She stands up to chauvinism, sheltering a battered wife in her chocolaterie. She battles intolerance, embracing a band of freedom-loving Gypsies and romancing their leader, Johnny Depp. And she empowers her repressed clientele with a newfound lust for life. By historical standards, best-picture nominees in which men run the show are distinctly underrepresented this year. Some observers are hopeful that the flowering of female-centered films signals a change in business as usual.
Views differ sharply.
There is a demand for them and a desire to see them in stronger roles. It's been proven that they can be successful, so from the financial end of things, studios are going to be more open to it. Moreover, men are now willing to see women in a hero's role, she said. Sarah Pillsbury disagrees. It's a slow process.