I thrive on freedom and confidence, says Lena Dunham

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

Scott Huver Standing on the roof of The Grove’s parking structure, writer-director Lena Dunham took in the lavish details of Friday’s influencer-packed VIP screening of her new Prime Video film “Catherine Called Birdy,” clearly delighted by the Ren-Faire-meets-rave vibe that Amazon created to capture the film’s blend of 13th Century setting and contemporary tone. “I’m not above doing all the activities,” enthused Dunham, clad in a billowy blue hoop skirt that essentially precluded sitting down yet matched the event’s old-new ethos by also prominently displaying her tattoos. “I just went and got some jewelry engraved.” Dunham’s immersion in “Birdy’s” world goes back to reading the source material – Karen Cushman’s beloved 1994 YA novel – for the first time when she was 10 years old.

Lena Dunham is celebrating the release of her new Prime Video movie Catherine Called Birdy, which is now streaming!

Note: The following contains spoilers for Catherine Called Birdy.Director Lena Dunham described Karen Cushman’s “Catherine Called Birdy” as a work ingrained in her DNA with a world easy to bring to the screen and populate, but she did want to give the story a more hopeful ending.Dunham’s film follows Cushman’s story pretty closely, which focuses on young Lady Catherine, who goes by Birdy (Bella Ramsey), daughter of Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott) and Lady Aislinn (Billie Piper). Birdy’s impending arranged marriage to some random stranger drives the film’s plot, as she does everything humanly possible to turn off her suitors. “The last act shifts pretty significantly from the book, and that just had to do with a real desire to be able to leave Birdy’s character in a better place than we found her,” Dunham said in a recent interview with TheWrap.

EXCLUSIVE: Tommy Dorfman is making her directorial debut with the upcoming feature I Wish You All The Best. The project is based on Mason Deaver’s bestselling novel of the same name which Dorfman optioned in 2019. Dorfman is writing the screenplay and will also produce the feature.

What to watch: 7 movies & shows to stream this week - Sep 23What to watch: 7 movies & shows to stream this week - Sep 30As Halloween season kicks off, streamers are lining up some of the most anticipated horror movies of the year. Few home releases are as awaited as “Hellraiser,” a reboot of Clive Barker’s ‘80s classic. The series revolves around bad people, sex, and the alien Cenobites; a race of beings obsessed with torture and pain, boasting some of the world’s most terrifying and vibrant designs.

Not very slay of her. Lena Dunham just tweeted about pride and her casket. The Girls creator made a controversial tweet that made the internet very mad…again.

Lena Dunham has found herself on the wrong side of the internet — AGAIN!

Lena Dunham is sharing her plans for prepping for the afterlife.

EXCLUSIVE: The Bear actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach has joined Jennifer Lawrence in Sony Pictures’ R-rated comedy, No Hard Feelings, from filmmaker Gene Stupnitsky.

K.J. Yossman MetFilm is expanding into distribution with the acquisition of U.K. distribution company Republic Film Distribution (“Brittany Runs a Marathon”). Republic, which is run by former Icon Films exec Zak Brilliant, will be re-branded as MetFilm Distribution. Brilliant will take on the role of head of MetFilm distribution and MetFilm sales, working with the existing sales team, comprised of Mitch Clare, Jenny Bohnhoff and Ella Pham. The company is already planning to increase its headcount. MetFilm Distribution will aim to release six to eight titles annually. The films they take on will have a strong theatrical focus, starting with November’s “A Bunch of Amateurs” by Kim Hopkins, which won the Sheffield DocFest audience award.

MetFilm has acquired Republic Film Distribution, the UK distribution company run by former Icon Films executive Zak Brilliant.

There is a movie that opened in theaters on Friday from a well-known female director that should be on your radar but probably isn’t. No, it’s not Olivia Wilde‘s oversaturated “Don’t Worry Darling.” It’s the second feature film from Lena Dunham in the past 12 months, “Catherine Called Birdy.” And, frankly, it’s a joy.

Lena Dunham "struggled" with putting her health above having children. The 'Girls' creator - who is married to Luis Felber - has been open about her struggles with endometriosis and ultimately underwent a hysterectomy and though she was worried she'd closed the door on starting a family, she eventually realised she couldn't carrying on living in constant pain. She told Observer magazine: “It was one of those decisions where… it’s not really a decision? I struggled with this idea, that I had chosen my own health over being able to bear children.

Lena Dunham has explained why she took a break following the final season of Girls, describing it as “necessary to survive”.After the sixth season premiered in 2017, the actor and writer faced criticism for defending Girls executive producer Murray Miller over rape allegations by actor Aurora Perrineau. Dunham later retracted her statement and apologised.In 2018, Dunham entered rehab for an addiction to benzodiazepines, specifically Klonopin.

Lena Dunham thinks the themes of her new movie remain as "relevant today" as they were in medieval times. The 36-year-old star has directed 'Catherine Called Birdy' - which focuses on issues faced by young women in medieval England - and Lena thinks it's sad that the pace of progression remains so slow. She shared: "We like to think that we've improved upon history and this is almost 1,000 years ago and yet so many of the themes of the film continue to be relevant today, with the recent sort of political changes in the US, it's something that feels maddeningly close.

Joe Alwyn grabs a quick picture with a fan while arriving at the premiere of Catherine, Called Birdy held at the Curzon Mayfair on Tuesday (September 20) in London, England.