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Home , Chick flick, Emma Stone, Leslie Jones (comedian), Lucia Aniello, Melissa McCarthy, Sarah Paulson

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In 2010, when signed on to star in a role originally written for a man— Tom Cruise—in the action blockbuster Salt, she had only two requests: That she NOT YOUR TYPICAL could do all her own stunts and that they do no re-writing to accommodate the ’s new heroine.

A year later, what was being described as the female answer to bachelor-party box- office smash, The Hangover, hit theaters. Bridesmaids, with its infamous airplane scene and featuring a then-unknown Melissa McCarthy, would become the yard- ALL-FEMALE MOVIE REBOOTS ARE CHANGING THE WAY stick with which all female-led comedies would be measured. Equal parts hilarious THINKS OF WOMEN’S PICTURES. and touching, it was an honest, relatable look at friendship that just happened to feature a cast of women. It wasn’t just funny for a female-led film. It was plain funny, BY JESSICA HAAS and it had the box office numbers to prove it: almost $300 million in ticket sales. © PHOTO CREDIT HERE CREDIT PHOTO © HERE CREDIT PHOTO © © 2016 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC.

The cast of Ocean’s Eight, from left to right: , , , , , , , and Sarah Paulson. 72 FEATURES

Since then, Hollywood studios have tried to recreate that lightening in a bottle, THE ROLES with mixed results. What’s safe to say, though, is that women are taking the chick THAT REDEFINE flick back. What was once a term used as an insult—Cosmos, romantic mishaps, eventual heavy rotation on the Lifetime network—is now one that audiences ex- Danielle Macdonald, Patti Cake$ pect more from, and studios are beginning to deliver what they now demand: Smart, Australian newcomer Danielle Macdonald clever stories with multifaceted characters who just happen to be women. McCar- gives a breakout performance as Patricia thy’s character in 2016’s all-female reboot of summed it up pretty well: Dumbroski, aka Patti Cake$, in this 8 “All right, , let’s loosen his grip.” Mile-meets-Juno story about an aspiring New Jersey rapper. LESS STRESS Sure, she may have been referring to a giant poltergeist with way too much power, Gal Gadot, Justice League but then again, many would call that a pretty close analogy when it comes to Hol- more control lywood and how it has historically approached which get the greenlight. After the success of Wonder , fans couldn’t wait to see more of Gal Gadot as the lasso-wielding super hero. On a Late Show appearance last year, Stephen Colbert asked Cate Blanchett why Thanks to Justice League, they didn’t the all-female reboot of the Ocean’s Eleven collection—which she stars in—is only have to wait long. Ocean’s Eight. She joked: “There’s only eight women working in Hollywood.” And in an interview with Elle magazine, Blanchett’s Ocean’s Eight costar Anne Hathaway Awkwafina, Ocean’s Eight reflected on how she rarely gets to experience that feeling of being in familiar ter- With a star-studded female cast that ritory on a set: includes Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Rihanna, the ultimate heist may turn “Hollywood is not a place of equality. I don’t say that with anger or judgment; it’s a out to be a scene stealer for this rapper/ statistical fact. And even though I’ve been in some female-centric films, I’ve never from . been in a film like this. It just kind of makes you aware of the ways you sort of , Battle of the Sexes unconsciously change yourself to fit certain scenarios. It’s not better or worse… Coming off her Oscar for , or right or wrong, but there are certain things you understand about one another Emma Stone traded tap shoes for a killer because of experiences you have in common…it’s probably easy for men to take that backswing in this true story about the for granted. Just being on a set where I’m the one who possesses that ease is really infamous 1973 tennis match between something. It’s a nice alternative narrative.” and . That narrative is especially hard to create in comedies. The all-star cast of the Ghostbusters reboot—which included McCarthy and Bridesmaids costar Kristin SKY FINDER COLLECTION Wiig, , and ’s Kate McKinnon—learned just how challenging it is to be embraced as funny women. Even before the movie hit the- aters, the reactions to news the film existed at all was visceral. Upping the “dislikes” Be the of your life with the new Skyfinder Collection, on its YouTube trailer became a game, and the comments were a reminder of how embedded as all Philip Stein products with our unique far women still have to go when it comes to gender equality: “Women are just in- Natural Frequency Technology ® which harnesses and The cast of the 2016 Ghostbusters capable of being funny. What a terrible idea;” “Feminists ruin the world;” “Did this channels frequencies to help you feel less stressed and remake failed to impress at the box office. just become a chick flick?” improve your overall wellbeing. “It’s not fair that, in 2016, we should be in this situation where this is standard,” , who directed Ghostbusters and Bridesmaids, told the Times. “That’s where Hollywood should go, ‘Wow, we are so behind the times.’” He went on to say, Discover your wellbeing at philipstein.com “The whole chick flick idea is an excuse for guys not to have to see something. 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Angelina Jolie as agent Evelyn Salt, in 2010’s Salt.

