According to the Associated Press:

The Parents Television Council released its report Wednesday. It says it counted more than 400 violent acts against women in prime time on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox shows in February and May this year. There were just under 200 during those months in 2004.

The council notes that acts against women are a small percentage of violence in prime time.

The report shows there were more than 3,900 violent acts not specifically aimed at women during those two months.

Worse still:

The study noted that depiction of violence overall has changed little over the years — up 2 percent from 2004. Depiction of violence against women, however, was up 120 percent.

It said 29 percent of the incidents were beatings, 18 percent credible threats of violence, 11 perdent were shootings, 8 percent were rapes, 6 percent stabbings and 2 percent torture — but that in 92 percent of the incidents, graphic violence against women was depicted, not just implied.

Why is it suddenly more permissible to show violence against women on television? Just thinking of a few of my favorite shows, TrueBlood features a lot of psychopaths and demonic possession, so that may explain the reliance on violence; Weeds also features depictions of violence, particularly in Nancy's relationship with Esteban - but I've only casually watched since season three. And then there's Mad Men (screengrab above). But beyond those, I'm having problems trying to remember what shows feature violence - and I wonder if I'm starting to become desensitized since I can't remember.

Group Worries About Violence Against Women On TV [AP]
Study: TV Violence Against Women Up 120% [The Wrap]

Although several plot points will be glossed over or withheld, and most of what I'm writing about is in the trailer, this could get a little spoilery, so be warned.

The premise: Four guys travel to Las Vegas for a Bachelor weekend; three wake up in a hotel with no memory of what happened, but there's a tiger — and a baby — in the room.

The guys are all jerks, pretty much: Bradley Cooper's character, Phil, is the biggest, and, in an early scene, he calls Ed Helms' character — who is a dentist — "Dr. Faggot." Lots of laughs in the theater, but not from me. Zach Galifianakis — playing Alan, a guy who is "not right" in the head, is amazing, and funny, and really the breakout star of the film. But many of the supporting roles are tired clichés. The one black guy — besides Mike Tyson — is a drug dealer. There's an Asian gangster-type, who minces and lisps and generally embarrasses both Asians and gays. And then there are the women.

Ed Helms' character, Stu, is living with a woman played by bespectacled Rachel Harris. She is brunette, and looks Liz Lemony — brainy, successful — so naturally, she is a shrill, cold, shrew who nags and berates him into submission. Once he's in Vegas, Stu's character ends up marrying the blonde, wide-eyed Jade — played by Heather Graham — a hooker with a heart of gold.

Of course, you don't go to this kind of film looking for depth and complexity. It's a roller-coaster ride of smart and darkly funny entertainment. But with such great casting, some excellent jokes and thrilling action, why rest on lame brunette vs. blonde, frigid bitch vs. whore stereotypes?

The other question is this: If it's cool to laugh at these bad boys, does that make it cool to also laugh at calling wimpy dudes "faggots"?

That's my take; here's what the critics are saying:

NPR:

The Hangover, Hollywood's most destructive stag-party trip to Las Vegas since 1998's Very Bad Things, works backward from a morning-after shambles that's amusingly surreal. But this bad-boy comedy runs out of laughs long before it's reconstructed the things its four protagonists shouldn't have done during the night they can't remember.

Time:

Unless your definition of pure perversity includes the portrayal of a convicted pedophile ("I'm not supposed to be within 200 feet of a school," says Alan, "or a Chuck-E Cheese") who's given weekend custody of a baby; or if your idea of the decade's funniest movie would contain a scene where our heroes get repeatedly tasered before a class of cheering children. You'll also need an indulgence for racial (Asian) and sexual (gay) stereotyping, and the sight of inappropriate gentlemen with their pants off. […] Virtually every joke either is visible long before it arrives or extends way past its expiration date.[…] This is a bromance so primitive it's practically Bro-Magnon.

Salon:

Crude, audacious and anarchic… And yet "The Hangover" is a cut above the typical contemporary guy-friendship comedy […] It builds in us an increasingly squirrelly sense of anxiety, a mounting certainty that none of this is going to turn out OK.

Slate:

The setups are funnier than the follow-through… The movie loses momentum rather than picking it up. This kind of "one crazy night" tale relies on drum-tight structure to work. Without it, The Hangover sputters to a sentimental halt…

Still, it's worth staying for the closing credits, in which an outrageous photo montage finally reveals what transpired during the boys' collective blackout.

NY Times:

The Hangover peaks early and runs out of steam long before the end.
Still, there are some moments of dizzying, demented lunacy, most of them immune to being spoiled by mere verbal description.
But true to its title, "The Hangover" goes down smoothly enough and then kicks you in the head later on, when you start to examine the sources of your laughter. There's the easy, lazy trafficking in broad ethnic caricature - Mike Epps as a black drug dealer, Ken Jeong as a prancing, lisping Asian gangster known as Mr. Chow - which is decked out in flimsy air quotes to make it seem as if the movie is making fun of racism.

The Hangover opens today



The Hangover [Trailer Addict]
Earlier: What's So Funny About A Man With A Baby?

Perry offered Pulliam the role of Linda, a young D.A., but she just wasn't interested. "When he told me about Candy, I said, I have to play Candy," Pulliam says. "It was a challenge I wanted and fought for." It's not just about Oscar nominations: What makes a woman turn down the role of a lawyer and beg for the part of a sex worker? Clip at left.


Earlier: Want An Oscar Nomination? Play A Stripper Or A Prostitute

Lauren A.E. Schuker's article goes on to count the many, many times a woman has been nominated for an Oscar for playing a stripper or a courtesan/prostitute: Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, Mira Sorvino, Elisabeth Shue, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Greta Garbo, Nicole Kidman, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Basinger, Jane Fonda. The very first actress to win an Oscar was Janet Gaynor, who played a hooker in 1928's Street Angel.

