadway World...
Rosamund Pike, Lesli Linka Glatter, & Meredith Stiehm Team Up for “Banker’s Wife” Series
Following recent turns in “A Private War” and “Beirut,” Rosamund Pike has signed on to another dramatic, action-packed thriller. Deadline has revealed the “Gone...
Halle Berry to Direct and Star in MMA Drama “Bruised”
Halle Berry is set to channel Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey in her next pic. Deadline reports that the Oscar-winning actress will make her directorial debut with “Bruised,” a mixed...
Pic About Aviation Pioneer Pancho Barnes in the Works
Florence “Pancho” Barnes soared her way into history books, and now the trailblazer will have her story told on the screen. Genius Produced, a developer and producer of online learning...
Trailer Watch: Susan Sarandon Risks It All to Save Her Son in “Viper Club”
“Do you think I’m afraid of a jail sentence?” asks Susan Sarandon in the first trailer for Maryam Keshavarz’s “Viper Club.” The drama sees the Oscar winner playing...
Weekly Update for September 7: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING I Am Not a Witch – Written and Directed by Rungano Nyoni (Opens in NY; Opens in LA September 14) When eight-year-old Shula (Maggie Mulubwa) turns up alone and...
Study: Women Wrote Only 21% of Reviews on 2015-17’s Top Films, POC Just 17%
A new study from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative shows that, unfortunately, the severe underrepresentation of women critics and critics of color found in...
Fall 2018 Film Preview
By Keno Katsuda and Antora Majumdar Although 2018 is more than halfway over, there are still plenty of amazing women-centric and women-created films yet to be released. Emma Thompson leads one of the...
Trailer Watch: Harassment Makes a Woman’s New Job a Nightmare in TIFF Film “Working Woman”
“The administrative manager is my right hand,” Orna’s (Liron Ben-Shlush) new boss tells her in the trailer for Israeli drama “Working Woman.” She assists him at his...
TIFF News: Gemma Arterton to Topline Phyllis Nagy’s Dusty Springfield Biopic
Gemma Arterton is going to the Toronto International Film Festival with one film and leaving with another. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the “Vita and Virginia” actress will portray...
TV Preview: Series By and About Women Premiering This Fall
It’s always sad to see summer end, but at least we have the promise of fall TV to cheer us up. Autumn 2018 promises to be an exciting season for women-driven television projects. Some of the...
Christine Pietrosh & Jessica Goldstein’s “Family Friendly” Gets Put Pilot Commitment at ABC
ABC is taking on the bullshit mothers so often face in the workplace. According to Deadline, the network has given a put pilot commitment to Christine Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein’s...
Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan Will Sing to the Queen in “Military Wives”
Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan are teaming up and showing off their pipes. Variety confirms that the pair have signed on to star in “Military Wives,” a feature inspired by a BBC...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Renée Beaulieu — “The Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin”
Renée Beaulieu holds a degree in screenwriting from INIS (the National Institute of Image and Sound), a PhD in film studies, and is a certified pharmacist. Her previous features include “Le...
September 2018 Film Preview
While the summer movie season is winding down, the release of films by and about women is not. September features a bevy of women-driven indies and star-studded studio releases. The month kicks off...
Weekly Update for August 31: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING Let the Corpses Tan – Written and Directed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani (Opens in NY and LA) After stealing a truckload of gold bars, a gang of thieves...
YouTube Orders Theresa Rebeck Pilot About Gender Inequality in Gaming Industry
Theresa Rebeck has a new show in the works. The “Smash” creator is taking on the world of gaming — and tackling its infamous misogyny. Deadline reports that YouTube has given a...
Teaser Watch: Elena Ferrante’s Epic Tale of Female Friendship Comes to HBO in “My Brilliant Friend”
Elena and Lila’s story is just months away from its small screen premiere. The first teaser has dropped for “My Brilliant Friend.” Based on Elena Ferrante’s international...
Female UK Playwrights Call for More Women-Written Plays to Be Commissioned, Included in Canon
Charlotte Jones, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Tanika Gupta, and more playwrights are calling time’s up on UK theater’s exclusion of women writers. According to The Stage, they are demanding...
Sonia Sanchez Awarded $100,000 Lifetime Achievement Prize from Academy of American Poets
Sonia Sanchez is the recipient of The Academy of American Poets’ prestigious Wallace Stevens Award. The New York Times reports the poet, author, and activist received the $100,000 lifetime...
Trailer Watch: Anjelica Huston Won’t Be Bullied in Theresa Rebeck’s “Trouble”
Anjelica Huston and Theresa Rebeck are re-teaming for “Trouble.” A trailer for the drama about siblings feuding over property recently dropped. Huston and Rebeck previously collaborated...
Adina Pintilie’s Berlinale Winner “Touch Me Not” Snagged by Kino Lorber
“Touch Me Not” has secured North American distribution prior to its North American premiere at next month’s Toronto International Film Festival. Kino Lorber scored rights to the...
Rotten Tomatoes Updates Critics Criteria to Be More Inclusive, Adds Over 200 Tomatometer-Approved Writers
After recent studies from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found that film criticism is dominated by white men, Rotten Tomatoes is...
Trailer Watch: Joey King Loses Her Grandma and Gains a Mission in Teen Pic “Summer ’03”
Joey King feels pressure to make her grandma’s dying wish a reality in a new trailer for “Summer ’03.” As she takes her final breath, Grandma (June Squibb,...
Trailer Watch: An Army Vet Brings a Malevolent Force into Her Home in “Lost Child”
“These are the Ozarks woods,” a family friend reminds Fern (Leven Rambin, “True Detective”), an army veteran who has just returned home. “These people around here, they...
Weekly Update for August 24: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING The Bookshop – Written and Directed by Isabel Coixet (U.S. Release) (Opens in NY and LA) England, 1959. Free-spirited widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) risks...
Inclusive “Bewitched” Remake from Yamara Taylor & Kenya Barris Gets Pilot Commitment at ABC
Time to joyfully wiggle your nose. Deadline confirms a racially inclusive “Bewitched” remake is on the way at ABC. The sitcom, written by “Black-ish’s” Yamara Taylor and...
Sundance Institute Fellow Tayarisha Poe Directing Her First Feature Film
Tayarisha Poe’s “Selah and the Spades” is officially making its way to the big screen. According to Deadline, Poe is helming the film from her own script, marking her feature...
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen Writing Drama About Hawaiian Women for ABC, Viola Davis Producing
“Crazy Rich Asians” is breaking down barriers at the box office and on the small screen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the commercial and critical hit directly influenced...
Sharon Horgan to Make Her Feature Directorial Debut, Has Yet Another Show in the Works
Sharon Horgan is squeezing two more projects into her jam-packed schedule. Deadline confirms the “Catastrophe” star and co-creator will direct her first feature film, and is teaming up...
Trailer Watch: Nicole Holofcener Explores a Mid-Life Crisis in “The Land of Steady Habits”
Convinced that something needs to change, Anders Hill (Ben Mendelsohn) quits his job in finance, which he describes as a “system of monstrous greed.” He doesn’t need more toys or...