Women In Film – We Are Movie Geeks

Best Women Characters In Sci-Fi Cinema

Contributed by Cate Marquis, Melissa Thompson and Michelle Hannett

Opening in cinemas on Friday, February 23rd, is Skydance Media’s and Paramount Pictures’ ANNIHILATION.

Lena (Natalie Portman), a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband (Oscar Isaac) inside “Area X” — a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the all-female expedition discovers a world of mutated landscapes and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity. From visionary writer and director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, 28 Days Later) and based on the acclaimed bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer, ANNIHILATION also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez and Tuva Novotny.

Women characters in sci-fi have gone from the films of the 40’s and 50’s where they fell into the traditional roles of having to be saved, to the 1970’s and beyond where they became the brave saviors. Ripley, Sarah Connor, Princess Leia to Katniss Everdeen and Beatrice “Tris” Prior, women of the genre are now presented as ferocious, bright and intelligent warriors.

Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER L to R: Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Ayo (Florence Kasumba) with the Dora Milaje ©Marvel Studios 2018

And Marvel has done an amazing job with the portrayal of powerful women throughout their films. This is particularly true for the women of Wakanda in BLACK PANTHER, especially Dora Milaje, the all-female Wakandan Special Forces, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), the elite fighter of the Valkyrior who are incredibly powerful female warriors, and Hela (Cate Blanchett), the first lead female villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with cybernetic warrior Nebula and deadly assassin Gamorra (Karen Gillan and Zoe Saldana), and Black Widow played by Scarlett Johannson.

Theaters during the summer of 2017 saw the rise of DC Comics hero, Wonder Woman. For 75 years, Diana of Themyscira has stood as one of the world’s foremost super heroes and an icon for women worldwide. The combination of beauty, brains, and brawn, she’s been a feminist icon since her star-spangled intro in 1941.

The women of WAMG take a look at some of the best female women characters in sci-fi. While these protagonists may have began their journeys lacking the confidence or fortitude, they became strong-willed, take charge leaders that young girls and women have looked up to for decades.

Lt. Ellen Ripley from Alien series (Sigourney Weaver)

The fact that the role of Ripley was originally written for a man is part of why the character is so strong, but Ridley Scott’s decision to cast a woman and his choice of Sigourney Weaver sealed the deal on this ground-breaking sci-fi heroine. The Nostromo is a gritty working ship, even if it is in space, and a tough woman like Ripley is a perfect fit. Weaver takes this character way beyond just strong, with a woman who has brains as well as bravery, keeping her head while those around her lose theirs.

Weaver garnered an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Ellen Ripley in James Cameron’s sequel ALIENS.

Read our look at at ALIEN here.

Wonder Woman (DC Comics)

It took a group of mighty Wonder Women to rescue the 2017 summer box office. Lead by director Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot, Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright, one of the world’s greatest superheroes had the largest opening of all time and the biggest opening in June for a superhero movie. Wonder Woman was one of the best-reviewed superhero films ever and we said as much in our review of the blockbuster.

“WONDER WOMAN is here to straighten things out, and put all those squabbling men in their place. A woman superhero movie was long overdue, and Wonder Woman is a terrific character. Many agree that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was the highlight of the ponderous BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. Having a woman director, Patty Jenkins, at the helm is just that much sweeter.”

Princess Leia from Star Wars (Carrie Fisher)

“I don’t know who you are or where you came from but from now on you’ll do as I tell you, okay?”―Leia Organa

When it comes to female badass characters, Princess Leia Organa (Skywalker) is hands-down, the OG.

Fans first met Her Highness back in 1977 in STAR WARS, the first of 5 Star Wars saga films she would appear in. From the minute we saw her, she was breaking both royal protocol and stereotype by acting as a spy for the Rebel Alliance, against the evil Imperial Empire. I mean, come on, acting as a spy and receiving stolen plans to take down an entire Empire? That’s about as badass as it gets. But to be fair, it’s in her DNA. Leia and her twin brother Luke were the children of Galactic Republic Senator Padmé Amidala, who died right after labor, and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who had recently fallen to the dark side of the Force to become everyone’s favorite villain, Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Using both her fighting skills (she can wield a blaster with the best of them) and her sharp wit, Princess Leia is not one to tangle with. Oh, and there’s also that little thing she has called THE FORCE. Go on Leia, lead the way for all the badass chicks that followed in your footsteps.

