Time for A Woman’s Studio – Warner Brothers Boycott
Warner Brothers Boycott
According to Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily, Warner Brothers president Jeff Robinov is no longer interested in seeing any scripts with a female in the lead. Nikki’s sources are several insider producers, who relayed to her “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).”
This supposedly is a knee jerk reaction by Robinov to the weak box office showing of The Brave One and The Invasion. But in review of the films with female leads put out by Warner Brothers in the last few years, there few to none. Lots of damsels in distress – Lady In The Water, Gothika, The Fountain. From 2000 to 2006, the list of films that have solely strong female leads are 2 – Catwoman, Charlotte Gray. That’s literally shameful.
It is clearly time for a female headed production studio. Our stories are not being considered, or being told mindfully and with respect. Studios focus on the biggest bang for their buck, going for the lowest common traits in us all. Instead, studios should be looking at the multiplicity of voices across the globe, male and female, and allow for artists to make smaller films that celebrate the diversity of talent and content available. Smaller productions, with better quality and mindful of its impact on our collective voice, will in the long run, be much more profitable than these huge gambles on massive features that do not uplift or engage the viewer in a meaningful way. Mass media’s goal should not be the homogenization of thought or art, and in pursuing this vigorously, they have succeeded in putting their own heads fully up their own asses, otherwise known as box office disasters.
Gloria Alred, when reached by Nikki for comment, released this statement:
“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.”
Keep watch on SheStory.tv to monitor the boycott of Warner Brothers and any production company that works with them. Thanks to IMDB, keeping up-to-date on who is working with WB won’t be too hard.
Peace,
Melissa
