This makes me very mad!!!!
Warner's Robinov Bitchslaps Film Women; Gloria Allred Calls For Warner's Boycott
This comes to me from three different producers, so I know it's real: Warner Bros president of production Jeff Robinov has made a new decree that "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead". This Neanderthal thinking comes after both Jodie Foster's The Brave One (even though she's had big recent hits with Flightplan and Panic Room) and Nicole Kidman's The Invasion (as if three different directors didn't have something to do with the awfulness of the gross receipts) under-performed at the box office recently. "Can you imagine when Gloria Allred gets hold of this? It's going to be like World War III," one producer just told me. (I put in a call to Glo, who comments below.) Of course, Warner Bros has always been male-centric in its movies. But now the official policy as expressly articulated by Robinov is that a male has to be the lead of every pic made. I'm told he doesn't even want to see a script with a woman in the primary position (which now is apparently missionary at WB). Oh yeah, the fact that so many Warner Bros movies have been sucking at the box office for the last two years is all the fault of females. (Then again, Robinov's poorly performing Superman Returns was criticized for its girlie-man portrayal of the superhero.) As regular readers of my own box office reports know, chick flicks haven't been doing well at the box office lately. But Robinov's statements aren't about women's movies as a genre, they're anti Hollywood actresses. Besides, neither The Brave One nor The Invasion were classic chick flicks, either. "It's a phenomenal thing to say. What are we in the 1700s where women are back to being barefoot and pregnant?" a producer railed. "What's next -- fire all the Warner Bros women executives?"
UPDATE: Noted women's rights attorney Gloria Allred just gave me this statement in response to what I've posted above: "If that's what he said, when movies with men as the lead fail, no one says we'll stop making movies with men in the lead. This is an insult to all moviegoers and particularly women. It is truly unfortunate that women get blamed for decisions which are made by men. Instead of taking responsibility for their own lack of judgment about which scripts to make, directors to hire and budgets to OK, some men in the movie industry find it easier to place blame for their lack of success on women leads and to exclude talented female actors from the top employment opportunities in Hollywood in favor of macho males. If that studio confirms that their policy is to now exclude women as leads, then my policy would be to boycott films made by Warner Bros."
MY REACTION AFTER THE JUMP
Hollywood isn't doing to well. Box office is way down and new industries like video games are kicking Hollywood's ass. There had to be an escape goat and unfortunatly it is women. It historically has been women. Hollywood has not seen a time period like this since the early 1960s. The rise of TV left people not wanting to go to the movies. They could get entertainment in their livingrooms. 20Th Century Fox took a gamble and made in 1962 what was the most expensive movie of all time (at that time period) "Cleopatra". It featured Elizabeth Taylor becoming the first woman to earn a million dollar pay check. The movie tanked. It was so crippling to 20TH century that it was forced to sell its backlot- And, if you ever go to LA it is the Century City Shopping Mall and office complex. The falt was put all on the fact that it was a woman who was in the lead.
It was not until the 1970s and 80s that Hollywood was able to pull itself out. It was with the promise of special effects and being swept up in epoics. And, Hollywood had done pretty well for itself until really 9/11 and it started to suffer. Warner Brothers is becoming the next 20Th century Fox. It was not "The Brave One" or "The Invasion" that put it into the postion it is in. It was "Superman". It cost $270 million to make and its Prints and Advertising cost another $250 million (estimated by Boxofficemojo.com) and only took in about $200. Warner Brothers is still hurting from that dissapointment. Not only did that film fail but "All the King's Men" and the last 2 "Matrix" film failed to do the business that was expected.
Enter the scape goat- "The Brave One" I can't find the production budget for that film but it has to date made about $35 million. "The Invasion" had a production budget of $80 million and made to date $15 million. These numbers are on par for the time period to which they were released and the limited prints and adversing that were done for these films. What I believe is that it was not that they were films lead by women that lead to their faliure but the time period to which they were released. The late summer and fall are noted for bad box office.
Hollywood is paniced. Halo 3 just brought in 300 million in renvue in three weeks of release. Video Games have replaced Hollywood as the top entertainment funds grabber. It is unfortunate that we as women have to be the scape goat and it down right not fair. I am upset by this and I will think twice about seeing any Warner Brothers films. This is sad especially because "The Golden Compass" is being released by New Line a subsadary of Warner Brothers. By taking this stance WB has allienated 1/2 of their audience. But this is unacceptable behavior in 2007 and sad that it is happening at all.
