Is Hollywood Gender Bias About To Blow Sky High? The Women Are Fuming

Vogue UK tracks the glamour and spectacle of theCannes Film Festival

Kering Honors Women in Film

Annapurna Pictures’ founder Megan Ellison received a ‘rapturous ovation’ at Kering’s lavish gala on Sunday evening in Cannes, writesVariety.

The producer and Jane Fonda were given the first Women in Motion award from Kering, introduced by Cannes Film Festival’s general delegate Thierry Fremaux, president Pierre Lescure and Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault.

Here is text of Ellison’s speech:

“Anytime you put me in the same category as Jane Fonda, a real legend, it feels surreal, perhaps even not deserved. I just want to say that I humbly accept this beautiful award on behalf of my team as well as the amazing filmmakers I’ve had the privilege to work with.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have been welcomed into this community, and that’s been the primary source of inspiration in my life; it has made me feel less alone in the world and for that I will always be grateful. I’m honored that I get to play a part and be able to contribute to support such artistic voices and there are so many that need to be heard, and am dedicated to continue this legacy of inspiring people through art.

“I don’t believe in very many things but art is definitely one of them, on the top of that list. Films and arts influence our culture in a way that many of us don’t understand or fully respect.

“Art doesn’t belong to the few but to the many and I believe that the perspective we’re putting out in the world should not come from such a small subset of people. It’s a disservice to us all.

“As Kurt Vonnegut said, ‘The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable,’ and that’s what I believe and that’s what I want to be a part of.”

Salma Hayek Condems Sexism in Film Industry

Actor Salma Hayek accused Hollywood of ‘incredible ignorance’ about women at the UN Women’s panel at the Cannes Film Festival. The Telegraphwrites that Hayek delivered ‘an excoriating verdict on the film industry, which she claims ignores and misunderstands the tastes of women, and fails to recognise their talents on screen.’

Hayek, who is married to Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault, spared no words in condemning sexism in Hollywood and the film industry generally.

1. Hayek disclosed that not only are male stars paid significantly more then women in films, but male actors are ‘regularly permitted to veto actresses lined up to appear in their films’.

2. Hayek said that she had accepted roles in films ‘thanks to witty, intelligent lines for her character, only to find them dumbed down when she got on set, so as not to outshine the leading man.

3. Women movie-goers are being short-changed because men fail to understand what women want in film.

4. ‘The only kind of film where women make more money than men is porno. It’s not funny.’

Hayek concluded her remarks saying ‘Cinema undermines women’s intelligence. It’s been doing it for some time now. They don’t see us as a powerful economic force, which is really incredible ignorance.’

The panel was organized by Variety magazine and UN Women, which runs the He For She equality campaign headed by actor Emma Watson.

Related: ACLU, Citing Bias Against Women, Wants Inquiry Into Hollywood’s Hiring PracticesNYTimes

The American Civil Liberties Union is asking state and federal agencies to investigate the employment practices of major Hollywood studios, networks and talent agencies for what the organization described as ‘rampant and intentional gender discrimination in recruiting and hiring female directors.’

Mad Max Feminism

During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival with director George Miller, producer Doug Mitchell and co-stars Tom Hardy and Nicholas Hoult, Theron was asked if ‘Mad Max’ is a ‘sort of feminist film.’

“You know what I think is even more powerful about it? [It’s] that I think George didn’t have a feminist agenda up his sleeve, and I think that’s what makes the story even more powerful, especially how the women are represented in it,” she said. “It’s just very truthful, and I really applaud him for that. I think when we use the word ‘feminism’ people get a little freaked out, it’s like we’re somehow, like, being put on a pedestal or anything like that. George has this innate understanding that women are just as complex and interesting as men, and he was really interested in discovering all of that. I think through just his need and want for the truth he actually made an incredible feminist movie.”

‘Mad Max: Fury Road’: Why are anti-feminists so angry about action film?Christian Science Monitor

“They are a group of very angry men and they try to disrupt anything that is feminist in nature. They think movies are getting ‘wussified’ because men are becoming weak and soft and feminized. They see it as Hollywood trying to take away masculinity,” says Tom Keith, filmmaker, self-described anti-sexist activist, and author of the book “The Bro Code.”