Why do actresses take these parts, and why does Hollywood reward them? "There aren't and have never been a lot of great roles for women in Hollywood," says Patty Jenkins, who directed Charlize Theron in Monster. "Sadly, that creates this cliché that if a woman plays a prostitute, she wins an Oscar."

Jeanine Basinger (not related to Kim), who heads Wesleyan's Film Studies department, has a slightly different perspective: "The way to land an Oscar as a woman is either to take off your makeup or put on a lot more. You're either a prostitute/stripper or you're a mother/nun." Schuker adds: "As if to underline the point, Meryl Streep is up for an Oscar this year for her role as a nun in Doubt."

As for Marisa Tomei, she certainly embraced her role:

"My aim in the film was to honor the women I met and to represent them in a meaningful way. I wish there was a movie called The Stripper because I found out so much about these women, like the physical toll that dancing takes on a stripper's body, and on her feet, that we couldn't fit into the movie."

Clearly, strippers and hookers often have story arcs which are more complex, more interesting than roles like "quirky girlfriend" or "graceful wife." Can we blame actresses for being attracted to these characters? On the other hand, why does a woman have to play a sex worker to get props?

Stripping Your Way to Success [WSJ]

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.

Although the most recognized “strange girl” is probably Carrie White from Brian De Palma’s classic bloodfest Carrie, Rafferty mentions several other strange girls that appear in recent movies. He argues that horror films provide a place for the strange girl, the outsider with big eyes and a scary past: “Horror has a special place in its icy little heart for strange girls: the sad girls, the lonely girls, the ones who feel invisible to others and often ghostly to themselves.” For Rafferty, the weird little girl is celebrated in horror films through her victimization and revenge, and through this process, she taps into the sleeping teenager in all of us:

What you may recall, though, from the dimmer recesses of memory, is the feeling this movie evokes, a feeling perhaps peculiar to (certainly most vivid in) adolescence:the sense that the world is almost unbearably charged with significance, electric with meaning. It’s a state akin to madness, or possession. Every teenager’s mind is a haunted house.

This is the reason the strange girls, friendless everywhere else, feel so at home in horror. Their painfully heightened sensitivities make them ideal mediums for all the terrors of the phenomenal world; the long hours they spend alone facilitate brooding and, sometimes, dire imagining. They suffer from a constant and bizarrely eroticized awareness that everything around them, animate or inanimate, is (or can be) threatening.

The strange girls are not a phenomenon limited to film. Strange girls also show up in horror fiction, from Edgar Allen Poe to Shirley Jackson, who created one of the most archetypal strange girls in her 1962 novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The strange girls could be seen as just another unfortunate, two-dimensional label (like the evil twin of the manic pixie dream girl), and sometimes they are just that, but generally, strange girls are allowed a power that the MPDG’s lack. The trailer of The Uninvited shows spooky-girl Anna (Emily Browning), who recently returned from a stay at a mental institution, taking an active role in outing her father’s new girlfriend, and possible murderer, Rachel (played by Elizabeth Banks). Anna, while wide-eyed, pretty, and young, does not appear to be as blandly accepting as the classic quirky MPDG.

However, the most interesting about the weird-girls of horror, and something that unfortunately Rafferty barely discusses, is the fetishistic way that we watch the strange girls. These girls are not simply passive victims; their power arises from a sort of sixth sense, a hyperawareness of the threatening nature of the world. But, as Rafferty points out, this persistent suspicion is eroticized, made sensual and appealing. It is the appealing/appalling dynamic that hints toward the greater conflict of the adolescent (female) sexuality itself. Rafferty writes that part of the appeal of the evil/strange girl could arise from a fear of the “entire female gender.” Indeed, there seems to be a long tradition of connecting female sexuality with supernatural forces. It remains to be seen whether The Uninvited falls into this trap, although from the trailer, it appears as though weird-girl Anna is not the sexualized one, but rather her succubus-like co-star, Elizabeth Banks.

‘The Uninvited,’ ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ and Cinema’s Sisterhood of Spookiness [New York Times]
The Uninvited- Official Trailer [YouTube]

Jennifer’s Body will hit theaters on September 18th, 2009. As previously noted, the film will star Amanda Seyfried as the nerdy girl who is forced to kill her possessed best friend when she starts feeding off the boys in their small town. Maxim-favorite Megan Fox is set to play the man-eater. The buzz surrounding the horror-comedy has generally been good, and with this cast, we can hope for a strong opening weekend for Cody. [Cinema Blend]

Best Actress (Drama)

• Angelina Jolie, Changeling: First of all, any movie that includes a hysterical woman screaming "I want my son back!" as the emotional climax of the trailer is treading heavily on "victim" territory. And, what do you know, Jolie's character is the biggest, most stereotypical victim on the list of female nominees.
• Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married: Our own Hortense thinks Hathaway's character is pretty victim-y, but we think she is mostly just a manipulative, angst-filled addict. What do you think?
• Meryl Streep, Doubt: Has this movie even come out yet? Streep's character doesn't seem like a victim at all from the trailers, most likely Streep plays a shrew in this film.
• Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long: What is this movie? Oh, it's French. Well, judging from the plot synopsis it doesn't look like Scott Thomas's character fits into any of our usual stereotypes. What do people who have seen the film think?
• Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road: Again, has this movie come out yet? We're going to withhold judgment until we see it.

Best Actress (Comedy)

• Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky: We are going to say there were none of the regular female stereotypes in this film. Hawkins's character was just too damn likable.
• Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading: Again, McDormand doesn't play any of our regular stereotypes in this funny film. We're liking how this list is shaping up!
• Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia!: We have only seen the musical (don't ask) and Streep's character definitely wasn't a hooker, victim or doormat on the stage, so we assume it is the same on film.
• Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey: This film hasn't come out yet — reserving judgment.
• Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Hall's character wasn't any of our normal stereotypes. Hurray for women in comedies this year!