Sarah Connor from The Terminator series (Linda Hamilton)

“I didn’t ask for this honor and I don’t want it! Any of It!” No one is born the mother of a man who will save the world, but Sarah Connor rises to the occasion and confronts Skynet and the unstoppable killing machines in the sci-fi classic. Facing the various Terminators, Connor goes from mousy waitress to a tough, buff soldier resolved to protect humanity and her son. “Do I look like the mother of the future,” she asks Kyle Reese… and to that, we say a resounding YES!

Lara Croft from Tomb Raider series (Angelina Jolie)

Kaiser Hwang of PlayStation Magazine commented that she “brought girl power” to video games. Tomb Raider is the story that sets a young and resolute Lara Croft on a path toward becoming a global hero. The latest film stars Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, but it was Angelina Jolie who boldly combined sexuality, ferocity with a sharp mind. Croft’s inherently stubborn spirit was a perfect fit for Jolie and we look forward to Vikander’s new perilous adventure earning her the name Tomb Raider.

Alice from Resident Evil series (Milla Jovovich)

Resident Evil has grown to become one the most successful game-to-movie franchise in the history of cinema, the first five installments in the franchise having grossed in excess of $1 billion worldwide and earning consistent No. 1 openings at the box-office. Thrilling fans of Capcom’s original video game and action/sci-fi movie audiences alike, the movie franchise has built up a hardcore fan base in the millions and reputation of its own over the 14 years that it has enthralled audiences with cutting edge action and a continually novel approach to the sci-fi/action genre.

In the world of cinema that is saturated with male leads in action films, Milla Jovovich’s Alice is an example of a strong female action hero who can hold her own while battling the T-virus in Raccoon City. Jovovich is a fierce actress (as she showed in THE FIFTH ELEMENT) and she conveys focused rage well … especially against the zombie apocalypse.

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games (Jennifer Lawrence)

“Who run the world? Girls!” Led by a teenage girl, Katniss Everdeen is a warrior, but a different kind.

Author Suzanne Collins has described Katniss as being an independent strong survivalist, lethal, but good at thinking outside the box in the post-apocalyptic world. In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death — televised for all of Panem to see.

When the film arrived in theaters, NY Times‘ Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott examined how the film was marketed. “Just look at Kristen Stewart in those posters for the next “Snow White” movie, looking more like a killer Joan of Arc than a Disney ingénue. The female warriors of an earlier generation — Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley and then Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor in the “Terminator” movies — were vessels of maternal rage, grown-ups weaponizing their protective instincts. Katniss and her cohort seem to be channeling a different kind of anger and playing to a different set of fantasies.”

Imperator Furiosa from Mad Max (Charlize Theron)

Director George Miller turned his signature Mad Max formula inside out, with Tom Hardy’s Max virtually the timid damsel to Charlize Theron’s the fierce warrior Furiosa. Theron has played tough women before, drawing on her own challenging childhood in rural South Africa, but Furiosa is bracing in her power and presence. The fiercest of the fierce, Furiosa has the drive and resourcefulness to triumph no matter how many times she’s knocked down.

The extraterrestrial (Scarlett Johansson) from UNDER THE SKIN (2014, director Jonathan Glazer)

In the part sci-fi, part horror, part mystery film UNDER THE SKIN, Scarlett Johansson plays a mysterious alien disguised as a woman, who uses her sexual appeal to lure lonely men into a room filled with viscous inky liquid into which they sink. In Glazer’s disturbing, frightening film, Johansson’s character plays out the strange ritual unthinkingly at first but a dawning awareness sends her on a quest of self-discovery. In this surreal and scary film, Scarlett Johansson creates an unforgettable character that is both human and otherworldly.

Trinity from the Matrix films (Carrie-Anne Moss)

Trinity may not be “the one” but Neo is never going to get there without her, making this strong female character the linchpin of the MATRIX films. Resourceful, intelligent, strong, and damn beautiful too, this fierce warrior is the opposite of the fainting heroines of the ’50s. In ultra-cool black leather and toting an arsenal, Trinity is the one who does the rescuing, thank you very much. Carrie-Anne Moss creates the perfect smart and smart-ass sharp-edged tool, equally skilled at computers and martial arts, to deliver the oft-clueless Neo to his destiny.

