The purpose of this news roundup is to highlight and celebrate films/TV from and about women. The news collected in this roundup was announced throughout June. Some stories, of course, may slip through the cracks. If we have missed anything please let us know of with any news that should be shared.

Okay ladies, now let’s get in formation!

Women Behind the Camera

Emily Dean (The Lego Batman Movie) to make her directorial debut with Sony Animation’s Tao. (Source: Deadline)

Jill Soloway (Transparent) will replace Bryan Singer as the writer and director of the movie adaptation of Red Sonja. (Source: Deadline)

The story of trans activist and model Corey Rae’s transition and becoming the first openly transgender prom queen will be adapted for the big screen. Harry Tarre wrote the screenplay based on Rae’s article titled How I Became the World’s First Transgender Prom Queen. (Source: Deadline)

Dee Rees (Mudbound) to write and direct an original musical fantasy The Kyd’s Exquisite Follies. (Source: Deadline)

Rachel Morrison (Mudbound), the first woman to be nominated for best cinematography by the Academy, will make her debut feature with the Barry Jenkins’ scripted Flint Strong. (Source: Deadline)

Alice Waddington (Paradise Hills) to direct Scarlet for Netflix, based on her own idea and will script with Kristen SaBerre (Knightfall, Hit the Floor) (Source: Deadline)

Susan Johnson (To All The Boys I’ve Loved) to direct adaptation of Annie Hartnett’s Rabbit Cake for Amazon Studios; McKenna Grace (Gifted, Captain Marvel) to star and produce. (Source: THR)

Lindsey Beer (Godzilla vs. Kong) to write the film adaptation of Hello Kitty for New Line. (Source: Deadline)

Allison Schroeder (Frozen II) to write Minecraft movie adaptation for Warner Bros. (Source: THR)

Rachel Lee Goldenberg (A Deadly Adoption) to direct an adaptation of Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan YA novel Unpregnant; the story follows a Missouri teen’s road trip to seek a legal abortion. (Source: Deadline)

Shauna Duggins – the first woman to win an Emmy for stunt coordination – will direct action-drama Guardian for Voltage Pictures. The film follows a multi-layered story about a top assassin who reluctantly becomes a guardian for the son of a man he killed. (Source: Deadline)

Music video director Emma Westenberg will make her first studio feature for MGM. Westenberg will direct Buffalo Flats, which explores the world of NYC underground pop-up clubs. (Source: Deadline)

Tina Gordon (Little) to direct and rewrite musical comedy Praise This for Universal Pictures. The film is set in the world of youth choir competitions. Universal has scheduled release for September 25, 2020. (Source: Deadline)

Marti Noxon and Jessica Rhoades (Sharp Objects) option film and TV rights to Abdi Nazemian’s YA novel Like a Love Story. Noxon and Rhoades will develop a film adaptation as producers and Nazemian will script the adaptation. (Source: Deadline)

Sophia Takal (Always Shine) to direct Black Christmas remake for Blumhouse based on a script by April Wolfe and Takal, which will star Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Brittany O’Grady, Lily Donoghue and Caleb Eberhardt. (Source: Deadline)

Lilian Bowden (Andi Mack) to direct comedy short Becoming Eddie from Ed Lee. The short focuses on an Asian-American kid in the 1980s, a time where first-generation children of immigrants were expected to assimilate. (Source: Deadline)

Alyson Hannigan (Buffy, How I Met Your Mother) and Ben Schwartz (Sonic: The Hedgehog) join Lena Khan’s film adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s novel Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures for Disney+. (Source: Deadline)

TV News

One Day at a Time saved by Pop TV after being cancelled by Netflix. (Source: Variety)

Justina Machado to produce and direct an episode in the fourth season of One Day at a Time. (Source: Deadline)

The CW did not pick up The Lost Boys pilot to series, but will be retooling the show; Medalion Rahimi (Still Star-Crossed) and Dakota Shapiro are the only two stars to stay on board for the reworked pilot. (Source: Deadline)

Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) to lead Showtime’s Rita, based on the original Danish series of the same name. (Source: Variety)

