A website said having Patty Jenkins direct Wonder Woman was a risk. Twitter fired back.

'Remember when Sony gambled $230 million on a Spider-Man reboot on an indie director whose previous film cost $7.5 million?'

 Parker Molloy
06.02.17

At first glance, this tweet from The Hollywood Reporter to an article about "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins seems innocent enough.

"Warner Bros. is gambling $150M with a filmmaker whose only prior big-screen credit was an $8M indie," the tweet reads. Taken at face value, sure, that seems to make sense. Putting someone at the helm of a $150-million project is naturally a risk-filled endeavor, no matter who you're talking about. And, yeah, when that's nearly 20 times as much money as that person's ever had to work with, it's a fair question to ask.

But if you look a little closer, you'll see there are three big mistakes in that sort of framing.

And of course it's worth reading the full article before you make a decision, but there's still something about the way the headline and tweet are set up that seems ... off.

Jenkins (right) and Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

1. It's worth mentioning what that "$8M indie" was. In this case, it's pretty crucial to understanding the full story.

That $8-million indie film, written and directed by Jenkins, was called "Monster." It starred Charlize Theron, it won a bunch of awards, and oh yeah, it made $60 million worldwide. That's a pretty big deal.

Theron took home the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 76th Annual Academy Awards for her role in "Monster." Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images.

Luckily, there were some helpful folks on Twitter happy to offer some alternative ways The Hollywood Reporter could have framed things.

2. It reinforces a lot of super negative attitudes and stereotypes about women in Hollywood and, well, pretty much everywhere.

In a recent interview, actress Anne Hathaway tried to unpack her own experiences with sexism — both on the giving and receiving end of it — discussing a time she struggled to trust a director because that director was a woman. Why was that her instinct? That's what she hopes to figure out.

What doesn't help, however, are messages that suggest women aren't capable of handling large projects like this, as though they didn't earn it. Again, on Twitter, some users replied to THR to point this out.

3. Similarly experienced men direct big-budget films all the time, but you don't see nearly as many stories about them being a "gamble" or "risk." Why is that?

Fandango movie critic Erik Davis unleashed an absolutely fire string of tweets highlighting other times studios have given big budget films to directors with pretty meager portfolios. There's just one big difference here, he pointed out: Jenkins is a woman.

Wonder Woman is getting phenomenal reviews (especially when you compare it to some of the less acclaimed DC Comics movies of the past several years), so one can hope Jenkins' success helps change people's perception of just what women are capable of.

And, really, if there's one movie to help change how we talk and think about women in the entertainment industry, there's really no better answer than "Wonder Woman."

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

culture gender internet culture film hollywood movies sexism feminism twitter equality filmmakers patriarchy wonder woman patty jenkins hollywood reporter
Most Shared

Kanye West is building low-income houses that will look like they’re straight out of 'Star Wars.'

California has a housing crisis. Rent is so astronomical, one San Francisco company is offering bunk bedsfor $1,200 a month; Google even pledged$1 billion to help tackle the issue in the Bay Area. But the person who might fix it for good? Kanye West.

The music mogul first announced his plan to build low-income housing on Twitter late last year.

"We're starting a Yeezy architecture arm called Yeezy home. We're looking for architects and industrial designers who want to make the world better," West tweeted.

Keep Reading Show less
kanye west star wars low income housing rent california
Cities

Trump just bizarrely claimed Arnold Schwarzenegger had 'died.' An unfazed Arnold flexed back.

At Trump's 'Social Media Summit' on Thursday, he bizarrely claimed Arnold Schwarzenegger had 'died' and he had witnessed said death. Wait, what?!


He didn't mean it literally - thank God. You can't be too sure! After all, he seemed to think that Frederick Douglass was still alive in February. More recently, he described a world in which the 1770s included airports. His laissez-faire approach to chronology is confusing, to say the least.

Keep Reading Show less
arnold schwarzenegger donald trump twitter trump tax returns
Democracy

Would you stay in a relationship with someone after learning they had a toxic political belief?

