"Women Don't Go to Movies" -- Huh?
A little-known fact: some studios recently decided to no longer make female-lead movies.
Lately, I've been in meetings regarding a new script idea I have. A studio executive asked me to change the female lead to a male, because... "women don't go to movies."
Really?
When I pointed out the box office successes of Sex and The City, Mamma Mia, and Obsessed, he called them "flukes." He said "don't quote me on this." So, I'm telling everybody.
I'm in a new movie, My Life In Ruins, out in theaters now. It's a small indie, that was picked up for distribution by a studio (thank you Fox Searchlight.) We're in one-third, maybe less, about one-quarter of the amount of screens of the big movies...yet we made it into the Top Ten.
I'm not too cool to admit this -- on the weekend, I snuck into the back of the theaters to hear people laughing. It's a very good-mood-inspiring sound, better than the sound of potatoes being dipped into a fryer. (Almost.)
The theaters were full of people laughing. Women were there. Sure, men were there, we are a date movie too, but the fact is women were there, some in big girls night groups.
Our movie isn't "playing everywhere," yet these audience members found it. We had an advertising budget of about 6 bucks, Canadian. We don't have billboards, or giant newspaper ads, or skywriting. So I've been Twittering (NiaVardalos), loading homemade videos onto YouTube : "My Life In Ruins, Really!" and blabbing to anyone who makes eye contact with me.
It's called show business for a reason. The theater owners want to make money, and understandably so. My Life In Ruins is the highest testing movie in Fox Searchlight history so we've been given a chance. And, the theater owners said they'll keep the movie in their theaters if people go.
So, women: can we speak up with our wallets?
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Well, I don't go to movies very often because (at least here) they turn the volume up so loud that the words come out distorted and I can't understand what is being said. If there is a lot of talking in a particular movie, I wait for the video so I can control the volume.
But this is not just a girl thing. My husband feels the same way.
We do go to Blockbuster types (like Star Trek) where we figure there will be more action than talking and it will look better on the big screen than on our TV. I wear earplugs.
I do love a good relationship movie, and will even read them if I have to (since there aren't so many in English).
Where are all the great scripts for women? We have women who can carry a movie, great actresses who deliver every time, both older and younger women whom we never see unless it's on a man's arm at HIS movie opening, or in an article on how there are no great roles for women any more. I'm sick of the schlubby guy and his drunken oafish friends and the clueless teenagers just trying to get some. Hey, Hollywood, word up: IT'S BEEN DONE! All I find to enjoy these days is the new Star Trek movie (right on! Great flick!) and "Up". What does that say for the studios' decision-making? And I rarely go to theaters any more for the same reasons noted previously - talking, texting/phoning, excessive cost and 45 minutes of way too loud previews (of the schlubby guy and his d.o.f.s) before they actually get to the one movie I want to see. The movie industry is doing to itself what the music industry already has, and it's a darn shame. The pleasures of life are narrowing rapidly, folks - grab some before it's too late!
My favorite chick flick is "Death Proof." (Not really, but it's way up there.) By the way, the name Cailleach is female,as am I.
(Continued); I also Netflix good films with male leads, because I can't afford to go the the theater that often (fairly recent favorites: Micheal Clayton, The Departed, No Country for Old Men).
I don't want to downplay the fact that we need more films with strong female leads. But please don't translate that into more "chick flicks". For a lot of women, the criteria is quality, as well as the "can I afford to see this at the theater" factor. There have been a lot of quality films with female leads in the last decade or so: The Queen, Juno, The Interpreter, The Brave One, The Golden Compass (I'm purposely leaving out the indies, like Proof).
Back farther yet: The Hours, Far from Heaven, North Country, Monster. My point being, bring the *quality*, and you'll get more women in the theaters. Also, the prices have to go down. The studios just don't get it, how many more women would go to see movies at the theater, if they were more affordable.
The way I look at it is there are not guy movies or girl movies, just good and bad movies. Now I'm a straight male, and I admit I would see a stupid loud action movie before I'd see a cheesy romantic comedy (I just would be more entertained), but I would definetly rather see a good movie with a largely woman cast than either of those things, by a long shot.
Take Volver, terrific Spanish movie with an almost entirely female cast, starring Penelope Cruz. I saw it on TV a year or so back and I was surprised how much I liked it. Atonement (certainly a different kind of movie but similarly with strong female characters carrying most of the weight) is another one I saw fairly recently that I liked a lot, so much that I checked out the novel from the library and read that too.
Then again I'm not the typical straight male movie goer. Most guys run for the hills from anything that gets labeled a chick flick unless their wife or girlfriend drags them to one on a date.
I hate being told what I'm "supposed" to like, because I'm a woman. I was bored senseless by My Big Fat Greek Wedding, so will definitely give this one a miss. You couldn't drag me to Mama Mia and my least favorite genre is the "romantic comedy". The vast majority, geared toward "the female audience", cater to the lowest common denominator of taste, same as the new sub-genre of romantic comedy geared toward young men ("the nerd gets the hot chick").
And spare me from the groaningly anti-feminist Twilight, even though I'm a huge Scifi and fantasy fan.
I'll go for a quality SciFi or fantasy flick as my first choice at the theater, every time. Theater prices are obscene, so I save the rare times I can afford it for something I really want to see on the big screen. The last movie I saw at the theater was Star Trek, and I loved every minute. The audience (a week night, toward end of the second week after release) was a mix of gender and age. On the other hand, I avoided Terminator:Salvation and Wolverine, because of really bad reviews from both reviewers and people I know.
I can Netflix Films like The Reader, Changeling, Doubt - all films with strong female leads. But I can say the same for films with male leads.
How can Nia get all the way to a meeting with executives and not know what she'd dealing with?
As noted already, this article is Vardalos' ad to promote her movie. By playing the underdog card, she's hoping to persuade readers to come out to theaters for her. But It's worth noting that studio executives pay a lot of attention to market research. While this anonymous executive generalized in order to get Vardalos out of his office, his opinion was probably based on quantified information indicating men watch many more movies than women.
Vardalos made one movie that struck a nerve and was the perfect part for her about the perfect subject for her. It's unlikely she can produce the same commercial results as she did with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and the anonymous executive may have felt the same way. If he thought her movie was half as commercially viable, he would have bought her script in a New York minute.
While women will some day have as much clout in the studios as men, women hoping for more female-oriented movies shouldn't get their hopes up too high. The women executives are going to be interested in the bottom line, and if that means more family-oriented kids fare, testosterone-driven action movies, buddy comedies featuring male comic actors, and romances where the female lead hooks up with a doctor/financier/other type of well-to-do knight in shining armor, then those are the movies the executives will make.
This is one woman who does not go to the movies very often, precisely because I do not want to support this sexist industry.
But Nia, you might ask that executive where he is getting his info: market research? If so, how good is the research: has anyone bothered to ask why women don't go to movies--or if that is even true? I used to work for a market research firm in college and I can tell you that a lot of the studies were crap, since they never actually asked people *why* they bought or did not buy a product.
One last note: since I am at work I can't read the comments here yet, but just in case anyone is hating on Los Angeles because of this Hollywood BS, let me assure people that there are many Angelinos (& Angelinas) who detest the celluloid industry precisely because of this crap.
(continued)
6. I pay about $150 a month for full cable with On Demand and DVR. That's about the equivalent cost of two trips to the movies with my husband and kids. Movies are going to cable with increasing speed. Why not wait a few months to see it in the comfort of my home? There are exceptions, but few movies really need a big screen to be enjoyed.
7. There used to be two theaters near us that ran second-run movies. The seating was couches and chairs. They served real food that they brought to your seats. They kicked people out who were noisy. They limited the viewings that allowed children, as they also served wine and beer. They were great. The owners burned out, and now they're closed.
8. I'm sick of movies where the female leads end up nude while the males don't. Fair's fair. One or the other.
9. The men who greenlight movies seem focused on what adolescent males want. Guess what? Most adolescent males don't have as much money to spend as they used to. Economy's pretty tight. That coveted 18-34 demographic does not have the same free-spending habits they used to. If they are in college or just out, then they're buried in student debt. If they aren't, then they're saving for a mortgage or trying to get by with a job in the service industry. They currently have the lowest income level for that generation in decades.
(continued)
3. Theaters not making any effort to quiet patrons who are talking to each other, on their cellphones, or yelling across the theater. I understand outcries related to the movie, but I don't want to hear about who you're planning to hit this weekend or how wasted you got two nights ago. I don't want to go to the effort of going to the theater and have my only recourse be to get a refund when there's a problem.
4. I don't like most of what are considered chick flicks. I tolerated The Devil Wears Prada. I have absolutely no interest in Sex and the City, Confessions of a Shopholic, etc. Boring. How about some women's movies? Back in the golden age of movies, most of the audience was women. They made so many movies with women at the center of the story. Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Mae West, Jean Harlow, and so on. They were seldom side characters; they were the centers of the stories. During the silent era, there were so many women making movies, not just actresses, but writers and directors. WWII and the return to a more patriarchal society seemed to spell the end for these types of movies.
5. I love action movies. Really. Superhero movies, too. But I don't want to spend from May through August with that being the main movie option.
Of course, women go to movies. However, I don't go to the movies as much as I did when I was younger for several reasons:
1. I have kids. Either I find a sitter so my husband and I can see an adult movie, or we have to see a movie the kids can see. Seeing a movie with kids means a lot more money, because while the tickets are cheaper for kids, they want food, expensive theater food.
2. The Apatow movies may be funny, but I'm tired of the fat, ugly schlub with hot girl trend they started. Men want to see attractive women in movies. I want to see attractive men. I don't want to pay $10+ for a ticket to one more movie were the loser jerk gets the hot girl. It's the same repetitive storyline as all the women's romance books in reverse. Remember Jane Eyre? Plain girl gets rich guy? Harlequin romances full of wallflowers scoring the duke?
(to be continued)
NIa-- I admire your chutzpah! I also admire the fact that Rita Wilson has pull and clout!
As you have proven-- it takes a "team effort." I do believe more women in the business could benefit from having partners. Remember Sanford and Pillsbury-- they produced Madonna's first film.
If your Lauren Schuller Donner-- you can get major distribution. She's got Dick!
Stick with Rita--she'll keep your life out of ruins. Next time, say, no! to the Goodbye Guy and put the girl (Rita) in the movie instead-- what a tour de force!
Just like in school - girls will read stories about guys, but guys won't read (watch) stories about women.....
....otherwise known as...(drum roll)...sexism and privilege!
http://hereswhatidontget.blogspot.com
I'd rather see an indie, British or foreign film than a Hollywood blockbuster.
Partly because of the intelligence level, partly because the actors and actresses haven't been done up to look like interchangeable Barbies and Kens.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