Supporting Actress
• Amy Adams, Doubt: In the film's trailer, Adams seems a little doormat-y to us.
• Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Hm, Cruz's character was a little shrewish at times, but we can't pin a particular stereotype down on her.
• Viola Davis, Doubt: Okay, people, we get it: we all have to see Doubt!
• Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler: Oh look, another film that has not been released yet. Tomei plays a stripper, which, obviously, sounds sort of hooker-y.
• Kate Winslet, The Reader: As we saw yesterday, Winslet's character doesn't fit into one of the typical stereotypes.

Best Actress (TV Drama)
• Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters: Anyone who is a fan of the show: please weigh in.
• Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU: Hargitay's character usually deals with hookers and victims; she doesn't play them.
• January Jones, Mad Men: This one's a bit tough: Jones's character is a little bit of a doormat and victim, but she has been showing more depth and strength as the series progresses.
• Anna Paquin, True Blood: No strong stereotypes really stick out to us in this character.
• Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer: Is there a category for "badass"?

Best Actress (TV Musical or Comedy)
• Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?: Maybe a bit shrew-y in the beginning, but the whole point of the show is that she is trying to correct her previous bad behavior, right?
• America Ferrera, Ugly Betty: Not really a victim or a doormat, Ferrera's character holds her ground when up against her co-workers.
• Tina Fey, 30 Rock: Let's see, a woman with a great job, a good sense of humor who doesn't get hung up on guys? Fey's character is probably the best female character nominated!
• Debra Messing, The Starter Wife: Messing's character doesn't follow a particular stereotype. Other than, rich, self-obsessed, LA woman.
• Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds: A victim of the man, maybe!

Earlier: 2009 Golden Globes: Good Year For Jokes, Midnight Tokers

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.

I hated that character from the second she flounced on the screen. I remember distinctly Portman telling Zach Braff's character that she was "weird" and then doing a silly little dance to illustrate her "weirdness." Honestly? Anyone who telegraphs their so-called weirdness so outlandishly is not actually weird, they're merely quirky enough to be vaguely interesting without having their own thing going on. They're completely mainstream but have one really big tattoo, or occasionally sing really loud in the shower! "Oh, Natalie," the A.V. Club writes, "your unconventional ways are so inspiring, and your beauty is surprisingly non-threatening!"

As the A.V. Club deftly notes, "Like the Magical Negro, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype is largely defined by secondary status and lack of an inner life. She's on hand to lift a gloomy male protagonist out of the doldrums, not to pursue her own happiness." Since they've defined it so succinctly, I've realized that many recent films employ the MPDG stock character — Forgetting Sarah Marshall, for instance, where Mila Kunis's character is a free spirited nymph deposited on the shores of Hawaii in order to encourage Jason Segel to write the vampire rock puppet musical he's been fantasizing about for years. But what of the dude? You know, the brooding artsy loser in need of a MPDG to revive his creative and sexual juices? The ones who use MPDG's to stroke their fragile egos and project their muse-fantasies on? What should we call him? I think he deserves a name because these movies, and the notion of the MPDG, are really about him: his needs, his desires, his artistic endeavors.

Wimpster, while appropriate, lacks the specificity of MPDG and also is so four years ago. Maybe the new bromantics, because that term emphasizes their dudeliness but also their childish notions of romantic attachment? In any event, these self-absorbed whiners are to be avoided in real life, though, like (adorable!) Jason Segal in FSM, new bromantics can be charming in film.

Wild Things: 16 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls [AV Club]
Soapbox [The Petite Sophisticate]
Meet The Wimpster [The Black Table]

Dodai also saw the film, and while she could see where I was coming from, she thought "in someways it was like a relief to see them a) talk about sex and b) talk about enjoying it," even if their dance moves and song choices were borderline vulgar. Even though the movie employed the randy old crone stereotype (specifically Julie Walters' character, who is sort of asexual and chases men who don't want her), Dodai pointed out, "how many movies are there where randy old dudes are looking up girls skirts or whatever?"

I'm not the only one who noted the possibly-insulting portrayal of grown-up sexuality. Salon's Stephanie Zacharek said in her review of Mamma Mia!:

Streep seems hellbent on spreading the gospel of how sexy, randy, raunchy, lively and decidedly not boring women past 50 can be — what she's doing is more advertising than performing. She can belt; she just forgets to breathe. Baranski, also a gifted performer, gets the unpleasant role of the thin, rich socialite who bores through stacks of husbands like a hungry moth munching her way through layers of sweaters. Baranski might have done something even with this cardboard role, but her performance is just shrill and crinkly…And I thought Walters, in her baggy pants outfits and sexless spectacles, was supposed to be the surprise lesbian of the group — I guess that's what we're supposed to think. But I began wondering why Johnson even bothered giving this character a name. Why not just call her "Free Spirit"? I suppose that sounds too much like a maxi pad.

On the other hand, though it won't be winning Oscars any time soon, the move was so much fun to watch, and part of the joy of musicals is that they're loud, flashy and sort of tasteless. Are Zacharek and I sucking all the fun out of it?

Mamma Mia — Feminist Creative Power on Film [Women And Hollywood]
The ‘Mamma Mia!’ Factor, Times Three [NY Times]
Mamma Mia! [Salon]

• Sarah Jessica Parker, The Ivy Chronicles: Parker is in talks with Warner Bros. to star in the film version of the eponymous novel by Karen Quinn. The film centers around a woman living in New York (we know) who gets divorced and loses her cushy job and is forced to move downtown and pull her kids out of private school (the horror!). Ivy then starts a business to help upper-middle-class women get their children into posh kindergartens. What a saint. Verdict: You would think SJP would like to branch out of these class-concious, NY-single-rich-white-woman roles but apparently she has no desire to stop spreading crap to women across the world. All that aside, this sounds like a victim role.

