Sex Success Bodes Well for Chick Flicks

Female protagonist is a poor argument for stodgy Amelia

(NEWSER) - This weekend's battle at the multiplex, where sci-fi trounced Amelia Earhart, has carried over into the world of virtual opinion. Washington Post critic Ann Hornaday fired the first shot, and Sady Doyle fires back, explaining that she senses a “note of condescension.” See Amelia, Hornaday implores. “No Manolo Blahniks! No Abba! No vampires!” “Yes,” Doyle responds. But “no good reviews, either!” And why should women be forced to see “movies with ‘strong female protagonists,’ whether or not they want to?” More»

Genre too often relies on 'clichés, hateful caricatures' of womanhood

(NEWSER) - Where have all the Carrie Bradshaws and Bridget Joneses gone? The women of flicks like Bride Wars and Confessions of a Shopaholic are pale imitations of those relatively feisty heroines, “variously neurotic, idiotic, label-obsessed, weight-obsessed, man-obsessed or wedding-obsessed, and often all at the same time,” Kevin Maher complains in the Times of London. More»

Post-strike surge doesn't materialize, so execs tap books, mags

(NEWSER) - Movie execs counting on a flood of scripts after the writers strike wrapped up in February are snug and dry and turning to books and magazine articles instead, Variety reports. Plump with new fiscal-year budgets, studios are snatching up literary pieces faster than in years past; prison escapes, sunken-ship salvage, and offshore drilling are likely subjects of upcoming flicks. More»

Despite writers' strike, Hollywood sets $26.7B box office record in 2007

(NEWSER) - Nearly 30 films took in more than $100 million each last year as the movie industry recorded its best box office year ever, reports the Wall Street Journal. The writers' strike, rising costs, and a spate of so-so releases at the end of the year put a damper on an otherwise outstanding 2007 that saw the industry earn $26.7 billion. More»

(NEWSER) - This time it's definitely not TV—it's a movie. Variety is fueling already animated rumors that HBO mega-hit Sex and the City may spawn a feature film later this year. Former CEO Chris Albrecht, who left the network last month in disgrace, has reportedly been captaining the effort to translate Carrie and the gang to the big screen. More»