More about Women in Hollywood

Gee, did I have fun reading today’s news about the Robinov slip of the tongue. To be fair here I reproduce the “official” response to Nikki’s article that was published yesterday in Variety, the print version. Of course the article was written by a woman. lol!

“Warner Bros still committed to women
Despite recent reports, femmes take the lead
By ANNE THOMPSON
Warners is prepping a sequel to its femme-centric pic 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.'

Contrary to recent reports in the blogosphere, Warner Bros. is still committed to women. Despite the failure of three femme-centered actioners produced by Joel Silver -- Jodie Foster starrer "The Brave One"; "The Reaping," with Hilary Swank; and the remake "The Invasion," starring Nicole Kidman -- Warner production prexy Jeff Robinov insists he is moving forward with several movies with women in the lead. Indeed, he is offended by rumors of his cinematic misogyny.

Robinov is currently in final negotiations for a Cameron Diaz picture. And he made aggressive bids to land both Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones" and the "Sex in the City" movie, but lost the deals to DreamWorks and New Line, respectively.

Citing such Warners hit chick flicks as "Cinderella Story" and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (a sequel is in the works), Robinov said he is still in the business of making pics with women. Warners is producing an adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel "Nights in Rodanthe," starring Diane Lane and Richard Gere. Also in the pipeline are "Spring Breakdown," a fish-out-of-water comedy about 20ish women on spring break, and the romantic comedy "Fool's Gold," starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. Robinov said he would happily make Nikki Caro's noble failure "North Country," starring Charlize Theron, again.

Female superheroes are prominent in two upcoming Warners comicbook actioners. Wonder Woman joins the male ensemble in DC's "The Justice League" and Silk Spectre leads Alan Moore's "Watchmen." Female co-stars figure in both "Speed Racer" and "Get Smart." And Robinov is still seeking the right script and star for a "Wonder Woman" feature, which has been in development for a decade.

Poor execution and bad timing at the end of the most recent horror cycle were part of the poor reception for the horrorific "The Reaping" and "The Invasion," which both Kidman and co-star Daniel Craig refused to promote. As for Neil Jordan's brainy twist on the vigilante genre, "The Brave One," Robinov said he is "proud of the movie," which Foster continues to support around the world. "It's tricky," he said. "It may have been too rough for women, and we didn't get the reviews we had expected."

Action features starring women remain a hard sell for many moviegoers. But Robinov said he is still willing to put a femme star into an action role. "But, like any other movie, it has to be the right movie with the right actor and the right filmmaker at the right time," he said.”

But the article I enjoyed the most comes from New York Magazine.

“Does Hollywood Hate Women?

Yes! says Nikki Finke, who reports that Sony's Sir Howard Stringer recently called the Columbia Pictures logo lady a fatty in public, and also that Warner Bros. — following expensive flops starring Jodie Foster (The Brave One) and Nicole Kidman (The Invasion) — is "no longer doing movies with women in the lead."

No! says Jeffrey Wells. The problem's not with the actresses, but with the producer: "[Jeff] Robinov should actually be saying that Warner Bros. 'is no longer doing female-starring thrillers and actioners produced by Joel Silver,'" reminding readers that Silver was behind both The Brave One and The Invasion.

Today, Variety's Anne Thompson files the spin story: There is no story! Warner Bros. is committed to women, and Robinov is offended by the accusations he's a sexist pig. Why, some of his best friends are chick flicks! The studio is slaving away on the Sex and the City movie right now as well as a laundry list of other estrogen-friendly titles.

So who knows who's right? We just know that if roles for women start getting scarce, there's one part that's still apparently available for the right (skinny) actress, as long as she's willing to wear a toga and hold up a torch. —Amy Monaghan

Update: Nikki Finke promises "the real facts behind Jeff Robinov's 'denial'" are coming soon.”

By the way Nikki already has a detailed account of The Reality Behind Jeff Rovinov’s “Denial” in her site, if you feel like reading it go here.

When reputable publications (and there are more) start to comment about an issue, is because the issue has always been there sleeping waiting to be awaken. The monster seems to be awake now, for how long? Who knows. With repercussions? Who knows. I just hope something good comes out from all this.

This is my last post about this subject, but be sure that I’ll continue reading about it.