Maria from Metropolis (Brigitte Helm)

One of the most iconic images of cinema is the gleaming metal female robot in Fritz Lang’s silent sci-fi masterpiece METROPOLIS. Brigitte Helm played both Maria, the inspiring Joan of Arc-like leader of a rebellion in a futuristic city and the robot built by a mad scientist and the city’s ruthless leader to impersonate her and derail the uprising. The unforgettable image of the shining steel android robot being brought to life by arcing electricity has inspired countless imitators, including James Whale’s FRANKENSTEIN. Brigitte Helm is mesmerizing as both the strong, charismatic leader Maria and the wild, powerful evil robot “Maria” in this great classic film, made in the first feminist era when women demanded and won the vote.

Tris Prior from the Divergent series (Shailene Woodley)

A strong willed girl who’s doesn’t easily let her guard down, Woodley’s Tris embodies bravery, courage and above all intelligence. While solidifying her status as Divergent in the post-apocalyptic society, she understandably has her fears while transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Her never give up attitude is what makes her a great role model for young women and a spot on our sci-fi list.

Ryan Stone of GRAVITY (Sandra Bullock)

Facing adversity with courage is what defines Bullock’s character in Alfonso Cuaron’s GRAVITY. It is very much a woman’s passage from a place of loss and being in an emotionally numb state to a place where she rediscovers her purpose and reason for life…and then fights for it in the final riveting scene. Compared to a modern-day Ripley, Ryan Stone has also lost a child and finds the inner strength to go on. It’s clear that Ryan’s struggle is a metaphor for anyone who has to overcome adversity in life and get to the other side. It is a wonderful journey of rebirth.

Cinematographer Maryse Alberti Talks CREED And Women In Film

CREED continues to be a box office success and a favorite with audiences and critics. Globally Ryan Coogler’s film has passed the $100 million mark since its initial opening this fall.

The film reunites Coogler with his FRUITVALE STATION star Michael B. Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed, and explores a new chapter in the ROCKY story, starring Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone in his iconic role.

For the director, there was no question that CREED would be set in Philadelphia, where it all began. And for the filmmakers, there was no doubt that principal photography would be accomplished there as well. In order to bridge the two films artistically, Coogler brought together the talented creative team of costume designers Emma Potter (“Song One”) and Antoinette Messam (“Orphan”) and his “Fruitvale Station” team: editors Michael P. Shawver and Claudia Castello; production designer Hannah Beachler; and composer Ludwig Goransson.

To bring the visual images of this motion picture to the screen, the director called on multi-award-winning French cinematographer Maryse Alberti.

Most recently, Alberti lensed M. Night Shyamalan’s film THE VISIT, which opened in theaters this fall, followed by FREEHELD, starring Julianne Moore, Ellen Page and Steve Carell.

In 2008, she received a Best Cinematography Independent Spirit Award for her work on the Oscar-nominated, Darren Aronofsky-directed film THE WRESTLER. She also received plaudits for director Todd Haynes’ POISON and VELVET GOLDMINE (Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography), and the hard-hitting drama HAPPINESS for Todd Solondz. Her other awards include Sundance Film Festival Best Cinematography honors for documentaries CRUMB, in 1995, and H-2 Worker.

She has lensed acclaimed documentaries with her long-time collaborator Alex Gibney: “The Armstrong Lie”; “We Steal Secrets”; “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer”; “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson”; the 2008 Best Documentary Academy Award winner “Taxi to the Dark Side”; and “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” (2006 Best Documentary Academy Award nomination).

During our recent phone conversation we discussed not only CREED, but Alberti’s cinematography on her other films. Being one of the few women cinematographers in the United States, we also talked about her views on the progress of women DP’s working on every type of studio film.

WAMG: Did you love movies as a kid growing up?

Maryse Alberti: I grew up in the South of France in a small town and I didn’t go to the movies until I was 15. The first time was in a city called Bordeaux and I don’t remember who took me there, but I will always remember the dark theater and I saw Steven Spielberg’s film DUEL. It blew me away.

I really didn’t watch TV. My grandmother was the first one to have a TV on the block where we lived and people would come once a week to where she lived to watch a televised play. When I came to the States as an au pair at the age of 19, I stayed with a family in New Rochelle, NY and there was a TV in every room. I had a little TV in my room and I would watch many movies on the “Late, Late Show.”

WAMG: Artistically, the stars aligned for this film – from your cinematography, to the score, to the editing. How were you offered the job and how was it to work with Ryan Coogler?

MA: When I found out that I was considered for the job, I was a little bit surprised. When I heard that it was Ryan Coogler, I was really interested in working with him. It made a little more sense because he’s an Indie filmmaker.

I was really happy that the studio trusted a woman cinematographer with a good sized budget, a franchise and an action movie. It’s time for studios to give all women directors and women cinematographers these opportunities.