• Hilary Duff, Stay Cool: Hilary Duff still acts? Duff will play a supporting role in this upcoming Polish brothers comedy, described as a "knowing-your-age comedy." A successful author (Mark Polish) will deliver a high school commencement speech and be seduced by a sexy high school senior (Duff) who invites him to her prom. Wow! A young gal flirting with a successful older writer - sounds realistic! (At least in the minds of the male thirtysomethings who constantly write about it.) Verdict: Duff's role is minor and certainly the "babe" one of the film, so she could be any version of various cliches depending on how she plays it.

• Tilda Swinton, The Ghost: Swinton will star alongside Nicolas Cage and Pierce Brosnan in this new film by Roman Polanksi. The film centers around Cage, who plays the ghostwriter for a former prime minister in England who is writing his memoirs, but all of his ghostwriters seem to end up dead. Swinton will play the PM's wife who falls for Cage's character as her marriage crumbles. Verdict: We really love Swinton but this role could border on a hooker-victim role. But, again, it depends on how she plays it.

• Christina Ricci, The Hero Of Color City: Ricci is the first cast member to be announced for this new animated CG feature. She will play the role of a "timid crayon" called (and we can only assume, is) Yellow. The plot of the film revolves around a group of crayons whose "colorful world is threatened by an evil tyrant." Verdict: We know that stereotypes can be found in kid's films as well, but she is playing a crayon. Probably no real stereotype to speak of.

• Lily Rabe, All Good Things: Rabe joins the cast of this upcoming thriller that includes Kirsten Dunst and Ryan Gosling. The film centers on a NY real estate scion (Gosling) who gets involved with a girl from the wrong side of town (Dunst) before she disappears. Secrets are revealed, and Rabe will play one of Gosling's character's friends who knows some of those secrets. Verdict: Honestly, her role sound so part of the exposition of the story that we doubt she will be even given a stereotype to play. Rabe is probably safe with this one.

"Movie And TV Studios Brace For An Actor's Strike" [NYT]
"Sarah jessica Parker Lines Up 'Ivy'" [THR]
"Hilary Duff Joins 'Cool' School" [THR]
"Cage, Brosnan See Polanski's 'Ghost'" [Variety]
"Christina Ricci Joins 'Her' Voice Cast" [THR]
"Lily Rabe" [Variety]

I read the Karen Allen interview over the weekend and was thinking about the lack of roles for mature ladies when I read this NY Times 'Sunday Styles' piece about why people hate the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. It was far from revelatory, but this quote from a Slop residente stuck out: “Hipsters and people who don’t have kids are terrified of becoming grown-ups and parents, which is what Park Slope has come to represent." But it's not just hipsters who are scared to grow up — it's everyone born after 1945.

Think about it: Dennis Hopper is using his bad-ass, drug-using, motorcycle riding cred from the 60s to shill for retirement planning, despite the fact that he's over seventy. Baby boomers are the ones currently running the studios, and they're terrified of aging, of being seen as adult. Because men's roles in film aren't based so much on aesthetics, they're allowed to act like teenagers in grown up, paunchy bodies. But since women, particularly in Hollywood, are not really allowed to age, they're forced to act like girls until they're forced off the screen entirely.

But it's just a theory. Maybe it's much more simplistic; maybe, as Rush Limbaugh said about Hillary Clinton, America is simply afraid to stare at an aging woman.

Remember Karen Allen? Steven Spielberg Did For 'Indiana Jones' [Los Angeles Times]
Park Slope: Where Is the Love? [NYT]

Earlier: Woman-Girl Syndrome: Hollywood's Latest Malady

I can't help but wonder how Diaz et. al. got pigeon-holed into these cutesy roles in the first place. It seems that most of the roles for women — ten years ago, as now — are designed for nonthreatening cyphers. Of course, one way to break out of the adorabox is to take on an "edgy" role. Kristin Chenoweth, who made her name playing fairy tale characters, has signed on to play a hooker in the forthcoming film Into Temptation. And not just a regular, garden variety hooker. A suicidal hooker. Clearly all Cameron Diaz needs to do to solidify her Hollywood longevity is find a nice heroin-addicted streetwalker role and she'll be all set.

When The Box Office Fire Cools, What Are Actresses Like Gwyneth Paltrow And Cameron Diaz To Do? [Los Angeles Times]
Kristin Chenoweth Lured To "Temptation" [Reuters]

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• Ellen Page,Jane Eyre: Page is set to play Jane Eyre in a new adaptation of the classic novel by Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre is a bildungsroman about an orphaned girl who works as a governess for a handsome married man with an insane wife he keeps locked away. Verdict: Just because a film is based on a classic piece of literature doesn't mean that it won't be chock full of female stereotypes (in fact, literature is usually chock full of those!) and Jane Eyre is just about the biggest lovable female victim in English literature.

• Eva Mendes, Queen of the South: Mendes will star as a Mexican woman who escapes to Europe after her boyfriend is murdered and then becomes the reigning drug-smuggler in Spain. She does this all while being hellbent on avenging her murdered boyfriend. Verdict: While the avenging-murdered-lover thing sounds kind of victimy, the drug-smuggling thing sounds kind of awesome. Of course, a woman can't rise to the top unless she has some secret traumatic past haunting her waking and sleeping moments!

• Kirstie Alley, Nailed: Alley will play a veterinarian who cannot remove a nail from her niece's head after an accident. Her niece, played by Jessica Biel, then travels to Washington D.C. to fight for better healthcare and falls in love with a congressman. So quirky! Verdict: Alley's role seems a bit too small to get enough attention to swing it towards any stereotypes.