You think you know someone pretty well when you spend years with them, but, as we've seen time and again, that's not always the case. And though many relationships don't get to a point where the producers of "Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?" start calling every day just to chat, the reality is that sometimes partners will reveal shocking things even after you thought you'd been all shocked out.

That's the case for one woman whose Reddit thread has recently gone viral. The 25-year-old, who's been with her boyfriend for five years, took to a forum for relationship advice to ask if it was normal that her seemingly cool and loving boyfriend recently revealed women shouldn't have a fundamental right. (And no, it's not abortion — although there are a lot of "otherwise best ever boyfriends" out there who want to deny women the rights to bodily autonomy, too.)

Keep Reading Show less
Recommended
SK-II
SK-II

Young women across the globe share the pressures they face to get married and have kids.


Women around the world are constantly bombarded by traditional and outdated societal expectations when it comes to how they live their lives: meet a man, get married, buy a home, have kids.

Many of these pressures often come from within their own families and friend circles, which can be a source of tension and disconnect in their lives.

Global skincare brand SK-II created a new campaign exploring these expectations from the perspective of four women in four different countries whose timelines vary dramatically from what their mothers, grandmothers, or close friends envision for them.

SK-II had Katie Couric meet with these women and their loved ones to discuss the evolving and controversial topic of marriage pressure and societal expectations.

SK-II

"What happens when dreams clash with expectations? We're all supposed to hit certain milestones: a degree, marriage, a family," Couric said before diving into conversation with the "young women who are defining their own lives while navigating the expectations of the ones who love them most."

Maluca, a musician in New York, explains that she comes from an immigrant family, which comes with the expectation that she should live the "American Dream."

"You come here, go to school, you get married, buy a house, have kids," she said.

Her mother, who herself achieved the "American Dream" with hard work and dedication when she came to the United States, wants to see her daughter living a stable life.

"I'd love for her to be married and I'd love her to have a big wedding," she said.

Chun Xia, an award-winning Chinese actress who's outspoken about empowering other young women in China, said people question her marital status regularly.

"I'm always asked, 'Don't you want to get married? Don't you want to start a family and have kids like you should at your age?' But the truth is I really don't want to at this point. I am not ready yet," she said.

In South Korea, Nara, a queer-identifying artist, believes her generation should have a choice in everything they do, but her mother has a different plan in mind.

SK-II

"I just thought she would have a job and meet a man to get married in her early 30s," Nara's mom said.

But Nara hopes she can one day marry her girlfriend, even though it's currently illegal in her country.

Her mother, however, still envisions a different life for her daughter. "Deep in my heart, I hope she will change her mind one day," she said.

Maina, a 27-year-old Japanese woman, explains that in her home country, those who aren't married by the time they're 25 to 30, are often referred to as "unsold goods."

Her mom is worried about her daughter not being able to find a boyfriend because she isn't "conventional."

"I really want her to find the right man and get married, to be seen as marriage material," she said.

After interviewing the women and their families, Couric helped them explore a visual representation of their timelines, which showcased the paths each woman sees her life going in contrast with what her relatives envision.

SK-II

"For each young woman, two timelines were created. One represents the expectations. The other, their aspirations," Couric explained. "There's often a disconnect between dreams and expectations. But could seeing the difference lead to greater understanding?"

The women all explored their timelines, which included milestones like having "cute babies," going back to school, not being limited by age, and pursuing dreams.

By seeing their differences side-by-side, the women and their families were able to partake in more open dialogue regarding the expectations they each held.

One of the women's mom's realized her daughter was lucky to be born during a time when she has the freedom to make non-traditional choices.

SK-II

"It looks like she was born in the right time to be free and confident in what she wants to do," she said.

"There's a new generation of women writing their own rules, saying, 'we want to do things our way,' and that can be hard," Couric explained.

The video ends with the tagline: "Forge your own path and choose the life you want; Draw your own timeline."

SK-II
True
SK-II