WAMG: Tell me about the much talked about boxing scene shot in a single take.

MA: It is a single take and was Ryan’s idea. It was to show that the boxer is on his own in the ring. Then he goes to his corner where he’s with his trainer who gives him support and advice, and then he’s right back in the ring by himself.

A lot of work went into choreographing the scene with stunt coordinator Clayton Barber and Steadicam camera operator Benjamin Semanoff, who not only had to memorize all the moves, but executed them to perfection twelve times.

It was a team effort – the fight coordinator wanted the Steadicam shot to be in the right place so it looks like the boxers’ punches connect and I wanted to keep the drama and emotion and face of the fighters.

Michael B. Jordan was amazing because he was in the ring with professional boxers. He also had to memorize the complex choreography like one would a long monologue and we were so happy with his performance.

WAMG: Did you have a look at the original 1976 film?

MA: I looked at it a little bit, but films like THE WRESTLER and THE PROPHET were also an influence, and we wanted to go with our own style with that first fight and then with the big end fight.

WAMG: How did Ryan Coogler approach you about replicating the two iconic ROCKY scenes for CREED – the running down the street scene and the one of Rocky running up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps?

MA: Ryan was very smart and very talented in keeping those iconic scenes from the ROCKY movie while bringing his own signature to it and bringing the characters and story into the present. He wanted this generation to be able to relate with the music and the circling of the bikes. Ryan was able to merge both things while making his own film. I think he really succeeded there.

Plus Sylvester Stallone gave such an amazing performance.

WAMG: How much input did you receive from Stallone with him being on-set most of the time?

MA: He was so cool about the whole thing and completely trusted his director. He would make an occasional suggestion and we would certainly listen because he is a filmmaker, and it is his creation, but he really let us do our work with trust and respect. He was really great.

WAMG: On FREEHELD, you captured the immediacy of the time, the place and the situation with the performances.

MA: The idea from the director (Peter Sollett) was to keep the cinematography very simple. He wanted the camera in the background with the actors in the foreground. The story was very powerful and we had great actors.

WAMG: I loved your cinematography on the Lance Armstrong documentary. How did you work on what became an ever-changing story?

MA: There’s a tradition of the Cinéma Vérité to it – when he trains and for the Tour – to pair it with the beauty of the image of the cycling. You have to create the intimacy and gain the trust of the character which the director, Alex Gibney, and I did as we’ve worked together on a lot of movies. Lance trusted us and we were able to get an inside look at the Tour de France which was kind of amazing.

Then there was the controversy after what happened. We were still be able to talk and listen to Lance and his version of the story. It’s a moving portrait of an athlete – I think he’s still an amazing athlete. It’s also a great film about a man who has a very dark side as well as a sport going awry. It’s not just about Lance but the doping of the sport which was going on long before he arrived. Plus it was also about the people who called him on that.

WAMG: Speaking of documentaries, you lensed M. Night Shyamalan’s THE VISIT in documentary style to make the audience understand the fear and terror that kids in the film are experiencing as they shoot their own movie. Everything is shot with handheld cameras because it is a documentary. It’s really a clever way to tell a story.

MA: It is a very fun and unique film. The kids were holding the camera through the scene in the crawlspace.

Peter Nolan did all the handheld pretending to be the kids. We helped them to frame themselves when they were not moving, but all of the shots of them running were actually shot with a smaller camera than we’d normally use for the rest of the film. For the rest of the film it was the camera operator.

WAMG: Which do you prefer shooting on – digital or film?

MA: I think it depends on the film and location. With digital you don’t have to carry all these rolls of film, especially on a documentary. Plus digital is more environmentally friendly.

I’m not a hardcore “film” person, but in the one instance when the director wants the look of 16mm then I think you would need film. I think it would be difficult to achieve the look of 16mm with digital.

I also love the ALEXA camera which has a pretty fantastic look. I love that it allows you to shoot in very low light.

WAMG: As a cinematographer, are you looking forward to seeing Quentin Tarantino’s THE HATEFUL EIGHT with all the hype that it was shot in 70mm?

MA: I’m actually looking forward to it and I want to see it in 70mm. I haven’t seen a film in 70mm since LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. You go for the spectacle of it and 70mm doesn’t necessarily make a film great – it can be a part and add to the greatness of a movie. The image really counts.

