Warner Bros Honcho Decrees: No More Films With Female Leads

Deadline Hollywood Daily:

This comes to me from three different producers, so I know it's real: Warner Bros president of production Jeff Robinov has made a new decree that "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead". This Neanderthal thinking comes after both Jodie Foster's The Brave One (even though she's had big recent hits with Flightplan and Panic Room) and Nicole Kidman's The Invasion (as if three different directors didn't have something to do with the awfulness of the gross receipts) under-performed at the box office recently. "Can you imagine when Gloria Allred gets hold of this? It's going to be like World War III," one producer just told me. (I put in a call to Glo, who comments below.)

Read the whole story: Deadline Hollywood Daily

Comments

[TheQuestion]

Maybe they should just concentrate on making good movies. I have seen about ten movies this year - maybe one or two of them was good. You just get kind of weary and figure it isn't worth your time & money to go the the theater.

[isis126]

Maybe we should also take the classic movies with female leads off the shelf. So...no more Wizard of Oz, Alien (all three...wh­ere even the big ol' monster was a broad), Gone with the Wind.

[Blutus]

Not to mention Cold Mountain, Brokeback Mountain and A Man to Match My Mountains.

[mamacat]

Jodie Foster has made some really good movies, but this latest one sounds like a loser. Whether the lead is a male or female, the action flick where an injured party goes after those who did the injury is not new. It has been done many times before, and, given how very talented and intelligent Ms. Foster is, I cannot understand why she chose to even make this latest movie.

I would really like to know why Ms. Foster has quit making good movies.

[Anastasia]

When all else fails, blame Nicole Kidman, Dept.

From Defamer.com:

Warner Bros.: Hey, Why Is No One Paying Attention To Our Cheaper Flops?

http://defamer.com/hollywood/jeff-robinov/

Today's NY Times' looks at the strategy that Warner Bros. executives are embracing going forward from the bomb-strewn summer...

In the story, shellshock­ed-but-res­olute WB muckity-mucks Jeff Robinov and Alan Horn lament that people have harped on their higher-profile disasters, while ignoring all the money they've proudly lost on lower-budgeted projects.

[ceasenake]

They want to make money.

It's their buisness what kind of movie they make.

If someone else can beat them with movies starring women, they will change their tunes.

Nothing personal!

[cruisepuppy7452a]

A film is only as good as its script. No actor can take a lemmon and turn it into a a rolls royce. Not going to happen. Don't blame the actors, blame who is writing this garbage that is passing for film making. On the slip side of this, you have to have good actors, and fame ain't going to cut it if they can't act.
I worked in this industry as an associate producer, I have seen directors choose people they know couldn't act, but would give it up on the casting couch. Good actors are those who can improvise, make it look effortless. Most won't take scripts that are crap, wait for something decent to work in.
Hollywood needs to open its eyes to the new writers coming out of areas that don't get alot of play time. Some of the best writers are people who you never see, or hear about. Those are the ones who should be making movies. Not this formula crap. It might sell, but its nothing to be proud of.

[GRAYWOLF241]

I HAVEN'T SEEN JODIE'S FILM, BUT WILL WHEN IT COMES OUT ON DVD; WHERE IT WILL PROBABLY MAKE QUITE A LOT OF MONEY. I DON'T GO TO THEATERS ANY MORE BECAUSE EVEN IN A HICK TOWN LIKE TALLAHASSEE IT COSTS ABOUT 25 BUCKS FOR TWO PEOPLE. BEING A MORON, ROBINOV CAN'T BLAME KIDMAN FOR "INVASION'S" POOR PERFORMANCE SINCE IT WAS A REMAKE OF A REMAKE THE WASN'T ALL THAT GREAT THE FIRST TIME AROUND. I WOULD MUCH RATHER SEE A FILM WITH A FEMALE LEAD SINCE IT USUALLY HAS SUBTANCE WHEN COMPARED TO THE BANG-BANG DRIVEL THAT ACCOMPANIES PITT, CRUISE AND CROWE.

[sgt.]

One woman....
Its probably been years since a little sausage found its way into your huge open sore....I mean vagina....­I'm sure you screamed rape after that one, so you could claim true victimizat­ion...Do you recieve child support for rape?
Woman need to relax.
Being subservient to men isn't such a bad lot in life...You­'ll get used to it...Again­.
Get out your burkas girls. If we lose in Iraq you will be wearing the islamofashions you so despise. Then it'll be back to the grind...Su­cking your man's sausage when your not birthin' his babies and cooking his and his dogs meals.
Cheers

[wars4profit]

sgt.--Your candor is admirable. You're not a stealth misogynist. You say it loud and say it proud! You'd get along great with the worst troll on Huffpo, MI6troll.

