James Cameron Calls Wonder Woman 'A Step Backwards For Hollywood'; Patty Jenkins Responds

    James Cameron Calls Wonder Woman 'A Step Backwards For Hollywood'; Patty Jenkins Responds


    Wonder Woman was recently revealed to be the most successful superhero origin movie of all time and upon its release, was the only thing anyone was talking about in Hollywood. The film garnered much kudos for finally getting a female superhero film right but failed to impress one person.

    In an interview to The Guardian, Avatar and Titanic director James Cameron said that he considers the film a ‘step backwards’ for Hollywood.

    “All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie but, to me, it’s a step backwards,” he said.

    James Cameron Calls Wonder Woman 'A Step Backwards For Hollywood'; Patty Jenkins Responds

    Cameron compared her to Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton in his Terminator movies. “Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female,” he said.

    The writer-director-producer has been married five times and his previous wives include Hamilton, as well as Oscar-winning filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow.

    James Cameron Calls Wonder Woman 'A Step Backwards For Hollywood'; Patty Jenkins Responds

    “Being attracted to strong independent women has the downside that they’re strong independent women, they inherently don’t need you! Fortunately, I’m married now to a strong independent woman who does believe she needs me,” he said.

    Twitter has grown furious over the director’s statements, calling him out for thinking that a woman can either be a beauty icon or a strong female character. Many have also expressed disappointment that Cameron thinks having a strong independent woman as your partner could have a downside.

    Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins responded to Cameron on Twitter: “James Cameron’s inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman. Strong women are great. His praise of my film Monster, and our portrayal of a strong yet damaged woman was so appreciated. But if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we aren’t free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven’t come very far have we. I believe women can and should be EVERYTHING just like male lead characters should be. There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman. And the massive female audience who made the film a hit it is, can surely choose and judge their own icons of progress.”

    The film, which starred Gal Gadot as the superhero and was directed by Patty Jenkins, turned out to be huge success for Warner Bros as the movie became the highest-grossing live-action film ever by a female director.

    The movie has earned over USD 800 million at the global box-office.

    On the work front, Cameron is currently busy in plotting four sequels to Avatar. The first, currently untitled sequel, will hit theatres on December 18, 2020, while the rest will be released on December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024, and December 19, 2025.

    (With inputs from ANI)