The purpose of this weekly news roundup is to highlight and celebrate films/TV from and about women. The news collected in this weeks round up was announced between June 2 to June 8. As there is an abundance of news, some stories may slip through the cracks. In the event of this happening, please reply below with any news or release information about women that should be shared.

Okay ladies, now let’s get in formation!

Women Behind the Camera

Sandi Tan (Shirkers) will adapt Elif Batuman’s novel The Idiot. Tan describes it as Twilight meets Vertigo form the female perspective meets teenaged Phantom Thread meets Call Me By Your Name meets Lady Bird. (Source: The Cut)

Lauren Oliver’s novel Replica is getting the feature film adaptation treatment. Oliver scripted the adaptation and is reteaming with Matt Kaplan who produced the 2017 adaptation of her novel Before I Fall. (Source: THR)

Claire Scanlon (Set It Up) will direct an untitled election comedy starring Ike Barinholtz (Late Night, The Mindy Project). The feature will be produced by Jordan Horowitz (Fast Color, La La Land) alongside Barinholtz and his writing partner David Stassen. The story follows a female politician who is forced to return to her small town in Ohio. She decides to help her niece run a campaign at her middle school, only to find out that the boy facing off against her niece is the son of the man who beat her in the same election 30 years before. The female lead has yet to be cast. (Source: THR)

Jessica Lowndes (90210) is starring in and executive producing romantic comedy musical Over the Moon With Love, which she also wrote. Lowndes wrote the original songs and composed the score alongside music producer Evan White. Christie Will Wolf will direct. (Source: Variety)

Skydance has won the bidding war for Kat Wood’s action pitch Diplomatic Courier. The film is a Jason Bourne-type action film set in the world of diplomatic couriers. Wood will write the script. (Source: Deadline)

Melissa Stack (The Other Woman) to direct I Wanna F*** Your Brother, which she also scripted. The film will star Glen Powell (Set It Up) which follows a buttoned-up lawyer who brings in her black sheep younger brother in for a summer job at her New York law firm. Quickly her fellow coworkers become infatuated with him. (Source: Deadline)

Alicia Keys, Judy Kinberg, Adele Romanski, and Rachel Cohen are co-producing the Alvin Ailey Biopic for Fox Searchlight. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) is set to direct from a script by Julian Breece (When They See Us). (Source: Deadline)

Karen Moncrieff (13 Reasons Why) to direct the adaptation to Alice Sebold’s memoir Lucky, which she also scripted. Production to take place in the fall. (Source: Deadline)

Kay Cannon to direct treasure hunting comedy 79ers for Lionsgate. The film has been described as adult Goonies and it follows a group of estranged friends who attempt to complete a treasure hunt they started when they were kids. (Source: Deadline)

Casting News

Diane Kruger steps into replace Marion Cotillard (Eva Green must have been busy) in Jessica Chastain’s female-fronted spy thriller 355. Kruger joins Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Fan Bingbing, and Penelope Cruz. (Source: Variety)

Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving join the cast of Bill & Ted Face the Music as the title characters daughters. Lundy-Paine will play Keanu Reeves’ Ted’s daughter Billie Logan and Weaving will play Alex Winters’ Bill’s daughter Thea Preston. (Source: Deadline)

Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist) joins the cast of Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks for Apple and A24. She joins the Rashida Jones (The Office), Marlon Wayans (Marlon), and Bill Murray (Ghostbusters). (Source: Deadline)

TV News

Morena Baccarin to star in science-fiction comedy series Home Invasion. The six-part series will also star Johan Glans and John Nobel and premiere across the Nordics in 2020 on NENT Group’s streaming service Viaplay. (Source: Variety)

New June Releases

In theatres:

• Late Night directed by Nisha Ganatra; written by Mindy Kaling (limited)

On streaming now:

• Elisa & Marcella directed and written by Isabel Coixet (Netflix)
• Tales of the City (series) developed by Lauren Morelli (Netflix)
• Black Mirror: Season 5, Episode 3 “Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too” directed by Anne Sewitsky (Netflix)
• The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 3, Episode 3 “Useful” directed by Amma Asante (Hulu)

Updates

Rising star Melissa Barrera signs with WME. She was recently cast as the lead in Sony’s retelling of Carmen and will star in Lin Manuel-Miranda’s movie adaptation of In the Heights. (Source: Deadline)

Rebecca Zlotowski signs with CAA after the Cannes premiere of her film An Easy Girl, which won the SACD Prize. (Source: Deadline)

Russian supermodel and actress Sasha Luss signs with ICM Partners and Artistic International Group. She plays the titular femme fatale in Anna from Luc Besson, which will release this summer. (Source: Deadline)

After Netflix purchased worldwide distribution rights to Mati Diop’s directorial debut Atlantics, she has now signed with ICM Partners and Film Talents for representation. (Source: Deadline)

Sony has set a release date for Kay Cannon’s retelling of Cinderella starring Camila Cabello. The film will release on February 5, 2021. (Source: Variety)

New Trailer Alert

Netflix released the first trailer for the third and final season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones starring Krysten Ritter.

by Ferdosa Abdi

Ferdosa Abdi is a lifelong film student and aspiring film festival programmer. Her favourite genres are science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Her favourite director is Guillermo del Toro. She is madly in love with Eva Green and believes she should be cast in everything. You can follow Ferdosa on Twitter @atomicwick