By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
"A Great Year For Actresses"–Really?
Has 2006 really been a great year for actresses?
Christopher Goodwin of the Times of London thinks so. There are so many great leading parts for women this year.” he writes, above and beyond the the frequently mention big names like Helen Mirren (THE QUEEN), Penelope Cruz (VOLVER) and Meryl Streep (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA), “that other favorites may end up competing in the best supporting category.
And who are these women? He names Kate Winslet as an adulterous housewife in LITTLE CHILDREN, Sienna Miller as Edie Sedgwick in FACTORY GIRL, Beyonce Knowles in DREAMGIRLS, Nicole Kidman, who plays Diane Arbus in FUR, Annette Bening from RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, Abigail Breslin, the little girl from LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, and even Julie Christie who has a relatively small role as an Alzheimer’s sufferer in AWAY FROM HER.
What’s notable about these roles, writes Goodwin, is how well written they are. “The perennial criticism of the major Hollywood studios — for not creating good parts for women, and for not making films that women (and I don’t mean teenage girls) want to see — is still valid. In 2005, for example, women were not the protagonists of any of the films nominated for best picture. Reese Witherspoon won best actress Oscar for playing June Carter Cash, the endlessly supportive wife of WALK THE LINE’s real subject, Johnny Cash. And the only actress over 50 to win an Oscar in either acting category in the past two decades is Judi Dench, best supporting actress for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE in 1999.”
“It’s Hollywood’s fault,” says Pedro Almodovar, the Spanish director of VOLVER, who knows a thing or two about creating great roles for women. “In other countries, we encourage diversity and want to tell stories about all kinds of women. In the past decade, you can count the number of Hollywood dramas that have revolved around women. The studios have forgotten that women are fascinating, more than just mannequins.”
Goodwin also gets into the profitability of these films, which appeal to an underserved market. “Producer Laura Bickford (TRAFFIC, FUR) believes that, lamentable as the studios’ neglect of the female audience is, it may be the main reason we are now seeing so many terrific films starring women. “As the studios have become more intensely focused on male-oriented blockbusters, it has opened up a huge area for the independents to exploit. Clearly, the studios have underestimated the potential buying power of the adult — non-teenage — female audience. .. And the thing about the baby-boom female audience is that if the price is right, it is very lucrative.” The Devil Wears Prada, for instance, which was targeted strongly at older women, has taken $125m at the US box office, much the same as Mission: Impossible III, which cost five times as much to make. You do the maths.”
