BY Women and Hollywood
In Her Voice News Brief, May 31
Note: We are going to be sharing the transcripts from the podcasts when we can. Transcript from Podcast on May 31. If you would rather listen, click here. Holiday weekends inevitably lead to quieter...
In Her Voice Podcast Episodes- May 26
This week on the news brief we focus on Cannes including a bit on Jennifer Lawrence. In the weekly interview, we chat with Erica Saleh, showrunner and member of the WGA negotiating committee. She...
In Her Voice News Brief- May 17, 2023
Check out our latest news brief talking about why the Cannes Film Festival is important and problematic. Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple
In Her Voice Podcast Episodes from This Week- May 12
Please check out the latest podcast episodes of In Her Voice Weekly News Brief on May 10- includes latest Writers Strike info Interview with Laurel Parmet- writer/director of The Starling Girl which...
Women and Hollywood Transition
Dear friends- A little over 15 years ago I had a crazy idea: to try and start a conversation asking where the women were in front of the camera and behind the scenes in Hollywood. I called my blog...
Becky G in Talks to Topline “Queen of Flow” Music Drama for Peacock
Becky G is circling a revenge tale. Deadline reports that the singer and actress is in “early negotiations” to lead “Queen of Flow,” an adaptation of Caracol Television’s...
Trailer Watch: Trace Lysette Confronts Her Painful Past with Patricia Clarkson in “Monica”
Trace Lysette returns home to care for her dying mother in “Monica.” A new trailer for the Venice Film Festival title introduces us to Monica (Lysette, “Transparent), a trans woman...
Gina Rodriguez Developing Series Adaptation of “Princess of South Beach” Podcast for Netflix
Gina Rodriguez is celebrating the success of her new ABC comedy “Not Dead Yet” by developing a series adaptation of a popular podcast for Netflix. Deadline reports that the streamer has...
Zendaya to Receive CinemaCon’s Star of the Year Award
Zendaya has been named as the recipient of CinemaCon 2023’s Star of the Year Award. The history-making actress will “receive the honor at the movie theater owners convention’s Big Screen...
“Bel-Air’s” Carla Banks Waddles Penning Series Adaptation of “Black Candle Women”
“Black Candle Women” is heading to the small screen. A series adaptation of Diane Marie Brown’s debut novel is being developed by Universal Television with “Bel-Air”...
Liliana Cavani to Receive Venice Film Fest’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement
Liliana Cavani is set to receive a major honor at the 80th edition of Venice Film Festival. The Italian filmmaker will be awarded a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement, per Deadline. Counting...
Guest Post: How I Found Balance and Flexibility as a Working Mom in Film and Animation
By Sherene Strausberg My first film, “Cool For You,” has been accepted into 39 film festivals and received multiple awards, including a Silver Anthem Award last month. As an independent filmmaker...
Sophie Lane Curtis Feature Debut “On Our Way” Acquired by Gravitas Ventures
Sophie Lane Curtis’ feature debut has secured distribution. Deadline reports that Gravitas Ventures landed worldwide rights to “On Our Way” with plans to release the award-winning...
Diarra Kilpatrick Inks Overall Deal With BET, Gets Straight-to-Series Order at BET+
Diarra Kilpatrick is going into business with BET. The actress, writer, and producer signed an overall deal for its BET Studios division. “As part of the deal, BET+ ordered eight episodes of...
Destry Allyn Spielberg Will Make Directorial Debut with “Please Don’t Feed the Children,” Michelle Dockery Starring
Michelle Dockery is saying goodbye to period costumes and hello to a survival story. The “Downton Abbey” alumna has been tapped to lead Destry Allyn Spielberg’s directorial debut,...
Nancy Buirski’s “Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy” Acquired by Kino Lorber, Zeitgeist Films
Nancy Buirski’s look inside the making of an X-rated Best Picture winner has found a home. Kino Lorber in association with Zeitgeist Films have announced the acquisition of all North American...
Chai Vasarhelyi, Natalie Hewit, & Jimmy Chin to Direct NatGeo Doc About the Quest to Find Endurance Shipwreck
Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin won an Oscar for their look inside Alex Honnold’s quest to climb the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without a rope and took viewers behind the...
Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel to Star in Pop Music Melodrama “Mother Mary”
Anne Hathaway is showing off her pipes again. Deadline reports that the Oscar winner will play a fictional musician in “Mother Mary,” an “epic pop melodrama” that will see her...
Eva Longoria’s “Flamin’ Hot” Wins SXSW Audience Award
Eva Longoria’s narrative feature debut set SXSW ablaze. The fest has announced its Audience Award winners, and “Flamin’ Hot” took home the honor in the Headliners slate. The...
“I May Destroy You” Intimacy Coordinator Ita O’Brien Launches World’s First Intimacy Practice Degree
Film and television sets have transformed in the wake of #MeToo, and Intimacy Coordinators have helped lead that charge by choreographing sex scenes, opening up communication between actors and...
Demi Lovato to Make Directorial Debut with Doc About Child Stardom
Demi Lovato has been the subject of three documentaries in the past decade or so, but the singer is stepping behind the camera for her latest project. A press release announced that production has...
The FOFIF Short Film Fund Fall 2022 Recipients Announced
The recipients for the The Future of Film is Female (FOFIF) Short Film Fund Fall 2022 Grant cycle have been announced. FOFIF’s website details, “Two filmmakers will receive $1000...
NYWIFT Unveils Muse Awards Honorees: Danielle Brooks, Deborah Chow, & More
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) has revealed the honorees for the 43rd annual NYWIFT Muse Awards. Dedicated to “[celebrating] and [illuminating] women of outstanding vision and...
Trailer Watch: Halle Bailey is “The Little Mermaid”
Halle Bailey is ready to be part of your world. A trailer has arrived for “The Little Mermaid,” Disney’s live-action take on the classic 1989 animated feature. Bailey takes on the...
Oscars: Michelle Yeoh Makes History, Becomes First Asian Woman to Win Best Actress
“This is history in the making.” “Everything Everywhere All at Once’s” Michelle Yeoh concluded her acceptance speech at the Oscars on Sunday by recognizing the milestone...
Vivica Fox to Direct BET+ Film “The First Lady Of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story”
Vivica Fox is stepping behind the camera for BET once again. The “Kill Bill” actress directed the 2021 short “Through Her Eyes” for BET Her and will follow it up by helming...
Trailer Watch: “Chantilly Bridge” Reunites the Women of “Chantilly Lace”
“You have a conviction that at a certain age you should have it all together — but then you get older and you keep moving the goalpost,” we’re told in a new trailer for...
Sophie Galibert’s Abortion Dramedy “Cherry” Acquired by Entertainment Squad
Fans of “Unpregnant” and “Obvious Child” ought to put “Cherry” on their radar. Deadline reports that Entertainment Squad has acquired North American rights to...
“Bad Sisters” Leads Irish Film and TV Academy Award Nominations
It’s a good day for “Bad Sisters.” Irish Film and Television Academy Award (IFTAs) nominations have been announced and Sharon Horgan’s black comedy leads the pack with 12 nods...
Sarah Polley Wins Best Adapted Screenplay WGA Award for “Women Talking”
“Women Talking” has been getting awards buzz since its world premiere at Telluride last September, and as awards season reaches its zenith, it’s looking more and more likely that...
Mona Awad’s “Bunny” Getting Film Adaptation, Bad Robot Nabs Rights
“Bunny” is coming to the big screen. Bad Robot acquired film rights to Mona Awad’s bestselling novel in a “competitive situation.” Deadline broke the news. Published in...
Charlotte Wells, Nikyatu Jusu, & Violet du Feng Among Sundance Institute’s 2023 Momentum Fellows
Sundance Institute has announced the participants selected for the 2023 Momentum Fellowship, a program “designed to support and provide coaching to mid-career artists with a focus on career...
Dr. Stacy L. Smith & the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Launch Website Exploring Oscar History
Dr. Stacy L Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative have launched The Inclusion List, a new initiative that showcases inclusion in entertainment. “Who says hashtag activism can’t create...
Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, & Alfre Woodard Will Star in Castille Landon’s “Summer Camp”
Castille Landon has major star power attached to her next project. Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, and Alfre Woodard will lead “Summer Camp,” per Deadline. Penned by Landon, the comedy...
Athena Film Festival Unveils Winners and Finalists for the Athena List
The Athena Film Festival (AFF) has announced the winners and finalists for the 2023 Athena List, the fest’s selection of the best unproduced screenplays highlighting female...
Rebecca Lenkiewicz To Receive WGA West’s Paul Selvin Award for “She Said”
Rebecca Lenkiewicz has been announced as this year’s recipient of the WGA West’s Paul Selvin Award for penning the script for “She Said.” The honor is “presented to that...
Chicken & Egg Awardees Announced: Angela Tucker, Jeanie Finlay, and More
Congratulations are in order: Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced more than $650,000 in new grants to eight recipients of its 2023 Chicken & Egg Award. Created to “recognize the...
Athena Film Fest to Open with Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till,” Close with Tracy Droz Tragos’ “Plan C”
“Till” will open the 2023 Athena Film Festival (AFF). A press release announced that Chinonye Chukwu’s acclaimed drama, which tells the true story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s pursuit of...
Queen Latifah to Host NAACP Image Awards
The 2023 NAACP Image Awards will be led by royalty: Queen Latifah has signed on to host this year’s show, which is set to air live February 25 on BET. Deadline confirmed the news. “It’s an...
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Gina Prince-Bythewood, & Danielle Deadwyler Among Essence Black Women in Hollywood Honorees
As the shameful all-white BAFTA winners list continues to make waves, Essence is spotlighting women of color “making their undeniable mark in film and television and forging forward their own...
Berlinale 2023 Women Directors: Meet Emily Atef – “Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything”
Emily Atef is a French-Iranian filmmaker who was born in Berlin. She studied directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). Her first feature film, “Molly’s...
Patricia Chica’s “Montréal Girls” Acquired by Level 33 Entertainment
Patricia Chica’s award-winning feature debut has found a home. Deadline reports that Level 33 Entertainment nabbed rights to “Montréal Girls,” the Canadian-Salvadorean...
Sophie Kargman’s “Susie Searches” Lands at Vertical
“Susie Searches” has found a home. A press release announced that Vertical scored rights to Sophie Kargman’s feature debut, a mystery comedy about a podcaster that premiered at the...
Research: Women of Color See Gains in Top-Grossing Films
The power of “The Woman King’s” reign is still being felt. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s latest is among the titles starring women of color making a major mark on the film...
European Film Market to Host Day-Long Event on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
One of the world’s most prominent meeting places for members of the entertainment industry is set to highlight the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Variety reports...
THE 13TH ANNUAL ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL AT BARNARD COLLEGE ANNOUNCES INITIAL LINEUP
The Athena Film Festival (AFF) at Barnard College announced its initial programming lineup for the 2023 festival today. The 13th annual festival, which is a joint partnership between...
Uzo Aduba to Lead Netflix Series “The Residence,” Liza Johnson Directing the White House Murder-Mystery
Uzo Aduba is saying goodbye to treating patients in therapy and hello to investigating a homicide in the White House. The three-time Emmy winner is following up her latest role on the small screen,...
Jessica George Is Bringing Her Debut Novel “Maame” to the Small Screen
“Maame” hits U.S. bookstores today and author Jessica George is celebrating the release of her debut novel by making a splash in another medium. Deadline reports Jenna Bush Hager’s...
Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston Team Up for Body Swap Comedy
Two of Hollywood’s biggest stars are joining forces. Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston will star in and produce a body swap comedy. The untitled project was, unsurprisingly, a hot commodity....
Carol Burnett to Receive Two-Hour Birthday Special on NBC
NBC is so glad we’ve had this time together with Carol Burnett, and is set to celebrate the comedy icon with even more laughs and songs. The network will pay honor to Burnett on her 90th...
Lifetime Greenlights “Black Girl Missing” From Star and Exec Producer Garcelle Beauvais
Lifetime is partnering with the Black and Missing Foundation on a project that will highlight disparity among missing persons cases. A press release announced that the network has greenlit...