Weekly Update for December 21: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Season’s greetings from Women and Hollywood! Thank you so much for your continued support of our work. We’ll be taking some time off for the holidays, so this will be our last weekly update of 2018. The next one will be posted January 4, 2019.

Have a wonderful holiday and see you next year!

FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING

On the Basis of Sex – Directed by Mimi Leder (Opens December 25)

“On the Basis of Sex” is a movie that takes place in the 1950s but, sadly, feels like it could be set yesterday or tomorrow. The early years of the now-notorious RBG are basically a superhero origin story without the flying. RBG (Felicity Jones) graduates at the top of her class at Columbia yet can’t get a job because she is a woman. Her husband, Marty (Armie Hammer) — and this is one of the best marriages depicted on-screen — finds her a case that will allow her to challenge laws that discriminate against women. The movie is also a reminder that even Supreme Court Justices were at one time inexperienced, and there are some painful scenes where Ruth has to figure out how to argue a case. Those moments are inspirational. She changed the law, and she changed our world. (Melissa Silverstein)

Find screening info here.

Bumblebee – Written by Christina Hodson

“Bumblebee”

On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small California beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary yellow VW bug. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Christina Hodson.

Find screening info here.

Second Act – Written by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Justin Zackham

“Second Act”

“Second Act” is a comedy in the vein of “Working Girl” and “Maid in Manhattan.” Jennifer Lopez stars as Maya, a 40-year-old woman struggling with frustrations from unfulfilled dreams. Until, that is, she gets the chance to prove to Madison Avenue that street smarts are as valuable as book smarts, and that it is never too late for a second act. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Destroyer – Directed by Karyn Kusama (Opens December 25 in NY and LA)

“Destroyer”

“Destroyer” follows the moral and existential odyssey of LAPD detective Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) who, as a young cop, was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges many years later, she must work her way back through the remaining members and into her own history with them to finally reckon with the demons that destroyed her past. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Karyn Kusama.

Delaware Shore (Opens in LA)

“Delaware Shore” follows the life of a Holocaust survivor, Agnes (Gail Wagner), who escapes a concentration camp and finds refuge on a Delaware beach. Haunted by the war and its atrocities, she finds herself doing the bare minimum to raise her abandoned twin grandchildren. (Press materials)

FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING

“Welcome to Marwen”

Welcome to Marwen – Written by Caroline Thompson and Robert Zemeckis

When a devastating attack shatters Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell) and wipes away all his memories, no one expected recovery. Putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous town where he can heal and be heroic. As he builds an astonishing art installation — a testament to the most powerful women he knows — through his fantasy world, he draws strength to triumph in the real one. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Between Worlds – Written and Directed by Maria Pulera

A lonely, grief-stricken truck driver (Nicolas Cage) stumbles onto a horrific scene in a remote truck stop. A woman is being strangled. He leaps out of his cab and pulls off the attacker, but, strangely, the woman is angry that he interfered. Was he interrupting a suicide? A murder? He’s about to be swept into a world beyond his comprehension. (Press materials)

TV PREMIERES

“Derry Girls”

Derry Girls – Created by Lisa McGee (Premieres December 21 on Netflix)

“Derry Girls” features the personal exploits of a 16-year-old girl, her family, and friends during the Troubles in the early ‘90s. (Press materials)

Sommore: A Queen with No Spades (Comedy Special) – Written by Sommore and Wayne Baxley (Premieres December 21 on Showtime)

“Sommore: A Queen with No Spades”

Sommore is back for her fourth self-produced comedy special. She covers topics ranging from her own personal growth and development to her unique perspective on life, politics, and individual choice. (Press materials)

Vanity Fair (Miniseries) – Written by Gwyneth Hughes (Premieres December 21 on Amazon Prime)

“Vanity Fair”

In a world where everyone is striving for what is not worth having, no one is more determined to climb to the heights of English Society than Miss Rebecca Sharp (Olivia Cooke). (Press materials)

Into the Dark: New Year New You – Directed by Sophia Takal; Written by Sophia Takal and Adam Gaines (Premieres December 28 on Hulu)

The first Blumhouse original to be directed by a woman, anthology series “Into the Dark’s” latest installment, “New Year New You,” features an all-female cast, including Suki Waterhouse (“Assassination Nation”), Carly Chaikin (“Mr. Robot”), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (“Killing Eve”), and Melissa Bergland (“Winners & Losers”). The plot centers on a group of old high school friends who reunite in a house for New Year’s Eve, where they’re forced to confront traumas from their past. (IndieWire)

Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour (Documentary Special) (Premieres December 31 on Netflix)

Taylor Swift is gifting the world front row seats to the last show of the U.S. leg of the “Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour,” the highest-selling tour in U.S. history. This epic concert film features pyro, fireworks, multiple stages, and of course, a 63-foot cobra named Karyn. “Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour” will bring the sold-out 60,000 person show to you — whether you’re watching at a house party, a dive bar on the East Side, or on the couch with your cats. (Press materials)