• Susan Sarandon, Peacock: Peacock is a psychological thriller about a town in the aftermath of a train crash. Sarandon will play the mayor's wife who also runs a woman's shelter. Ellen Page and Cillian Murphy are also set to star. Verdict: There are little details about Sarandon's character, but we imagine it would be pretty difficult to portray a woman who runs a woman's shelter negatively.

"Ellen Page Takes On Jane Eyre" [Variety]
"Queen Appoints Hartnett, Kingsley" [Variety]
"James Brolin Gets Nailed" [THR]
"Susan Sarandon, Josh Lucas Join Peacock" [THR]

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.

• Angela Bassett, ER: Bassett will be playing a troubled doctor who comes back to Chicago after doing tsunami relief in Indonesia. Her arrival promises to "shake County General's ER to the core." Verdict: Well "troubled" usually translates to "victim," although a victim usually doesn't shake a television series to it's "core." She might be playing a shrew as well.

• Nicole Kidman, Dusty Springfield Biopic: Novelist Michael Cunningham (The Hours) has revealed that Kidman will star in the upcoming Dusty Springfield biopic he's writing. The film will explore Springfield's tortured, drugged, and depressed years, as well as her successes. Verdict: No one does victims quite like Cunningham, and Springfield's biography is not lacking in victimized and depressed elements.

• America Ferrera, An Invisible Sign of My Own: Ferrera will star in this coming-of-age film about a 20-year-old loner who turns to math for salvation when her father becomes ill. [Uh, isn't that a play called 'Proof'? -Ed.] When the character becomes an adult, she must teach math to students using her crisis as inspiration. BO-RING. Verdict: All of the victim keywords are here: "crisis" "salvation" and "ill father," but the character might overcome her own victimization in the end, so we will have to see how the movie plays out. The only thing that is unfortunate about this is the talented Ferrera starring in another snoozer.

• Shenae Grimes, Beverly Hills, 90210: Former Degrassi: The Next Generation star, Grimes, will play Annie in this 90210 remake on the CW Network. The Annie character will be based on the character played by Shannen Doherty in the original. Verdict: Although Doherty was a decent character on the show, off-set, she was generally too busy victimizing people to be a victim herself.

Angela Bassett Makes Rounds For Last ER Shift [Reuters]
Nicole Kidman Playing Dusty Springfield In Biopic, Says Michael Cunningham [NY Mag]
America Ferrera Joins Invisible [THR]
90210 Cast Continues To Grow [Variety]

• Tilda Swinton, I Am Love: In this Italian film, Swinton will play a foreign "society matron" in Milan who falls for a young (hot) chef. The director says that the film is about "the irreparable consequences brought about by love in a high-bourgeois family." Verdict: While we love Swinton, the words "irreparable consequences" can only mean some victim elements.

• Virginia Madsen, Amelia: Botox spokeswoman and occasional actress, Madsen will co-star in this Amelia Earhart biopic playing Dorothy Pinney, the first wife of Richard Gere's character, George Putnam. Dorothy's husband eventually leaves her for Earhart (Hilary Swank) and the film focuses on their "rocky" relationship. Verdict: Hm, first wife of the husband of the film's title character? It's likely she'll be painted as a victim, a doormat or maybe a little of both!

• Emmanuelle Vaugier, Dolan's Cadillac: French actress Vaugier will play the female lead in this adaptation of Stephen King's short story of the same name. Vaugier's character is killed by a mob boss (Christian Slater) and her death is avenged by her husband (Wes Bentley). Verdict: Uh, murdered woman? Victim, victim, victim.

• Rose McGowan, Barbarella: McGowan will star in this re-make of the campy 1968 original starring Jane Fonda. In the original, Barbarella goes on a sexual journey to fight an evil man called Durand-Durand. Verdict: In the original, Fonda's sexual exploits are more comic than erotic. McGowan might get off (tee hee) easy with this one in terms of stereotypes, but we just hope she doesn't ruin classic!

• Moon Bloodgood, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins: Bloodgood, who starred in NBC's short-lived series Journeyman will play the female lead in this Terminator sequel, a "no-nonsense and battle-hardened" member of the resistance. Verdict: A no-nonsense character might seem okay (although it could be leaning into shrew territory) but a grade-A nobody playing an unnamed character as the "female lead" makes us think that the female characters found in this flick will probably be limited to 10 lines each.

SAG, Studios Feel The Pressure [Variety]
Tilda Swinton To Star In 'I Am Love' [Variety]
Virginia Madsen Added To 'Amelia' [Variety]
Christian Slater Drives 'Cadillac' [THR]
McGowan Dyes For 'Barbarella' Role [Variety]
'Terminator' Sequel Eyes Lead [THR]

• Cynthia Nixon, Distracted: Nixon is set to star in this Off Broadway play by Lisa Loomer about a mother "struggling to learn" whether her son has ADD. According to a previous review, Nixon's character plays more of a narrator to the play. Verdict: She may be a Victim, but it seems like the character is too removed from the story to garner a full verdict, so it all depends on how Nixon plays it.

• Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice: Berry will star and produce this "indie" film about a woman "struggling" with multiple personality disorder and a racist, white, other personality that preys upon her mind. Berry playing a white and black character? It's like Queen all over again! Except for the whole psychological disorder thing. Verdict: Racism and a mental disorder? Victim.

• Sophie Monk, Hardbreakers: Professional nobody Monk will be fleshing out her IMDB profile by starring in the straight-to-DVD film, Hardbreakers. The movie follows two hot and caraaazy single girls who are navigating the dating scene in LA. Monk will play a girl who "has been with a lot of guys." Verdict: This movie is so Z-List we shouldn't even be paying attention to it, but Monk sounds like she will be a pseudo-"feminist" slutty Hooker who will probably end up learning a special lesson about sleeping around once she meets Mr. Right.

