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Former Sony chief says Hollywood is 'geared for women to fail' Former Sony chief says Hollywood is 'geared for women to fail'
(6 months later)
The high-profile, at times controversial former head of Sony Pictures, Amy Pascal, has promised to help plug the Hollywood gender gap after claiming the current studio system is “geared for women to fail”.The high-profile, at times controversial former head of Sony Pictures, Amy Pascal, has promised to help plug the Hollywood gender gap after claiming the current studio system is “geared for women to fail”.
Speaking to the Sunday Times in her new role as head of production company Pascal Pictures, which has a four-year deal with Sony, Pascal said she was determined to help talented women find work behind the camera and in front of it.Speaking to the Sunday Times in her new role as head of production company Pascal Pictures, which has a four-year deal with Sony, Pascal said she was determined to help talented women find work behind the camera and in front of it.
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“The lack of female directors is a travesty,” she said. “For a woman to make a movie in Hollywood, you have to go through so much rejection. There is this mountain to climb with the whole system geared for women to fail in films.“The lack of female directors is a travesty,” she said. “For a woman to make a movie in Hollywood, you have to go through so much rejection. There is this mountain to climb with the whole system geared for women to fail in films.
“In music, female singers dominate. They also do extremely well in the books world, as writers of novels in particular. TV drama is more character-led, but it is also an industry more open to women than the movies is. Hiring women has long been the problem in Hollywood, because it is the men who have mostly done it.”“In music, female singers dominate. They also do extremely well in the books world, as writers of novels in particular. TV drama is more character-led, but it is also an industry more open to women than the movies is. Hiring women has long been the problem in Hollywood, because it is the men who have mostly done it.”
A major talking point in Hollywood over the past years has been the failure of many Hollywood productions to pass the so-called Bechdel test, which requires movies to feature at least two named women having a conversation with each other about something or somebody other than a man. Pascal said studios had a history of sidelining women on the big screen.A major talking point in Hollywood over the past years has been the failure of many Hollywood productions to pass the so-called Bechdel test, which requires movies to feature at least two named women having a conversation with each other about something or somebody other than a man. Pascal said studios had a history of sidelining women on the big screen.
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“For far too long, women effectively did not matter in films, while their behaviour had little or nothing to do with the story that was being told,” she said. “You really also had to convince the studio that stories about women would work. I’m now determined to put more women on screen – female protagonists where there are consequences to their actions. And I will make more films relevant to women.”“For far too long, women effectively did not matter in films, while their behaviour had little or nothing to do with the story that was being told,” she said. “You really also had to convince the studio that stories about women would work. I’m now determined to put more women on screen – female protagonists where there are consequences to their actions. And I will make more films relevant to women.”
Pascal Pictures’ current slate of forthcoming films includes a new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women, and a film about Barbie. Pascal suggested the doll, often criticised by feminists for presenting an unrealistic image of the female body, was ready to be reclaimed. “Barbie is all about female empowerment,” she said. “In fact, she was the first doll who was about having a career.”Pascal Pictures’ current slate of forthcoming films includes a new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women, and a film about Barbie. Pascal suggested the doll, often criticised by feminists for presenting an unrealistic image of the female body, was ready to be reclaimed. “Barbie is all about female empowerment,” she said. “In fact, she was the first doll who was about having a career.”
Pascal resigned from her job running Sony following the 2014 hacking scandal. Racially insensitive emails exposed by hackers from her time in the job suggested that she once joked with producer Scott Rudin over whether US president Barack Obama’s favourite films might include Django Unchained and 12 Years a Slave.Pascal resigned from her job running Sony following the 2014 hacking scandal. Racially insensitive emails exposed by hackers from her time in the job suggested that she once joked with producer Scott Rudin over whether US president Barack Obama’s favourite films might include Django Unchained and 12 Years a Slave.