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James Cameron Calls ‘Wonder Woman’ a ‘Step Backwards’ for Female Protagonists
Variety ^ | August 24, 2017 | Matt Fernandez

Posted on 08/25/2017 7:50:39 AM PDT by EdnaMode

“Wonder Woman” may have received overwhelmingly positives notices, was a box office behemoth, and is even getting an Oscar push from Warner Bros., but it has one high-profile critic.

In an interview with the Guardian, James Cameron took on a different tone, taking aim at the way the iconic superhero, played by Gal Gadot, was portrayed.

“All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over ‘Wonder Woman’ has been so misguided,” he told the outlet in an interview to promote the “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” re-release. “She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!”

Cameron has been recognized for his female protagonists, including Rose (Kate Winslet) in “Titanic,” Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) in “Avatar,” and perhaps most notably, Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton) in “Terminator.”

“I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie but, to me, it’s a step backwards,” he continued. “Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!”

While “Wonder Woman” has been generally praised for portraying its title character (and her fellow Amazonians) as a powerful, complex female figure, it’s received its fair share of criticism, too. Director Patty Jenkins addressed those concerns in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in May, telling the publication, “I get frustrated by people who think that they’re defending [Wonder Woman] by trying to make her lesser. When people get super critical about her outfit, who’s the one getting crazy about what a woman wears? That’s who she is; that’s Wonder Woman. I want her to look like my childhood fantasy.”

But, still Cameron makes it clear that he continues to be all for women being represented in film.

“There are many women in power in Hollywood and they do get to guide and shape what films get made,” Cameron said. “I think – no, I can’t account for it. Because how many times do I have to demonstrate the same thing over again? I feel like I’m shouting in a wind tunnel!”

Variety has reached out to Cameron’s camp for comment.


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: feminism; feminist; feminists; galgadot; hollywood; jamescameron; liberalhollywood; pattyjenkins; terminator; titanic; wonderwoman
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To: avenir

Agreed. I watched A Night to Remember a couple of years ago and thought it was much better than Cameron’s Titanic.


21 posted on 08/25/2017 8:55:51 AM PDT by EdnaMode
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To: EdnaMode
“There are many women in power in Hollywood and they do get to guide and shape what films get made,” Cameron said. “I think – no, I can’t account for it. Because how many times do I have to demonstrate the same thing over again? I feel like I’m shouting in a wind tunnel!”

Must be Cameron's time of the month.

22 posted on 08/25/2017 8:57:13 AM PDT by DakotaGator (Weep for the lost Republic! And keep your powder dry!!)
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To: Diogenesis
Sounds like Cameron’s jealous panties are in a knot.

That's EXACTLY what he sounds like, as he wished he was director of this $800 million box office revenue hit.

23 posted on 08/25/2017 8:58:02 AM PDT by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's EconOomic Cure)
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To: EdnaMode

Lol! It’s only a movie, kid.


24 posted on 08/25/2017 9:23:38 AM PDT by Seruzawa (FABOL - F*** A Bunch Of Liberals)
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To: EdnaMode

James Cameron cheated on his wife at the time who played Sarah Connor.


25 posted on 08/25/2017 9:25:54 AM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: EdnaMode

Gal Gadot looks exceptionally athletic, and graceful, without being musclebound - essential for the role she plays. It’s hard to have those traits without also being beautiful.


26 posted on 08/25/2017 9:27:33 AM PDT by Pollster1 ("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
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To: EdnaMode

She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!”

...

And terrible mothers, apparently.


27 posted on 08/25/2017 9:31:11 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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To: EdnaMode

This from the guy who did “Avatar,” which was simply Dances with Wolves with the Indians blue, the wolves flying, and the US military a group of psychotic racists and murderers. Get lost, James.


28 posted on 08/25/2017 10:17:12 AM PDT by pabianice (LINE)
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To: EdnaMode

Uh...ya...new concept in Hollywood....

“She’s an objectified icon”


29 posted on 08/25/2017 10:17:41 AM PDT by G Larry (There is no great virtue in bargaining with the Devil)
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To: EdnaMode

He’s kind of full of crap. The rebuttal from the WW director is right. There’s no reason female heroes need to be anymore conflicted and troubled than male. I mean Sarah Connor is awesome, much like troubled male heroes can be awesome, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ll give him props on the backslapping part though, it was kind of pathetic how much of a victory lap Hollywood took for finally getting around to giving one of the most iconic superheroes ever a movie 17 years into the superhero movie boom. Glad they finally did it, but the amount of credit they took was pretty unsightly.


30 posted on 08/25/2017 10:21:35 AM PDT by discostu (Things are in their place, The heavens are secure, The whole thing explodes in my face)
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To: minnesota_bound

Actually at the time of the first movie his wife was Sharon Williams, he cheated on her with his Terminator producer Gale Ann Hurd (who’s a great producer), dumped her before T2 (but she has character creation co-credit so she gets a check for every T movie) and married Kathryn Bigelow, split with her and actually stayed unmarried for a while THEN finally married Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) for a couple of years. He’s actually been with his 5th Suzy Amis since 2000, which is kind of a miracle.


31 posted on 08/25/2017 10:28:03 AM PDT by discostu (Things are in their place, The heavens are secure, The whole thing explodes in my face)
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To: Architect of Paradise
Worse, Gal Gadot is not only Jewish, but Israeli. So she's a persona-non-grata for liberal Hollywood.


32 posted on 08/25/2017 10:31:49 AM PDT by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem)
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To: Jewbacca

It is weird that many action movies make their heroine butch, as though she couldn’t be athletic and capable and still be feminine.

Additionally, many action movies make their heroine a man-hater, who is as negative towards her allies as she is towards her adversaries.

Having heroines that are feminine and have positive relationships with the guys on their side is great.


33 posted on 08/25/2017 10:36:21 AM PDT by Architect of Avalon
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To: pogo101

Hilarious! Cameron is an insufferable prig.


34 posted on 08/25/2017 11:05:04 AM PDT by AllAmericanGirl44
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To: discostu

Exactly. So many of the Hollywood studio executives predicted a female lead female superhero movie would flop. Marvel took ages to finally green light Captain Marvel.


35 posted on 08/25/2017 11:45:58 AM PDT by EdnaMode
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To: Sans-Culotte

Thanks for that recommendation...I’ll check it out.


36 posted on 08/25/2017 11:59:59 AM PDT by avenir (I'm pessimistic about man, but I'm optimistic about GOD!)
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To: catnipman

Have you seen any of his films? He constantly shows strong female action heroes.


37 posted on 08/25/2017 12:04:35 PM PDT by Borges
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To: EdnaMode

Which if it wasn’t for the fact that Marvel can print money probably would flop. Not a very popular character in the books, but then neither were the Guardians, and I can’t keep track of how many comic lines Dr Strange has had canceled. So it will make money, in the end character gender doesn’t really matter, write it well, act it well, edit well, and the hero can be a guy, a girl or a freaking tree.


38 posted on 08/25/2017 12:20:27 PM PDT by discostu (Things are in their place, The heavens are secure, The whole thing explodes in my face)
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To: scottinoc

LOL


39 posted on 08/25/2017 12:25:47 PM PDT by EdnaMode
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To: mewzilla

That was great. :D


40 posted on 08/25/2017 12:26:21 PM PDT by EdnaMode
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