• Keshia Knight Pulliam, Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail: Little Rudy from The Cosby Show will star in Perry's newest film as an imprisoned prostitute who is rescued by Perry's matriarch, Madea after she spends some time in jail.Verdict: The very obvious answer: Hooker.

• Ashley Tisdale, Teen Witch: Tisdale, who is apparently some sort of celebrity, will star in a remake of the pseudo-musical (and one of my personal favorite campy movies) Teen Witch. Tisdale will play an unpopular girl who learns she is a witch and then uses her powers to get back at the popular girls at school. She also makes her BFF perform a poorly lip-synched rap and watches impromptu dance performances by cheerleaders. Verdict: This movie is too campy and young to fall into any of the stereotypes.

Cynthia Nixon To Star In "Distracted" [Variety]
Queen [IMDB]
Halle Berry Set For "Frankie And Alice" [Variety]
Sophie Monk Signs For "Hardbreakers" [THR]
Crosby Daughter Hooks Up With "Madea" Comdey [THR via Yahoo!]
Teen Witch Rap Scene [Youtube]
Teen Witch- I Like Boys [YouTube]
Ashley Tisdale Graduates "High School" [THR]

• Kristen Johnston, Bride Wars: Johnston will play a self-absorbed, opportunist friend of Ann Hathaway's character. The film revolves around the shenanigans that occur when two BFFs (Hathaway and Kate Hudson) have their weddings on the same day and at the same place. Verdict: Ah, the annoying friend character, almost always a Shrew.

• Allison Janney, This Must Be The Place and A Thousand Words: In This Must Be The Place, Janney will play a loud and brassy woman who has "a few screws loose." In A Thousand Words, she will play Eddie Murphy's money-grubbing literary agent. Verdict: Wow! Two Shrews in two separate movies! Now that Janney is getting "old" by Hollywood standards she'll probably see a lot more abrasive female characters coming her way.

• Danielle Panabaker, Friday the 13th: Panabaker (who plays James Woods' daughter in Shark) will co-star in this remake of the horror classic. She will be playing an "adventurous, athletic type" who is dating a rich boy. Verdict: A young girl in a Hollywood horror movie? She is definitely a Victim.

• Uma Thurman, Motherhood: Thurman will star as a mother of two who faces "a myriad of urban challenges" as she tries to plan her daughter's sixth birthday party. Not sure if this is supposed to be a comedy or a drama. Verdict: While the details are skimpy, a "harried mother" role is usually an emotional Victim of some kind. But we will wait until the movie comes out to impose a real verdict.

• Jessica Chastain, Tree of Life: Chastain has been cast to play Brad Pitt's wife in the upcoming Terrence Malick flick about the loss of innocence, as seen by the son of Pitt and Chastain's characters as different individuals race to find the mythical "tree of life." Verdict: There isn't much information about the characters in the film so we will hold off on judgment for now.

• Sigourney Weaver, Avatar: Weaver will play a character in a new James Cameron film that was originally supposed to be a man. The plot is about a band of humans colonizing and warring with a distant planet's indigenous population. Weaver describes the character as being "driven, idealistic, perfectionist, but with great heart underneath" and a "great woman character."Verdict: While our intuition tells us that "driven" female characters in Hollywood are almost always portrayed as evil, we will trust ex-Yalie Weaver on this one.

3rd Rock Veteran Joins Fray In Wars [THR via Reuters]
Allison Janney Set For Two Comedies [THR]
Danielle Panabaker Adds "Friday The 13th" To Calendar [THR via Yahoo!]
Trio Preps For 'Motherhood' [Variety]
Chastian To Star Opposite Pitt In 'Tree' [Variety]
Weaver, Cameron Reunite For 'Avatar' [UPI]

•Natalie Portman, Wuthering Heights: Portman is slated to play Catherine Earnshaw, the female lead, in this new adaptation of Emily Bronte's novel. Catherine is in love with her adopted brother, Heathcliff, but marries a more suitable man and is then driven to madness over her decision. Verdict: Catherine is a variation of a hooker, marrying for stability and then being punished for it.

•Elsa Pataky, Giallo: Spanish actress Pataky (who is perhaps better known to American audiences as Adrien Brody's girlfriend) is set to play Celine, the kidnapped sister of an American flight attendant. Verdict: Beautiful kidnapped woman? Victim, duh.

•Marcia Gay Harden, The Tower: In this new CBS drama, Harden will star as a millionaire who buys a newspaper where the journalists not only break stories but also solve mysteries! Verdict: The plot might sound a bit boring, but Harden's character might come out OK, for the time being.

•Paz Vega, Triage: Vega, from Talk to Her and Spanglish, will play the girlfriend of a a colleague of Mark (Colin Farrel), a photojournalist, who investigates the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend. Verdict: While the details are skimpy, the tragic girlfriend character just screams "Victim."

Two Female Leads [XKCD]
Portman Set For 'Wuthering Heights'[Variety]
Adrien Brody To Topline 'Giallo'[THR]
Harden, Logue Pick Pilot Projects[Variety]
Colin Farrell Makes Three For 'Triage' [THR]

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.

• Rosamund Pike, The Surrogates: In this sci-fi police thriller based on the graphic novel of the same name, Pike portrays the wife of a cop (played by Bruce Willis) investigating the corrupt world of life-surrogates that this future society depends on. In the story, Willis' character grows increasingly critical of depending on surrogates while Pike's character sticks to the cultural norm for fear of growing (and looking) older. Verdict: Doormat, while she may be defying her husband, her character represents the follow-the-herd mentality of the future society and the vanity of women.

• Camilla Belle, Adrift: This Brazilian movie set in the 1980s centers around a 14-year-old girl who learns about the infidelities of her father, played by (sigh) Vincent Cassel, as she experiences her own sexual awakening. Belle is slated to play a young woman that is having an affair with Cassel's character. Verdict: while we don't know much about her character, the fact she plays a young woman sleeping with an older, married man has the potential to be either a hooker or doormat.

• Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench, Nine: It's another movie based on a musical based on a movie! This film is based on the musical adaptation of Fellini's classic 8 1/2 and Kidman and Dench are in talks to join a cast that already includes Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, and Sophia Loren. The movie follows a film director as he juggles the demands of different women in his life. Verdict: Since details of their characters have yet to be released, we will have to hold off on judgment.

• Mary Lynn Rajskub, Julie & Julia: This film is based on the "true life" tale of a woman named Julie (played by Amy Adams) who blogged about cooking all of the recipes in Julia Child's famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cuisine, in the space of one calendar year. The film will also focus on Julia Child's personal life, played by Meryl Streep. Rajskub will play Julie's best friend. Verdict: While there is little information on the character, this movie sounds like it will be one big snooze-fest (a film about blogging can only be boring, trust.) And best friend roles are usually wither so secondary they aren't noticeable or they turn into doormats for the lead character's plot line.

"Bruce Willis Starrer 'Surrogates' Adds Cast" [Hollywood Reporter]
"Camilla Belle Is Cast 'Adrift'" [Hollywood Reporter]
"Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench Eye 'Nine'" [The Hollywood Reporter]
"Rajskub Joins 'Julia' Cast" [The Hollywood Reporter]

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.

• Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler: Tomei plays the stripper-girlfriend of a washed-up wrestler played by Mickey Rourke in this drama set in the 1980s. Stripper? Not the same as a hooker for sure, but close enough for our purposes. Also, something tells me that living with a pro-wrestler might lead to some domestic abuse. Just guessing! Verdict: Hooker, with possible undertones of victim.
• Gina Gershon, Love Ranch: Oh, my, GOD this is a must see! Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci are the husband and wife owners of a Nevada brothel (wait, it gets better). They fall into a love triangle with a South American boxer, and according to the Hollywood Reporter, a state senator also becomes entangled in their "sordid affairs." Gershon plays one of the hookers in the love ranch stable. Though I'm dying to see it, the Verdict is still: Hooker.
• Renee Zellweger, My One And Only: In this biopic of actor George Hamilton's life, Zellweger plays his mother, a fancy dame named Anne Deveraux, who is on an East Coast quest to find a rich husband. Verdict: looking for a man to bankroll your lifestyle? That's Hooker behavior through and through.
• Penelope Cruz, Elegy: Cruz plays the student to Ben Kingsley's horny old English professor. Reuters describes Kingsley's character as "charismatic and selfish," and for gods sakes, this movie is based on a Philip Roth novel! Verdict: Victim. Exploiting the power dynamic between professor and student is one of the oldest and grossest tricks in the book.
• Emma Thompson , An Education: Thompson plays the headmistress of a school in this story of a 17-year-old girl who starts dating a 35-year-old sports car driving playboy (Peter Sarsgaard). Thompson's character gets pissed because the girl is putting her chances of admission to Oxford in jeopardy by focusing on her new beau. Verdict: Thompson is OK! 35-year-old dating a teenager? Majorly sketchy.
• Michelle Pfeiffer,Cheri: Pfeiffer is in talks to play the title role in this adaptation of a Collette novel by the same name. She plays a woman who dates the wealthy son of one of her friends. According to Variety, " When he is forced to give up the six-year relationship after marrying someone else, the young man can't forget her and retreats into a fantasy world." Verdict: a woman so alluring that she causes her young honey to go nuts? This broad sounds OK!
• Kristen Bell, When In Rome: Kristen plays a "love-starved" New York City curator who steals magical coins from a fountain in Rome. The magical pocket change causes dudes to aggressively court her like they never have before. Not only does this sound like a blatant rip-off of Love Potion Number 9, but Bell's "love-starved" character sounds like your run-of-the mill romantic comedy heroine Doormat.

Tomei Joins Aronofsky's 'Wrestler' [Variety]
'Ranch' Wrangles Three [Hollywood Reporter]
Zellweger To Star In 'One And Only' [Variety]
Cruz, Kingsley Play Lovers In New Film "Elegy" [Reuters]
'Education' Gets Four Stars [Hollywood Reporter]
Miramax, Pathe Work Out 'Cheri' [Variety]
Bell In 'Rome' At Disney [Hollywood Reporter]

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.

Hilary Swank, Amelia: Swank stars as the daring avatrix in this Mira Nair-directed biopic. Verdict: Amelia Earhart + Mira Nair = A-OK.

Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer's Body: In this Diablo Cody-penned horror movie, Amanda will play Neely, the "bookish" best friend of cheerleader Jennifer. After Jennifer becomes possessed and starts eating dudes, Neely eventually saves the day. Verdict: ass-kickingly ok!

Mary Steenburgen, Open Road: Mary plays the ailing mother of Justin Timberlake, who is struggling to reconnect with his estranged star athlete father. Verdict: sounds like a victim. Steenburgen's character is only in the movie because she's frail and shit.

Uma Thurman, Eloise in Paris: Adapted from Kay Thompson's popular children's book of the same title, Uma is playing Nanny, who has the tedious job of corralling feisty Eloise. Verdict: even though Eloise exhausts her, the Nanny is mainly a cool British bird. She's okay in our book.

The Geena Davis Institute On Gender In Media Releases New Findings: Males Outnumber Females Almost 3 To 1 In Films [PR Newswire]
Seyfried In 'Body' Cast [Hollywood Reporter]
Trio Will Hit 'Open Road' [Variety]
Hilary Swank To Play Amelia Earhart [Variety]
Uma Thurman Joins 'Eloise In Paris' [Variety]

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories

Kate Hudson in Big Eyes: Hudson plays Margaret Keane, the artist that did all those creepy paintings of women with giant peepers. According to Variety: "The drama covers Keane's personal awakening at the onset of the feminist movement, leading to a lawsuit she filed against her husband, Walter, who claimed credit for her works." Verdict: initially a victim, she eventually triumphs over adversity. Sounds like this one is: ok!