Maddie Phillips (Ghost Wars) and Anjelica Bette Fellini (The Gifted) cast as the titular Slutty Teenage Bounty Hunters, the upcoming Netflix comedy from Jenji Kohan (Orange is the New Black). (Source: Variety)

Mary J. Blige signs first-look TV deal with Lionsgate. (Source: Variety)

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Miss Maisel) signs first-look deal with Amazon Studios. (Source: Variety)

Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) to star as a misfit on the run from a murderous gang in Gaby Hull’s comedy series Two Weeks to Live. (Source: Variety)

Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Hill House) has been cast in Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor. (Source: Deadline)

Love, Death, and Robots has been renewed for a second season at Netflix; Jennifer Yuh Nelson (The Darkest Minds) has been tapped as the series supervising director. (Source: Variety)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity) will executive produce a series based on her college years for Amazon. The dramedy will be a musical and set in the ’80s. (Source: Variety)

Sophia Lillis (IT) will lead Netflix’s I Am Not Okay With This, a YA series about a superpowered girl dealing with everyday teenage problems. (Source: Deadline)

Geena Davis will play a recurring guest role in the third season of Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch’s Glow. (Source: Deadline)

Casting News

Disney eyeing Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) to take on the iconic role of Ursula in live-action The Little Mermaid. (Source: Variety)

Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians) in talks to star in Gold Mountain; the US-China co-production will center on Chinese immigrants during the San Francisco Gold Rush. Yeoh to produce alongside Jane Wu and Alan Taylor, who will direct. (Source: THR)

Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians) to star in and executive produce Universal Pictures’ Goodbye, Vitamin based on the 2017 novel from Rachel Khong. (Source: Variety)

Cailee Spaeny (Bad Times at the El Royale) in talks to star in Blumhouse’s remake of The Craft directed by Zoe Lister-Jones. (Source: THR)

Elle Callahan’s supernatural thriller Witch Hunt has found its leads: Gideon Adlon, Abigail Cowen, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Christian Camargo. (Source: Deadline)

Oliva Cooke and LaKeith Stanfield to star in Cat Vasko’s untitled fairy tale project for Disney+; Susan Johnson to direct based on Vasko’s screenplay. (Source: Deadline)

Jayma Mays and Erinn Hayes joined the cast of Bill & Ted Face the Music as the titular character’s wives. (Source: Deadline)

New June Releases

*releases may vary depending on region.

In theatres:

• Late Night directed by Nisha Ganatra
• Ophelia directed by Claire McCarthy
• Head Count directed by Elle Callahan

Streaming:

• Netflix
  • Tales of the City (series) developed by Lauren Morielli
  • Leila (series) created by Urmi Juvekar and directed by Deepa Mehta
  • Elisa & Marcela (film) directed by Isabel Coixet
• HBO
  • Big Little Lies, Season 2 (series) directed by Andrea Arnold

VOD/Home Video:

• • Fast Color directed by Julia Hart
  • Little directed by Tina Gordan
  • Euphoria directed by Lisa Langseth
  • The Mustang directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
  • Head Count directed by Elle Callahan

Updates

Seacole starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle) to be the first feature under Billy Peterson’s newly formed production company Racing Green Pictures. (Source: Variety)

Netflix has acquired video game adaptation of Tom Clancy’s The Division, starring Jessica Chastain (IT: Chapter 2) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler) (Source: Variety)

Roadside Attractions has acquired U.S. distribution rights to The Warrior Queen of Jhansi directed, produced, and co-written by Swati Bhise. (Source: Deadline)

Karen Gillian’s directorial debut The Party’s Just Beginning gets UK distribution. (Source: Deadline)

Picture Tree Intl. acquired the rights to Carolina Hellsgård’s third feature Sunburned. (Source: Variety)

Film Movement has acquired the North American rights to Laura Luchetti’s Twin Flower. (Source: Variety)

Trailer Spotlight

Check out the trailer for Diane Paragas’ Yellow Rose starring Broadway actress Eva Noblezada (Hadestown, Miss Saigon). The movie is a musical drama following a headstrong Filipino girl whose life is upended by ICE. 

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