The comedy sub- that is particularly on the rise is the is the head of ’s MBA/MFA Dual Degree raunchy female comedy. Before Bridesmaids, women’s films program, where students learn both the artistic and business were typically kept PG-13: Strategically placed sheets, a little side of filmmaking. cat fighting, and a mildly potty-mouthed sidekick who, “tells it like it is.” But recently, Hollywood has (slowly) started to “Studios have been reduced to making really expensive mov- acknowledge that women can curse like sailors, drink whis- ies,” he explains, “and so they have always had a reliance on key, and—gasp—have sexual encounters that take place previous performance. Because they’ve had little proof of above the covers. Even rarer still is the R-rated studio com- successful women directors, there’s a reluctance to hire fe- edy directed by a woman. Bridget Jones’s Diary in 2001 was male directors—or make ‘women’s’ films—and so it perpetu- the last one, if we don’t count It’s Complicated, which earned ates. Which is all kinds of silly, because if you want to run the an R because smokes marijuana in one scene. numbers, there are more women going to movies than men.” Despite that fact, only 29 percent of the top 100 films in 2016 Last year’s —another film described as the fe- featured women in leading roles. male answer to The Hangover—was directed by Lucia Aniello, who also writes and directs for Comedy Central’s , The industry that has successfully changed, he says, is, television. a show that’s been described as, “a love story…about two hap- less, pot-smoking, sexually experimental, striving, swearing, “For the first time in the industry—which is aware they have a struggling, inseparable young gal pals running amok on the problem—the number [of female roles and directors] is much streets of modern-day .” She, too, wonders why higher in television than film. TV has figured out how to find Hollywood hasn’t made more room for films starring and di- the right director, the right cast, and execute properly.” He rected by women. says shows like Orange Is the New Black and last year’s de- but of Glow, a comedy-drama created by Liz Flahive (Home- “No one’s saying, ‘Hey Will Ferrell, did you know Kevin Hart land, Nurse Jackie) and Carly Mensch (Orange Is the New Black, also has a movie coming out this year? Is that a trend? What Weeds), inspired by the eponymous real-life female wrestling do you think of that? Is your movie the white version of his circuit, “really work.” movie?’” Aniello told Vox. “They don’t have to deal with any of that. They just get to make movies. And sometimes they “Television has become testing lab,” he says, “and stream- make money, sometimes they don’t, but guess what? They ing has created an insatiable appetite for content. , still get to make another one.” , —it’s no longer the film business, it’s the con- &DER0H[LFRȿ&R]XPHO0H[LFRȿ1DVVDX%DKDPDV tent business. The success of female creators, especially on )DOPRXWK-DPDLFDȿ3KLOLSVEXUJ6W0DUWHQ The issue, or at least one of them, says Peter Newman, is that streaming services, has afforded the opportunity for women ZZZ'LDPRQGV,QWHUQDWLRQDOFRP for generations studios have had an aversion to risk. Newman to build up their reputation.” PART OF THE TITANIC-DNA COLLECTION, THE RED CHRONO REPRESENTS CABO - MEXICO | COZUMEL - MEXICO | NASSAU - BAHAMAS POWERFUL MECHANICAL INGENUITY. THE BEZEL OF THIS RETRO-FUTURISTIC, SWISS FALMOUTH- JAMAICA | PHILIPSBURG - ST.MAARTEN MADE TIMEPIECE CONTAINS OXIDIZED STEEL FROM THE LEGENDARY OCEAN LINER. www.romainjerome.ch www.diamondsinternational.com

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Hollywood doesn’t allow for that kind of building. It’s is often described as a boy’s club, and, like many industries, opportunity knocks because someone with pull has given it your address. For more women to be successful both in front of the screen and behind it, a culture where more talented women are recognized, and rewarded, needs to be created.

Aniello had the support of , both in Broad City and Rough Night. “The reason we’re in this position is because some women helped us,” she told Vox. “You gotta try to help people whose voices you know are important.” Similarly, where there is a Melissa McCarthy or a Kristin Wiig, there is often a female SNL newbie or a friend from the improv days.

Of course, opportunity doesn’t always translate into success at the box office. Nei- ther Ghostbusters nor Rough Night experienced the success of Bridesmaids, proving that studios can’t simply fit female characters where male ones once were and ex- pect audiences to flock to the theaters. The reboot trend has proved there is indeed an appetite for female-led films, but success comes down to whether or not those films are smart, imaginative, and well-made.

“It’s overly simplistic thinking on the part of Hollywood, to say, ‘let’s put X females where there were X guys and we’ll have a hit,’” says Newman. “If you make a bad reboot, it irritates the fans of the previous films, and people will point the finger and say, ‘Women are the problem.’” Instead, he says, studios need to focus on fit.

“Take Wonder Woman,” he says, “they got a really good director, Patty Jenkins, who was the right mix. Ava DuVernay was chosen to direct A Wrinkle in Time—yes, she’s a woman of color making a big franchise movie, but it’s because she’s a good match and has made good movies.”

Last summer’s ’s Trip was a good movie—great, critics almost unanimously said—that also happened to feature a female-led cast, including and Jada Pinkett Smith. Inspired by movie plots centered around guys having crazy ad- ventures and behaving badly together, producer Will Packer (Straight Outta Comp- ton) wanted to make a version that not only starred women, but black women. He Summer 2017 saw the release of two also knew it had to be good. female-driven comedies, Rough Night (above) and Girl’s Trip (below). “You’re baking the cake and all the ingredients have to be just right or it falls flat,” he told the LA Times. “We’re in a time when comedies have not been working in the theatrical marketplace. This one happens to be fronted by four black women, but it’s original storytelling and has universal themes.”

If that formula translates into revenue for Hollywood studios, history dictates we’ll see more films like it.

“A lot of the stuff I write is really diverse in terms of the characters’ races and back- grounds, but I feel like the themes and story lines are very relatable,” Girl’s Trip writer Tracy Oliver told Creative Screenwriting. “As a black woman I’m totally dif- ferent to , but I can still find those movies relatable and fun… [Girl’s Trip] has transcended and reached people of all different colors and backgrounds. I hope people can move past their biases and just say, ‘I want to go see a fun movie tonight,’ and forget about the fact they don’t look like the people on screen.”

Spending a Saturday night in a dark theater to escape reality for a couple hours?

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