Move Over, Clint: Tough-Gal Films Start a Stampede

When a group of pistol-packing prostitutes in stylish chaps took to the screen last weekend in “Bad Girls,” they officially ushered in Hollywood’s new tough-gal era. The critically panned Western from 20th Century Fox, which took in a respectable if unspectacular $5 million, is the first in a coming stampede of movies placing women in traditional tough-guy roles.

Nearly three dozen movies with actresses as everything from pirates to pool hustlers are set to follow the “Bad Girls” trail. Though some of the projects may never make it to the screen, studio executives have already spent millions of dollars chasing screenplays with strong heroines in the belief that the modern femme fatale will be a moneymaker.

Set in motion by 1991’s “Thelma and Louise,” the trend is largely an attempt to lure more women to theaters. In a decade when female executives are rising to prominence in the entertainment industry, many of the films are also being backed by women.

“Bad Girls” was produced by Lynda Obst, one of Hollywood’s leading female producers, who acknowledges that heroine-driven films are “a big gamble” because they have no real track record. Part of the risk lies in alienating male moviegoers, who still account for most of the box office. The biggest turnoff, says one producer, is offering up “Clint Eastwood with breasts.”

Among the studios betting they can overcome that challenge is Sony Pictures Entertainment, which has at least eight superwoman projects under way at its Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures units, including the high-priced “The Quick and the Dead.”

The Western stars Sharon Stone--who has established herself as Hollywood’s leading tough gal--as a brazen gunslinger who takes on a formidable bad guy (Gene Hackman). Studio sources say the movie will be released in late 1994 or early 1995.

Sony, which has a large number of female executives in its top ranks, is betting that “The Quick and the Dead” will score well with audiences of both sexes.

“We think the film has very wide appeal. . . . (Sharon Stone’s character) has sex appeal and she also kicks ass,” said Stacey Lassally, TriStar’s president of production. Stone’s heroics in the film will include a dirty gunfight, sharpshooting and a duel with her co-star.

Columbia’s most prominent entrant in the race is the Jon Peters production of “Mistress of the Seas” (or “The Erotic and Sexual Adventures of Anne Bonny”) from a script based on the true story of an 18th-Century female pirate.

Sources say Peters is in discussions with French director Jean-Jacques Annaud (“The Lover”) and with Julia Roberts for the lead role after a failed attempt to team up “Basic Instinct” director Paul Verhoeven and actress Geena Davis. Harrison Ford is said to be the studio’s top choice as the male lead. In one draft of the script, Bonny propositions a pirate, torches her father’s house, loots ships, rides naked on horseback and shoots a ship’s captain dead.

Most observers agree that the enthusiasm for the tough-gal genre can be traced to “Thelma and Louise,” the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie that made the cover of Time magazine and contributed to a virtual rebirth of grass-roots feminism.

“The visceral gut reaction from women to ‘Thelma and Louise’ was amazing,” said Greg Morrison, then-president of worldwide marketing for MGM. “There were women who saw it five times, 10 times.”

Though the movie grossed a relatively disappointing $44 million in domestic sales, which MGM attributes to a poorly timed release, Hollywood picked up the scent of the movie’s enormous success as a cultural phenomenon, and soon most of the industry’s deal makers were in hot pursuit of a “Thelma and Louise” of their own.

“It sanctioned the green light in their heads that they could do things with women at the helm,” Morrison said.

Others cite 1992’s “Basic Instinct,” the Carolco Pictures film released by TriStar. Sharon Stone’s controversial portrayal of a bisexual killer helped push box office revenue to $117.7 million. Fox was perhaps the earliest to succeed with the genre with the 1979 release of “Alien,” the monster hit featuring Sigourney Weaver battling space creatures. That and the two sequels, “Aliens” and “Alien 3,” brought the studio more than $197 million in domestic box office revenue alone.

The success of those movies showed filmmakers a new way to target the female market, which has always lagged behind males in theater attendance.

“There’s a huge, untapped market of women out there,” one producer said. “These roles are a great fantasy for women. . . . They love to see females portrayed this way.”

The heroines of “Bad Girls”--Andie MacDowell, Mary Stuart Masterson, Drew Barrymore and Madeleine Stowe--were conceived with exactly that in mind, said producer Obst. “It was made to say, ‘Come to the movies and see yourself.’ ”

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With the exception of unexpected hits such as Universal’s “Fried Green Tomatoes,” which grossed $81.2 million, the soap opera films that Hollywood has traditionally offered female audiences have rarely earned significant income. One such flop was this spring’s “Angie,” the Hollywood Pictures film starring Geena Davis that earned a puny $9 million.

Davis is scheduled to star as a far feistier heroine in “Cutthroat Island,” a Carolco Pictures production to be directed by her husband, Renny Harlin (“Cliffhanger”), which begins shooting this fall. The MGM/UA release will also star Michael Douglas as an indentured servant under pirate Davis’ command.

The trend also stems in large part from the industry’s growing number of women in powerful positions, who have shown strong support for the projects.

“The material has always been around. . . . They’re just interested now,” said Ira Deutchman, president of New York-based Fine Line Features, a division of New Line Cinema.

Fine Line unwittingly demonstrated how risky the format can be with its 1993 release of “Ballad of Little Jo,” a $4-million woman-as-man Western that earned an abysmal $543,000 in ticket sales.

Deutchman, who says he considers the loss “market research,” said, “You can’t just put a woman in a Western and expect women to buy it.”

Even so, Fine Line plans a May release of “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,” a story of cowgirls and bisexuality.

“Whether the films appeal to women is the big question still--no one has proven it,” said Peter Heller, senior film executive at Propaganda Films.

But he added, “We’re really interested in doing a women’s action film.”

They’re Rough, They’re Tough, They’re . . . Women

Hollywood is developing a record number of projects featuring tough heroines, including the just-released “Bad Girls,” in hopes of striking a chord with female moviegoers. Here is a list of several actress-driven movies planned for 1994 and 1995.

“Mistress of the Seas” has 18th-Century pirate Anne Bonny pursuing men and gold for Columbia Pictures.

“Pincushion” casts Demi Moore as a futuristic road warrior; also from Columbia.

“The Quick and the Dead” stars Sharon Stone as a Western gunslinger; from TriStar Pictures.

“One for the Money” pits a female bounty hunter against a corrupt cop; from TriStar.

“Species” is about an alien female predator with an agenda to procreate; from MGM.

“Cutthroat Island” casts Geena Davis as a pirate, with Michael Douglas as her slave; from Carolco/MGM.

“Counter Measures” pits a female naval spy against an old-boys network; from Touchstone Pictures.

“Tracks” has Julia Roberts bushwhacking through the Australian outback; from Disney.

“The River Wild” casts Meryl Streep as a river-rafting adventuress; from Universal Pictures.

“Joan of Arc” is a high-action tale of the 15th-Century heroine; from Warner Bros.