In a Hollywood Reporter story featuring CBS’ female showrunners and actresses, “Mom” star Anna Faris spoke out about changing the competitive, cut-throat world that actresses are forced to fight through. “We don’t have a sense of community because we don’t get to work with each other often,” Farris said, mentioning the dearth of roles for women as a contributing factor to this. She contrasted her experience with her husband Chris Pratt’s, explaining, “Chris is buddies with all these actors. They’ll do each other favors, they’ll go to each other’s table reads. And the only times I see actress acquaintances of mine is at events.”
It’s possible that the problem is exacerbated by Faris’s role as a comedian. Exceptions like “Bridesmaids” and the “Pitch Perfect” franchise aside, most large ensemble comedies feature male players, with a single funny woman thrown in as an aside. When women rise to the top of the field as comedic actresses, they’re usually surrounded by male co-stars.
Faris’s solution to the problem is simple: creating an alternative to the old boy’s club of Hollywood. “I want to start a monthly brunch at my house. No agenda, just actresses hanging out and getting to know each other. Because we don’t get that. Instead it’s a feeling of being pitted against one another.” If the goal is to effect lasting change in the entrenched sexism of Hollywood with women supporting other women, Faris has the right idea.
Touching on the gender pay gap, Faris says, “Financially, studios can be like, ‘Well we’ll just change out this one for that one and pay her less.’” She praised Patricia Arquette’s Oscar speech demanding pay equality, calling it “just jaw-dropping.”
While Faris says that her proposed brunch would be a no-strings-attached avenue for creating strong female friendships in a competitive town, she doesn’t shy away from the suggestion of collaboration. “If we create a brilliant project, awesome. As women, we definitely have to generate our own work.”
The third season of “Mom” will premiere on CBS November 5. We’ll be keeping an eye out in hopes that Faris and her burgeoning girl crew create some women-centric comedies together soon.
[via The Hollywood Reporter]
