Great news for fans of comics and female-fronted stories: “The Kitchen” is coming to the big-screen. The Vertigo comic series, which The Tracking Board notes “has been celebrated for its reinvention of the classic mobster genre by putting empowered women at the center of the story,” will be adapted by Andrea Berloff (“Straight Outta Compton”) for New Line Cinema.
“The Kitchen” takes place in NYC during the late ’70s, a time when, The Tracking Board writes, “Times Square is a haven for sex and drugs. The city teeters on the verge of bankruptcy, while blackouts can strike at any moment. The Irish gangs of Hell’s Kitchen rule the neighborhood, bringing terror to the streets and doing the dirty work for the Italian Mafia. Jimmy Brennan and his crew were the hardest bastards in the Kitchen, but after they’re all put in prison, their wives — Kath, Raven, and Angie — decide to keep running their rackets. And once they get a taste of the fast life and easy money, it won’t be easy to stop.”
Comic book movies have been famously uninclusive towards women both on-screen and behind the scenes. That being said, “The Kitchen” is not the only comic adaptation by or about woman on our radar. Other projects to look forward to include “Captain Marvel,” written by Nicole Perlman (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) and Meg LeFauve (“Inside Out”), and Patty Jenkin’s long-awaited “Wonder Woman” movie is set to hit theaters next summer. Neither “Captain Marvel” nor “The Kitchen” have a director attached. We’re hopeful that women will be hired to helm these empowering female-centric stories.
Berloff is best known for co-writing one of 2015’s biggest success stories, “Straight Outta Compton.” The portrait of hip hop group N.W.A. grossed over $200 million on a budget of $28 million, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Script.
“The Kitchen” won’t mark Berloff’s first credit post-”Compton.” She’s set to co-write another upcoming genre film — “The Legend of Conan,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The in-demand screenwriter co-wrote “Blood Father,” a thriller starring Mel Gibson slated for release later this summer. She also co-wrote “Sleepless,” an action film about a cop searching for his kidnapped son, starring Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan, due early in 2017.
