Here’s a piece from Dr. Martha Lauzen — the guru of Hollywood stats — that appeared on the Women’s Media Center site. She pulls a gender reverse on how Hollywood is run.
Here are some highlights:
- Films made by and for a male audience would be considered a “niche” and frequently referred as “small films.”
- A major studio would entrust a woman who had previously directed one relatively low-budget romantic comedy to helm an expensive and high-profile tentpole reboot of a popular comic book franchise. No one in the Hollywood community would bat a fake eyelash.
- Male movie-goers would routinely contort themselves to adopt a female point-of-view in order to identify with the mostly female driven and created fare at the neighborhood multiplex. They would wistfully wonder when Hollywood would make films they could relate to.
- When a film featuring a male comic lead was successful, studio executives would scratch their heads in amazement and wonder, “Are men funny?”
- Every successful film featuring a primarily or all-male cast would be considered a fluke. These films would be praised when they appealed to a female audience.
- Studio executives would name five male directors they had ever worked with — in their entire careers — as proof that men are just as likely to direct features as women.
- Every journalist writing about Kathryn Bigelow would feel compelled to wax poetic about her films, constructing a nearly indestructible “girl wonder” myth around her and her work. Simultaneously, token male directors would bristle when journalists focused on their appearance, former and current marital connections to powerful women in the business, and the fact that they’re men.
People familiar with this site have read many pieces along this line.
Read the full piece here.