Brittany Murphy in Across the Hall and possibly Poor Things: Across the Hall seems to be based on a short horror film of the same name starring Adrien Grenier, which focuses on a man, his fiancée (Murphy's character) and the man's best friend. Murphy's betrothed claims she's having an affair and brings his bff to come spy on her at a seedy motel. Unclear what happens next (it would likely be a spoiler) but with this limited information it seems like Murphy plays the victim. I imagine that motel room will be caked with her brains at some point before the end of the full length film. Poor Things was originally a Lohan vehicle, but Linds had to pull out because of that whole rehab thingy. Murphy is being considered for the Lohan role — as a female con artist who befriends homeless men and then murders them so the she and her partner can collect the insurance money. The character sounds morally crappy, but is neither hooker, nor victim, nor doormat. Verdict: ok!

Robin Wright Penn, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Monica Bellucci, Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, all in Pippa Lee: Penn plays a 50-something woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown because her husband leaves her for a young chippy — played by Winona Ryder. Bellucci plays the first wife, Gyllenhaal plays Penn's pill-addled mother in flashbacks, and Julianne Moore plays a lesbian novelist (not really sure how she fits into the plot, but I like the sound of it). Verdict: Robin Wright-Penn — victim/doormat; Winona Ryder — hooker; Monica Bellucci — not enough info to go on, so we're gonna say ok; Maggie Gyllenhaal: victim of own neurosis/pill popping; Moore: ok!

Heather Locklear in Flirting With 40: In this holiday-themed Lifetime made-for-tv movie, Locklear plays a 40-year-old divorcee who meets a much younger man on vacation, and, according to Reuters, "learns that life can begin at 40." Apparently Lifetime execs learned that they can lift an entire plot from How Stella Got Her Groove Back with no apparent repercussions! Though it must be said that Heather Locklear is no Angela Bassett, not by a mile. Verdict: ugh, total victim! If she thought her life was over at 40 she's a damn fool.

WGA Announces Member Meetings For Saturday [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
Kate Hudson To Star In 'Big Eyes' [Variety]
Murphy Enters "Hall"; Eyed For Lohan Role In "Poor" [Reuters]
Four More Booked For 'Pippa Lee' [Hollywood Reporter]
Locklear "Flirting" With Lifetime [Reuters]

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There: Come on, she plays that genius music man Bob Dylan! Who was most definitely not a victim. Or a hooker. Or even a woman. Verdict: OK!

Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton: As Hillary Clinton taught us, even if other people try to hate on you, once a ball-busting lawyer, always a ball-busting lawyer. Which means that Swinton's character gets a Verdict: OK!

Ruby Dee, American Gangster: Yeah, it's sort of an iron-clad rule. Playing the guilt-ridden mother of a heroin dealer leaves no other option than Verdict: Victim!

Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone: She's an alcoholic. And her kid goes missing. Most definitely Verdict: Victim!

Saorise Ronan, Atonement: Once she reaches young adulthood, her character attempts to correct an error in judgment she had as a child by (spoiler alert!) concocting and selling a fictitious version of events. Which makes her either a crazy or a sociopath. No matter how you look at it, dying alone with regret makes you a guaranteed Verdict: Victim! (Even if you're the one making others into victims. Life is complicated like that, natch.)


Best Actress:

[Note: All of these nominees are sorta hard to pin down, so dangerously close do they dance between the line of victim/not-victim. So instead, we simply consulted our Magic 8-Ball.]

Julie Christie, Away From Her: Gets Alzheimer's, has to go to a nursing home, but then finds love. Too bad she's married! The story is sad, but good for her for finding some happiness. Also, isn't it not politically correct to call a person with Alzheimer's a "victim"? Verdict: Signs point to "no".

Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose: Her mother was an alcoholic and she grows up to be one too, in addition to, you know, real-life French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Also, has string of bad relationships and loses her only child. But she's a star, people, a star! Does becoming one of the biggest talents of our time cancel out the tragedy? Verdict: Absolutely.

Laura Linney, The Savages: Has a bad temp job, wants to be a playwright, denied every grant she's ever applied for, involved with a married man, father is dying. But: she's the smart and sassy sister to Philip Seymour Hoffman's even more pathetic brother, which means we're willing to give her the big ol' Verdict: My Sources Say No

Ellen Page, Juno: Has unprotected sex, gets pregnant, decides to keep the baby and give it up for adoption. By movie's end, she's landed her dream man (her dorky best friend), learned that childbirth is painful, makes a woman who wants to be a mom happy, grows closer with her own parents, and even manages to slink back down to original svelte teen-aged self when it's all over. Here's a girl who gets pregnant and refuses to play the victim, which somehow heightens the unavoidable sadness and gravity of the situation. Verdict: Outlook Not So Good

Earlier: Oscar Noms 2008: Women Can Write, Not Direct

Ellen Page To 'Whip It!' For Barrymore [Variety]
More Sign On To 'Make A Porno' [Hollywood Reporter]

Lastly, for those Jezebels who appreciate fine-looking fellows, actor Christian Bale is set to star alongside Johnny Depp in director Michael Mann's Depression-era drama Public Enemies. Bale will play a FBI agent in hot pursuit of Depp's gangster. Think of it as Heat, minus 80 years.

Hayek Joins Reilly In Weitz's 'Freak' [Variety]
Olivia Wilde Joins Ramis' 'Year One' [Variety]
It's Bale As Manhunter In 'Enemies' [Hollywood Reporter]