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Thelma Adams on Reel Women: What Does Cannes Have Against Women?

May 18, 2012 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Women directors, Woodstock Film Festival,Nancy Savoca,Mira Sorvino,Susan Seidelman, Debra Granik

Straight shooter Savoca

No one ever claimed that women had bridged the director’s-chair gender gap, but it’s a complete kick in the can that this year’s Cannes Film Festival has not a single female-directed film among the 23 in competition.

I love contenders like David Cronenberg, whose Cosmopolis — starring Robert Pattinson — has been welcomed into the competition, and who headed the Cannes jury in 1999. I was a champion of his cerebral period drama A Dangerous Method, which had a terrific star turn by Keira Knightley. But, really, not a single film by a woman? I’m just gobsmacked.

It is, however, a good year to be a North American male: In addition to Cronenberg, Lee Daniels (The Paperboy), Jeff Nichols (Mud), and Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom) will premiere at what is considered the most prestigious film festival on the planet. The other 51 percent be damned.

There won’t be any shortage of sexy female actresses in evening gowns to attract paparazzi — so why does the female-director shortage matter? To paraphrase: It’s the sexism, stupid. Despite some recent indications to the contrary, women have yet to gain substantial ground in cinema’s most powerful positions. And beyond its inherent prestige, Cannes is significant because it’s at the forefront of the awards season. Last year, for example, The Artist debuted at Cannes, where Jean Dujardin won best actor honors, and went on to sweep the Oscars.

Half-full thinkers can still hope that there will be a bounty of female-helmed movies at the early fall Toronto-Telluride-Venice nexus. Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow has her as-year-unfinished Osama bin Laden film, Zero Dark Thirty (horrible title alert!), slated for the holiday season.

And, in a pleasant surprise, the Tribeca Film Festival, which is currently in full swing, overflows with female-directed films of all stripes. Among the most prominent are Sarah Polley’s quirky dramedy Take This Waltz, featuring Michelle Williams as a straying Toronto wife; Julie Delpy’s shrewd kooky relationship comedy 2 Days in New York, which pairs the actress with Chris Rock; and Lynn Shelton’s sexy sibling rivalry drama with Emily Blunt, Your Sister’s Sister. While not all movies are Oscar-bait, Tribeca presents a bounty of promising women filmmakers, including Tanya Wexler (Hysteria), Malgorzata Szumowska (Elles), Julia Dyer (The Playroom), Sharon Bar-Ziv (Room 514), Lucy Malloy (Una Noche), Kat Cairo (While We Were Here), and Beth Murphy (The List).

It’s unconscionable that the Cannes selection committee, which received in the neighborhood of 1,800 movie submissions, considers this artistic bias a non-issue. It’s up to bold filmmakers who are part of the boys’ club — Cronenberg, Daniels, and Anderson among them — to squawk about the inequity. We love them; now it’s time for them to return the love.

This column first appeared on AMC Filmcritic.com, and was edited by Nina Hammerling Smith

Filed Under: Essay, Movies & TV Tagged With: AMC filmcritic.com, Cannes Film Festival, David Cronenberg, Emily Blunt, Festivals, Lee Daniels, Thelma Adams on Reel Women, Tribeca International Film Festival, Wes Anderson, Women Directors

What “The Hunger Games” Owes to Milla Jovovich, Kate Beckinsale, and Sigourney Weaver

March 28, 2012 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Blame the alien bitch for the bad perm

 

With all the buzz surrounding The Hunger Games and the anticipation for its three sequels to come, there’s been plenty of shock and awe that a female-driven action movie has this kind of box office clout. And while some (like Melissa Silverstein on the must-read Women and Hollywood blog) have asked whether The Hunger Games will be the first real female franchise, I have a definitive answer: No. It can’t be. Because it’s not the first.

Though they’ve been oft-overlooked by the Hollywood establishment — and critics, too — at least three women-driven franchises have commanded the box office: Resident Evil‘s soon-to-be-five installments, anchored by Milla Jovovich, represent the most successful video-game movie series ever; Kate Beckinsale’s leads the four Underworld movies; and the grandma of the bunch, Sigourney Weaver, kicked extraterrestrial butt as Ripley in Alien and its sequels.

Violent Video-Game Vixen –[Read the full column on AMC filmcritic.com via Thelma Adams on Reel Women]

Filed Under: Essay, Movies & TV Tagged With: Alien, AMC filmcritic.com, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Beckinsale, Katniss, Melissa Silverstein, Milla Jovovich, Resident Evil, Sigourney Weaver, Strong Women, The Hunger Games, Thelma Adams on Reel Women, Underworld, Women and Hollywood

Thelma Adams on Reel Women: George Clooney does “Mr. Mom” in “The Descendants”

November 16, 2011 By Thelma Leave a Comment

George Clooney, Fatherhood,Alexander Payne,The Descendants,Oscar Race,Best Actor,Best Director,Best Pictures

the Descendants on the horizon

Here’s the latest entry from my AMC filmcritic.com column:

REMEMBER the famous line about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, “Sure he was great, but don’t forget Ginger Rogers did everything he did backwards … and in high heels”? Keep that in mind while enjoying Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, in which disaffected dad George Clooney finds himself by sliding into his wife’s shoes.

 

 

Filed Under: Movies & TV Tagged With: Alexander Payne, AMC filmcritic.com, George Clooney, The Descendants, Thelma Adams on Reel Women

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