[OneWoman]

Wow. Your hatred is palpable.

I find it interesting that my "pig/sausage" joke got you so emotional. One silly joke about men and you come out swinging; yet you deny me the right to object when it happens to me. Hey, consider yourself lucky; at least you do not have to contend with systemic sexism. It's obvious you wouldn't be able to handle it.

As for your comment, you are correct: it has been years since I've had a "little" sausage. Fortunately, I have a lot of options when it comes to men, so I can afford to be selective.

[sgt.]

Women cannot carry a leadership position no matter how politically correct it may seem.

Hillary would still be known as the name of a cow if Hillary "can't make her mind up" Rodham Clinton wasn't the wife of "lack of character and impeached" Bill Clinton.

It will be sad in 2008 when Giuliani, or McCain walks away with the presidency because the dumbassed Democrats put Hillary up instead of someone who can really lead this country.

I'm a democrat with a lot to lose if a republican is elected president in 2008,
but I will never vote for some godamn vagina like Hillary just because she was once the wife of a president. The ONLY reason she won the NY Senate seat was because of her husband.
Hell, she probably can't even suck cock very well....He­r husband had to get it somewhere else...
Gag...gag.­...

[pleeezzze]

sgt...Why in this or any other WORLD would you think you're INSANE thinking would be correct ???

What could possibly make you think that what you've written should be,or is a womans role in the world.

As far as LEADERSHIP goes, I think the CURRENT LACK THERE OF, speaks for itself !!

Why would any MAN think a woman should suck his cock ??????

You are a MOST DEGRADING HUMAN !!!

[OneTop]

Who really cares what he says ?
He'd sell his own momma for a box office success.

For the most part, films that come out of this studio are all formula stuff anyway.

Not like a new idea or concept is going to cross their minds .... sheesh ...... do another remake why don't ya ...... and wonder why you flop on your face !

[lauram]

Why is it that women are expected to go to male-led blockbusters w/their boyfriends­/husbands, but males are much less likely to go to female-led blockbusters w/their girlfriends/wives?

Of course the male-led films do better, they get the male-buddy audiences and the male-female audiences. Female-led films generally only get the female-buddy audiences.

The women in the audience need to have a little more say in what movies they'll see and the men need to TRY to see some female-led pictures from time to time. Oh, I know, horrors, that he should have to sit through a chick-flick; but naturally she should have to sit through a dick-flick.

[Doug]

Ummmm... most successful chic flicks have a male lead.

[susiesorority]

What they're really saying is that America is in the death throes of the Big Dick land grab--politically, socially, and of course economically, so they need to peddle s*&t as long as they can. It won't last forever, so to hell with them--good independent and international films are out there.

[Doug]

As for indie films, once in a while there is a gem. Most are shit.

[Gary47]

OK, and let's have no more male-led production companies.

[Maxx61]

I'm surprised so many females here are taking this personally when in fact, it's simple economics. If WB's top five-grossing movies of the year were all made hosting female leads, I highly doubt this would be a headline nor a consideration. It's simply an economic decision that is fueled by poor ticket sales.
Entertainment is a business and it appears to me that WB has given several high profile women the opportunity to bring in the bucks and they failed. My problem with this story stems from Robinov's reasoning that those lackluster ticket sales were due to the women and not the weak scripts they were presented.
Jodie Foster's recent movie was quite good actually.

[TXfemmom]

Look, there are far more movies which are flops, that are lead by male actors, but they don't take the position that they are not going to have any further males in the leads.

This is just blatant sexism, and Warner deserves to see how they feel when the female public BOYCOTTS all their movies.

[OneWoman]

Lots of things are not being taken into account, such as the budget, script, producer, director, supporting staff, advertising; etc. Somehow it all comes down to the female lead? This is implistic thinking at best!

Count me (and, by proxy, my family)in for the boycott.

[OneWoman]

oops. simplistic.

[leftLibertarian]

I love that photo of Jodie holding a handgun. It really turns me on!

[ChimpmasterDJ]

uh oh... is that you, Hinckley?

[kalapa]

No problem about boycotting Warner Bro's garbage. Its unlikely I watch their films anyway.

As many of my friends agreed at recent discussion we had after a Film Festival event, none of us watch many Hollywood films anymore. Cliched, violent, formulaic, male-centric, nihilistic, numbing...­.hard to understand why they're considered "entertainment".

After all, their desired target audience are teenage boys, who are - by and large - the least life-affirming demographic there is! This is what comes from profit being the only yardstick of success.