When I see a movie like CAROL shot by Edward Lachman, that movie IS beautiful and is perfectly shot. That is the kind of movie you shoot on film and it shows. The cinematography is so much a part of how it feels and the look of that film. The images are so much a part of the storytelling.

WAMG: Not one woman has ever been nominated, never mind winning, an Academy Award. There are not many women in the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC’s roster).

MA: Before the Oscars, before the ASC, before all that, let’s get women to work. That’s what we need. Let’s get the studios to not be afraid of hiring women. Let’s get the directors to not be afraid of hiring a woman DP for any kind of movie – for a movie like CREED, for a movie like CAROL, for a movie like FAST AND FURIOUS. Women are perfectly able to shoot any kind of style of movie, so before the Academy Awards let’s put women to work. Let’s give them a chance to win that Academy Award.

WAMG: Do you think it is changing?

MA: Yes. I think it is changing very slowly and women are still a very small percentage of all cinematographers. The fact that a big deal is being made that a woman shot CREED, it shouldn’t be. It should be normal.

I am a woman, but I am a cinematographer and I am experienced. Contrary to the progress of women directors, which I think is in recession, in the 25 years that I’ve been a DP, I’ve seen a slow progress.

More women are shooting movies. It is improving and it is still a very slow progress.

TWILIGHT Returns – Lionsgate Collaborates With Stephenie Meyer And Women In Film On “The Storytellers – New Creative Voices of The Twilight Saga”

Lionsgate is teaming with Facebook, the prestigious Women In Film organization, the crowdsourcing platform Tongal and best-selling Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer to create and manage a social media campaign to develop and produce a series of short films directed by aspiring female filmmakers.

The campaign, called “The Storytellers – New Creative Voices of The Twilight Saga,” will include films based on a broad spectrum of characters from the Twilight universe, with guidance provided by Meyer’s encyclopedic The Twilight Saga: Official Illustrated Guide.

The campaign will center on a multiphase contest culminating in the selection of at least five aspiring female filmmakers to direct short films based on characters from the Twilight universe. The films will be produced and directed with the mentorship of a blue chip panel of advisors, which will ultimately select the winning shorts that will premiere exclusively on the Facebook platform next year.

The star-studded group of female panelists will include Stephenie Meyer, actress Kristen Stewart, Academy Award winners Kate Winslet and Octavia Spencer, Jennifer Lee, the award-winning writer and one of the directors of Disney’s global blockbuster Frozen, Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, Emmy Award-winning actress Julie Bowen, and Women In Film President Cathy Schulman.

Five winning shorts will be financed through production advances, and fans will help select a grand prize winning filmmaker who will receive a cash prize and career opportunities. The short film development and production process will involve extensive fan engagement on the Facebook and Tongal platforms.

Meyer’s Twilight Saga books have sold more than 120 million copies worldwide and have been translated into at least 38 languages around the globe, winning the 2008 British Book Award for “Children’s Book of The Year” for Breaking Dawnand the 2009 Kid’s Choice Award for Favorite Book for the series as a whole. The five films of The Twilight Sagafranchise have grossed more than $3.3 billion at the global box office, ranking among the most successful feature film franchises of all time.

“More people than ever before are creating, discovering and engaging with videos on Facebook,” said Facebook Vice President of Partnerships Dan Rose. “This collaboration with Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate and Women In Film is a great opportunity to engage Twilight’s massive global audience on Facebook through an innovative premium video program.”

“We’re delighted to expand our longstanding relationship with Stephenie and confident that her participation in theTwilight short films campaign will add an exciting new dimension to the incredible world she has created as an author and producer,” said Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer and Vice Chairman Michael Burns. “Our partnership with Facebook and Women In Film underscores the opportunities for growing our franchises in exciting new directions, and we’re pleased to introduce fresh creative talent to the Twilight universe as part of our commitment to female empowerment in front of and behind the camera.”

“Accessing Hollywood is a momentous challenge, especially for aspiring female filmmakers, so I‘m thrilled that Women In Film has been invited to join Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate and Facebook to empower new storytellers with diverse voices,” said WIF President Cathy Schulman. “Women In Film is proud to help recruit and mentor female filmmakers as part of a project that illustrates the power of a beloved book and movie franchise to lessen the gender gap in our film community and provide a platform for women’s perspectives to be seen and heard.”

“The female voice is something that has become more and more important to me as I’ve worked in the film industry,” said Meyer. “I’m honored to be working with Women In Film, Lionsgate, and Facebook on a project dedicated to giving more women a chance to be heard creatively.”

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: