Female Superheroes Film WEB
Metadata
- Female Superheroes Film WEB
- October 24, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Female Superheroes Film)) HEADLINE: More Women Playing the Hero in Hollywood Films TEASER: Movie industry also increasingly casting ethnically diverse women to fight the villains and save the day PUBLISHED AT: 10/24/2022 AT 9AM BYLINE: Penelope Poulou DATELINE: WASHINGTON VIDEOGRAPHER: Adam Greenbaum, Julie Taboh VIDEO EDITOR: Penelope Poulou SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, Reifenrath VIDEO SOURCE (S): All interviews are VOA original HBO; Zoom, AP PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO _X_ TRT: 2:32 VID APPROVED BY: MP TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO: Fierce female leads were once rarities in U.S. action movies. More recently, blockbuster franchises and streaming platforms have placed women at the center of the action, saving the day with their strength and ingenuity. Increasingly, these powerful heroines are ethnically diverse, appealing to wider audiences. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more.)) ((NAT SOUND)) ((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory Courtesy: “Alien”/Modern Trailer HBO Max/YouTube)) The “Alien” film franchise, launched in 1979, was revolutionary, casting Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, who resolutely battles deadly extraterrestrials and a corrupt space corporation. The American Film Institute regards Weaver’s role as one of the most significant in cinematic history. ((Mandatory Courtesy: “The Hunger Games”/Lionsgate)) More recent female action heroes are almost too numerous to count, from Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" franchise, ((Mandatory Courtesy: “Wonder Woman”/Warner Bros. Pictures)) to Gal Gadot in “Wonder Woman,” ((Mandatory Courtesy: “Black Widow”/Marvel Studios/You Tube)) to Scarlett Johansson as a villain-turned-superhero in “Black Widow.” ((Mandatory Courtesy: “Prey”/20th Century Studios)) ((NARRATOR)) And heroines today are more ethnically diverse. Native American actor Amber Midthunder outwits an alien hunter in the 2022 action film “Prey,” ((Mandatory Courtesy: "The Woman King"/TriStar Pictures)) while Viola Davis leads an African warrior unit to victory in “The Woman King.” Hollywood’s embrace of female action leads is driven by popular demand, says Academy Award-winning film producer Cathy Schulman, who advocates for gender equality in the screen industries. ((Cathy Schulman, Film Producer)) “Women are the primary buyers of content — that’s film, that’s television, that’s streaming. And so really what you’re asking is to make a movie for the majority, not the minority.” ((NARRATOR)) Meanwhile, films with ethnically diverse casts often draw higher global box receipts, according to UCLA’s [University of California at Los Angeles'] annual report on diversity in Hollywood. Such portrayals matter to young moviegoers. Eleven-year-old Sophia Panchal says she and her sister, Jasmine, ((Mandatory Courtesy: "Ms. Marvel"/Disney/YouTube)) especially like the TV action miniseries “Ms. Marvel,” featuring a Pakistani American teen superhero. ((Sophia Panchal)) “Especially if they are female. It makes me feel good inside because, oh, I know they [Hollywood] are acknowledging us. They are paying attention to other religions, other types of people.” ((NARRATOR)) The change in Hollywood isn’t lost on Sophia’s mom. ((Vicki Panchal)) “It’s a different world from when we were growing up, when there were very few main (on-screen) characters that were female and strong.” ((NARRATOR)) On-screen and off-screen female empowerment are intertwined, according to Viola Davis, who reflected on the progression of her prolific career on the screen. ((Viola Davis, Actor)) “And suddenly I was in a position of making choices, but making powerful choices like ‘The Woman King,’ and have that material come to me because everything in this business is about clout.” ((Penelope Poulou VOANEWS))
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Female Superheroes Film)) HEADLINE: More Women Playing the Hero in Hollywood Films TEASER: Movie industry also increasingly casting ethnically diverse women to fight the villains and save the day PUBLISHED AT: 10/24/2022 AT 9AM BYLINE: Penelope Poulou DATELINE: WASHINGTON VIDEOGRAPHER: Adam Greenbaum, Julie Taboh VIDEO EDITOR: Penelope Poulou SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, Reifenrath VIDEO SOURCE (S): All interviews are VOA original HBO; Zoom, AP PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO _X_ TRT: 2:32 VID APPROVED BY: MP TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO: Fierce female leads were once rarities in U.S. action movies. More recently, blockbuster franchises and streaming platforms have placed women at the center of the action, saving the day with their strength and ingenuity. Increasingly, these powerful heroines are ethnically diverse, appealing to wider audiences. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more.)) ((NAT SOUND)) ((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory Courtesy: “Alien”/Modern Trailer HBO Max/YouTube)) The “Alien” film franchise, launched in 1979, was revolutionary, casting Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, who resolutely battles deadly extraterrestrials and a corrupt space corporation. The American Film Institute regards Weaver’s role as one of the most significant in cinematic history. ((Mandatory Courtesy: “The Hunger Games”/Lionsgate)) More recent female action heroes are almost too numerous to count, from Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" franchise, ((Mandatory Courtesy: “Wonder Woman”/Warner Bros. Pictures)) to Gal Gadot in “Wonder Woman,” ((Mandatory Courtesy: “Black Widow”/Marvel Studios/You Tube)) to Scarlett Johansson as a villain-turned-superhero in “Black Widow.” ((Mandatory Courtesy: “Prey”/20th Century Studios)) ((NARRATOR)) And heroines today are more ethnically diverse. Native American actor Amber Midthunder outwits an alien hunter in the 2022 action film “Prey,” ((Mandatory Courtesy: "The Woman King"/TriStar Pictures)) while Viola Davis leads an African warrior unit to victory in “The Woman King.” Hollywood’s embrace of female action leads is driven by popular demand, says Academy Award-winning film producer Cathy Schulman, who advocates for gender equality in the screen industries. ((Cathy Schulman, Film Producer)) “Women are the primary buyers of content — that’s film, that’s television, that’s streaming. And so really what you’re asking is to make a movie for the majority, not the minority.” ((NARRATOR)) Meanwhile, films with ethnically diverse casts often draw higher global box receipts, according to UCLA’s [University of California at Los Angeles'] annual report on diversity in Hollywood. Such portrayals matter to young moviegoers. Eleven-year-old Sophia Panchal says she and her sister, Jasmine, ((Mandatory Courtesy: "Ms. Marvel"/Disney/YouTube)) especially like the TV action miniseries “Ms. Marvel,” featuring a Pakistani American teen superhero. ((Sophia Panchal)) “Especially if they are female. It makes me feel good inside because, oh, I know they [Hollywood] are acknowledging us. They are paying attention to other religions, other types of people.” ((NARRATOR)) The change in Hollywood isn’t lost on Sophia’s mom. ((Vicki Panchal)) “It’s a different world from when we were growing up, when there were very few main (on-screen) characters that were female and strong.” ((NARRATOR)) On-screen and off-screen female empowerment are intertwined, according to Viola Davis, who reflected on the progression of her prolific career on the screen. ((Viola Davis, Actor)) “And suddenly I was in a position of making choices, but making powerful choices like ‘The Woman King,’ and have that material come to me because everything in this business is about clout.” ((Penelope Poulou VOANEWS))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date October 24, 2022 09:10 EDT
- Byline Penelope Poulou
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America