This comes to me from three different producers, so I know it's real: Warner Bros president of production Jeff Robinov has made a new decree that "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead". This Neanderthal thinking comes after both Jodie Foster's The Brave One (even though she's had big recent hits with Flightplan and Panic Room) and Nicole Kidman's The Invasion (as if three different directors didn't have something to do with the awfulness of the gross receipts) under-performed at the box office recently. "Can you imagine when Gloria Allred gets hold of this? It's going to be like World War III," one producer just told me. (I put in a call to Glo, who comments below.) Of course, Warner Bros has always been male-centric in its movies. But now the official policy as expressly articulated by Robinov is that a male has to be the lead of every pic made. I'm told he doesn't even want to see a script with a woman in the primary position (which now is apparently missionary at WB). Oh yeah, the fact that so many Warner Bros movies have been sucking at the box office for the last two years is all the fault of females. (Then again, Robinov's poorly performing Superman Returns was criticized for its girlie-man portrayal of the superhero.) As regular readers of my own box office reports know, chick flicks haven't been doing well at the box office lately. But Robinov's statements aren't about women's movies as a genre, they're anti Hollywood actresses. Besides, neither The Brave One nor The Invasion were classic chick flicks, either. "It's a phenomenal thing to say. What are we in the 1700s where women are back to being barefoot and pregnant?" a producer railed. "What's next -- fire all the Warner Bros women executives?"
UPDATE: Noted women's rights attorney Gloria Allred just gave me this statement in response to what I've posted above: "If that's what he said, when movies with men as the lead fail, no one says we'll stop making movies with men in the lead. This is an insult to all moviegoers and particularly women. It is truly unfortunate that women get blamed for decisions which are made by men. Instead of taking responsibility for their own lack of judgment about which scripts to make, directors to hire and budgets to OK, some men in the movie industry find it easier to place blame for their lack of success on women leads and to exclude talented female actors from the top employment opportunities in Hollywood in favor of macho males. If that studio confirms that their policy is to now exclude women as leads, then my policy would be to boycott films made by Warner Bros."
MY REACTION AFTER THE JUMP
Hollywood isn't doing to well. Box office is way down and new industries like video games are kicking Hollywood's ass. There had to be an escape goat and unfortunatly it is women. It historically has been women. Hollywood has not seen a time period like this since the early 1960s. The rise of TV left people not wanting to go to the movies. They could get entertainment in their livingrooms. 20Th Century Fox took a gamble and made in 1962 what was the most expensive movie of all time (at that time period) "Cleopatra". It featured Elizabeth Taylor becoming the first woman to earn a million dollar pay check. The movie tanked. It was so crippling to 20TH century that it was forced to sell its backlot- And, if you ever go to LA it is the Century City Shopping Mall and office complex. The falt was put all on the fact that it was a woman who was in the lead.
It was not until the 1970s and 80s that Hollywood was able to pull itself out. It was with the promise of special effects and being swept up in epoics. And, Hollywood had done pretty well for itself until really 9/11 and it started to suffer. Warner Brothers is becoming the next 20Th century Fox. It was not "The Brave One" or "The Invasion" that put it into the postion it is in. It was "Superman". It cost $270 million to make and its Prints and Advertising cost another $250 million (estimated by Boxofficemojo.com) and only took in about $200. Warner Brothers is still hurting from that dissapointment. Not only did that film fail but "All the King's Men" and the last 2 "Matrix" film failed to do the business that was expected.
Enter the scape goat- "The Brave One" I can't find the production budget for that film but it has to date made about $35 million. "The Invasion" had a production budget of $80 million and made to date $15 million. These numbers are on par for the time period to which they were released and the limited prints and adversing that were done for these films. What I believe is that it was not that they were films lead by women that lead to their faliure but the time period to which they were released. The late summer and fall are noted for bad box office.
Hollywood is paniced. Halo 3 just brought in 300 million in renvue in three weeks of release. Video Games have replaced Hollywood as the top entertainment funds grabber. It is unfortunate that we as women have to be the scape goat and it down right not fair. I am upset by this and I will think twice about seeing any Warner Brothers films. This is sad especially because "The Golden Compass" is being released by New Line a subsadary of Warner Brothers. By taking this stance WB has allienated 1/2 of their audience. But this is unacceptable behavior in 2007 and sad that it is happening at all.