Sally Field spoke candidly about the lack of roles for women — particularly older women and women of color — in Hollywood during a recent interview with Variety.
The Oscar-winning actress is currently at SXSW premiering “Hello, My Name is Doris,” her first leading role in almost 20 years. Field is getting excellent buzz for her performance, with Indiewire writing that “the actress is at her best” in the comedy about a middle-aged woman who pursues her co-worker, a considerably younger man (Max Greenfield, “New Girl”).
So why has it taken Field, a famous and acclaimed actress, so long to land a juicy starring role? After the screening of “Hello, My Name is Doris,” Field explained that it’s rare to get material that good. When Variety probed about the reason for the dearth of good material — speculating that it’s the consequence of Hollywood not writing roles for women in general, especially women over 30 — Field concurred.
“They don’t write roles for women… and they certainly don’t write roles for women of age and women of color,” said Field. She elaborated, “Since the industry is run by men, men have a tendency to want to make stories about themselves and things they identify with. Then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
The interview is well worth reading in full. Field, who has also worked as a producer and director, suggests that there is an audience for female-centric movies, and the reason these films aren’t being greenlit is myopia. Of course, we heartily agree.
Unfortuantely, there’s no word yet on when “Hello, My Name is Doris” will open in theaters.
[via Variety]
