Sometimes edgy, female-driven material that winds up on the coveted Black List (or whatever list is in vogue at the time) is highly regarded but simply too uncertain a bet for the studios. And one has to wonder how many will get made without a champion like Bridesmaids‘ Judd Apatow behind them. Still, getting female-driven comedies to the big screen has been as hard as selling Disney an X-rated movie. And I can remember that when Liz Meriwether’s No Strings Attached script - originally called F–buddies, an unusable but much better title - hit the town, the reaction was swift and unanimous: This is a hilarious new voice. Tina Fey, both as a writer and a performer, has pushed the envelope in film ( Mean Girls) and on TV. Diablo Cody won an Oscar for the uniquely acerbic voice she brought to Juno. Writers like Callie Khouri ( Thelma & Louise) and Diane English ( Murphy Brown), all go-to script doctors for years, blazed trails in drama and romantic comedy. You could argue this new change has been in the works. And there’s not a studio in town that does not have its own “jukebox musical” after the success of the ABBA movie Mamma Mia! Hollywood has always long been reactive: When Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars became massive hits in 1977, sci-fi movies were popular again.
Mumulo also landed a blind script deal at ABC. Mumulo and the movie’s co-star Melissa McCarthy (who just might be the female answer to John Belushi) sold a pitch to Paramount about stealing the Stanley Cup. But that Bridesmaids opening sure didn’t hurt.Īnd anything Bridesmaids-related is enjoying a honeymoon. Sure, it might have sold anyway Witherspoon is a big star.
And, for the moment, the powers that be, the people who actually greenlight movies, have decided that - guess what? - women are funny even when disgusting!Ī pitch with Reese Witherspoon playing a woman who invades a bachelor party called Who Invited Her? quickly went to DreamWorks. Their spec scripts, once relegated to a desk drawer, are being dusted off. Their names are showing up more often on rewrite lists. Wiig, her Bridesmaids writing partner Annie Mumolo, Tina Fey, writers including Elizabeth Meriwether ( No Strings Attached) and a host of other talented and funny women are suddenly the toast of the town. One never wants to be too reactive, but there are few door-openers like a box-office winner. After double-checking the numbers that Monday, I instinctively began reviewing my development slate. All producers share two common chromosomes embedded in our DNA: opportunism (O) and self-preservation (SP).