The Duplass brothers may be the bane of Mindy Lahiri's existence, but this week, even the good doctor herself couldn't deny how fierce and progressive they're being.
The Duplass brothers are championing the first transgender-actor Oscar campaign Mark and Jay Duplass, who produced Tangerine—a film about two transgender hookers on Christmas Eve—announced this week that they'll seek Oscar consideration for lead actress Kitana Kiki Rodriguez (above center, with director Sean Baker) and supporting actress Mya Taylor (above left). Both are transgender. The film premiered at Sundance and was an instant sensation—partially because the whole thing was shot on an iPhone. Watch the trailer here.
SNL launched season 41 with a premiere full of female-driven moments Our favorites of the night had to be Hillary Clinton as bartender Val and Taylor Swift's ever-expanding squad getting the dystopian-blockbuster treatment. But that was just the beginning—click here for more high points of the night.
Scream Queens sends up sexual harassment in typically bizarro fashion It was like a dressier Quentin Tarantino fight scene: Chanel, No. 2, No. 5 and Hester kicked the crap out of a couple cafeteria bros after one of said bros suggested they help him with his Halloween costume: "Guy who's having awesome sex with you." We're calling it the series' first Ryan Murphy Message Moment. In related news, you can celebrate these (albeit complicated) feminist heroines by throwing your own Chanel-o-ween party.
The lack of female directors in Hollywood is being investigated Gender imbalance behind the camera is now officially on the feds' docket. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is looking into the lack of female film and TV directors being hired in Hollywood in what could be the first signs of an impending class-action lawsuit. As we discussed with Jane the Virgin creator Jennie Urman earlier this week, the problem definitely isn't a lack of qualified talent.
A TV show based on Wendy Davis is in the works The former Texas senator/hall of fame filibuster warrior is the inspiration behind a pilot picked up by NBC. The concept: A Davis-like figure goes to work at her friend's law firm after losing a gubernatorial race and, with politics behind her, finally feels free to be herself.
The View takes Republican John Kasich to take on gun control The View may be firmly entrenched in the world of daytime, but its panel is fast becoming the hottest grill in town for people running for president. Several weeks after prodding Donald Trump's stances on women's issues, and during the same week that they needled Ben Carson on his "Nazi Germany could happen here" comments, the ladies refused to back off Ohio governor John Kasich's evasive take on gun legislation. Watch:__
Game of Thrones hires a new Red Priestess Melanie Liburd, a Brit actress who's been on CSI and The Grinder, is coming aboard GoT. (This is a separate character from the Melisandre version played by Carine Van Houten.) All we know is that this further muddies the Jon Snow waters, and we have had quite enough of HBO playing around with us on that front.
__Quvenzhane Wallis inks a four-book deal with Simon & Schuster The series of books will follow a "precocious third-grader." Wallis is 12. By contrast, we've been reorganizing our recipes board on Pinterest while eating takeout. But there's always next week!
