Blame Movies, Not Women

Robert W. Welkos’ story about women in Hollywood left me even more cynical about how stupid this industry has become (“Can They Give the Big Boys a Run for Their Money?,” Jan. 16).

Did it ever occur to the studios that the reason films like “Speed 2,” “Bad Girls,” “The Mod Squad,” “Supergirl,” “Tank Girl,” “Cutthroat Island” and “The Messenger” were such box-office duds was because they were absolutely terrible? If audiences are so turned off to female action heroes, how do they explain the success of films like “Aliens” and “The Terminator”? Or how about television shows like “Xena: Warrior Princess” or “La Femme Nikita,” both of which have eclipsed their source material in popularity?

Male and female audiences alike enjoy these films and shows because the stories and characters are interesting and the production values are good. We need more action-oriented stories with women leads, not more retro-’70s junk that nobody cares about. When “Charlie’s Angels” flops at the box office next year, many interesting stories will never see the light of day because, by “Angels’ ” example, audiences “don’t want to see women action heroes.”

GARO SETIAN

Los Angeles

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Laurie Stevens deplores the lack of “Mildred Pierce” roles for actresses today (Letters, Jan. 23). In fact, it is more likely that such screenplays are being written but are being dismissed by zealous film school graduate “readers” whose minds are attuned to juvenile horror comics and sci-fi FX movies where stories and plots are immaterial.

I have been attempting to set up a Barbara Stanwyck/Lana Turner-type screenplay for the past three years. “It’s not what we’re looking for at this time” is the response.

DONOVAN WINTER

Los Angeles