Whedon Clarifies Gender Comments, Wouldn't "Rule Out" Directing "Captain Marvel"

[MarvelMaster616]

I hope he does get a chance to direct Captain Marvel. But I think the main reason he said all those things about sexism in movies is because he's still bitter that his Wonder Woman project got banned. I think that really did bug him and he's still not over it. I think he, and many others, were frustrated how Hollywood let failures such as Catwoman and Elektra completely turn them off doing any female-based movies. I hope Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman can change that. There does seem to be a shift going on with female characters. The success of supporting characters like Black Widow and non-traditional female roles like Frozen and Legend of Korra now have mass appeal. So I think the time is right for female-led movies to succeed.

[Rogue Star]

I hope he does get a chance to direct Captain Marvel. But I think the main reason he said all those things about sexism in movies is because he's still bitter that his Wonder Woman project got banned. I think that really did bug him and he's still not over it. I think he, and many others, were frustrated how Hollywood let failures such as Catwoman and Elektra completely turn them off doing any female-based movies. I hope Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman can change that. There does seem to be a shift going on with female characters. The success of supporting characters like Black Widow and non-traditional female roles like Frozen and Legend of Korra now have mass appeal. So I think the time is right for female-led movies to succeed.

I have little faith that Wonder Woman will be the movie to turn things around unless they stick Batman somewhere in there, even in a cameo. But that could all change when I see the first trailer for her movie.

[Powerboy]

It's mostly men determining whether projects featuring women have any merit, and history has shown male centric projects get more chances regardless of success.

True. There's also a way of thinking. I rather suspect that, for instance, if the Hulk movie didn't do so well, the powers that be would just say, "Well, that didn't work. Let's try Thor next" but definitely not, "See? Super hero movies with male leading characters don't work." But if, say, a Captain Marvel or Wonder Woman movie doesn't make it big, I suspect there's more likely to be a reaction of, "Well, super hero movies with female leads don't work."

[Totoro Man]

I totally disagree.




I agree, Black Widow has a lot more going for her than Captain Marvel. I really don't understand why Marvel didn't go with her for a movie.

well, if you totally disagree with djsweet then you're suggesting that Black Widow was a terrible supporting character? ;-) personally, I wish that Black Widow had been cut out of Iron Man 2... I think she detracted from the film. she was great in Cap 2, though.

[Rogue Star]

well, if you totally disagree with djsweet then you're suggesting that Black Widow was a terrible supporting character? ;-) personally, I wish that Black Widow had been cut out of Iron Man 2... I think she detracted from the film. she was great in Cap 2, though.

She definitely didn't do much to make the movie better but she had to get introduced somewhere. That movie had plenty of other problems though. I though Hammer was a bright spot. I sure hope we haven't seen the last of him.

[Kieran_Frost]

Are some honestly pretending that minority artists don't have access to as many opportunities as straight, white, men? I mean... REALLY? It's a catalogued fact, numerous minority artists have commented on it. It's not a glass ceiling, but it certainly isn't shattered either.

wow tell that to Selma which is a better film than The Theory of Everything and the Imitation Game yet got like 2 nominations.

I hate to wade into this... but... a) a Best Picture nomination is nothing to sniff at, it maybe "only two" nominations but one is for BEST PICTURE! That's pretty darn epic! b) you do know the two films you listed as "contrast to diversity" are about a disabled person and a homosexual (who was forcibly CASTRATED for being gay). If you wanted to go with an arguement where "diversity isn't rewarded"... you picked two pretty bad examples (since both are films about minorities)

[snark^]

The reason Elektra bombed was because it was a **** movie, not because of issues with history or name recognition. It won't matter how popular the character or actress is (whomever they go with), if they deliver a good movie people will watch.

Could argue that the Elektra movie flatlined because they treated it as just a star vehicle. Jennifer Garner was big news at the time and if the "big name = success!" was a given it should have done well. Fairly obvious from scene one that it was about promoting her rather than the comic character though.

[Conch22]

Wasn't scene 1 her taking out a target while the target spouted off Elektra 101 for the uninitiated, then she referred to knowing what her victims go through because she died before. All while she's adorned in the classic red (with moderate adjustments).

Doesn't seem far removed from the character to showcase Garners screen persona. The movie certainly had its issues (the villains were a big one) but Elektra & her added OCD qualities in the film worked for me.
Her having an apprentice works more in theory than practice.
Sticks morally righteous judgement of her and attempts at redeeming his former pupil also work (for me, though not played up enough).

I really felt Garner was miscast in Daredevil (which I otherwise loved), but felt she had a stronger grasping of the character in her solo and the writing/ direction failed her in most respects.

[Zero Hunter]

Could argue that the Elektra movie flatlined because they treated it as just a star vehicle. Jennifer Garner was big news at the time and if the "big name = success!" was a given it should have done well. Fairly obvious from scene one that it was about promoting her rather than the comic character though.

It being a spin off of a really bad Daredevil movie did not help it at all either. It carried the stink of that failure with it.

[maximis]

Uh... so apparently everbody including Whedon forgets that he left the Wonder Woman project because he couldn't figure out how to make it work. But sexism and subtle misogyny??? What exactly is subtle hatred? Would that be equivalent to dislike? What I don't get is the confirmation bias and smug moral superiority. There are tons of powerful female celebrities, just because they don't front genre movies aimed at men it's some kind of problem? Excuse me while I go complain about Sex in the City...

[AndrewCrossett]

Uh... so apparently everbody including Whedon forgets that he left the Wonder Woman project because he couldn't figure out how to make it work.

He left the project because Warner Bros. didn't want to make the movie he was pitching.

[maximis]

He left the project because Warner Bros. didn't want to make the movie he was pitching.

Ah, I stand corrected. I must be thinking of him talking about how he was having trouble trying to crack the character (from when he kept getting asked about it back in the day). All I'm finding now is stuff post avengers.

[Kieran_Frost]

Uh... so apparently everbody including Whedon forgets that he left the Wonder Woman project because he couldn't figure out how to make it work. But sexism and subtle misogyny??? What exactly is subtle hatred? Would that be equivalent to dislike? What I don't get is the confirmation bias and smug moral superiority. There are tons of powerful female celebrities, just because they don't front genre movies aimed at men it's some kind of problem? Excuse me while I go complain about Sex in the City...

The three biggest films last year all had female leads; yet producers are still scared of female lead projects, labelling them a "niche" market, it's absurd. Women make up over 50% of the planet, does it not stand to reason that they should make up at-least 40% of the leads in films (which they don't).

[maximis]

The three biggest films last year all had female leads; yet producers are still scared of female lead projects, labelling them a "niche" market, it's absurd. Women make up over 50% of the planet, does it not stand to reason that they should make up at-least 40% of the leads in films (which they don't).

Of the top three movies only one was female lead, Hunger Games. Divergent, Twilight, Frozen and Gravity were all recent and come to mind also. So I'm not seeing this lack of representation you're talking about. Perhaps you have a bit of confirmation bias. Super hero movies are a small subset of film and media. I would guess that if you looked at all film across all genres it would look a lot more even. You can't look at these things without taking into account target audience, genre etc. I don't think we should be setting quotas for art or entertainment Hollywood is already bad enough, lol.

[maximis]

The question remains though, if Hollywood was so full of subtle misogyny and against female lead films, why would they hire Joss Whedon to write A FEMALE LEAD FILM?