In the ongoing conversation about the representation of women in Hollywood, for every moment of Amy Schumer proudly displaying her Annie Leibovitz portrait on Facebook, there’s another bracing reminder of the challenges that still remain to be overcome in Hollywood. And even a blockbuster surrounded by warm fuzzies like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is unable to escape some bad practices.
Speaking with Good Housekeeping, Carrie Fisher reveals she was not spared that standards Hollywood imposes on women when asked to gear up again to play Leia. “They don’t want to hire all of me — only about three-quarters! Nothing changes, it’s an appearance-driven thing. I’m in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance. That is so messed up. They might as well say get younger, because that’s how easy it is,” she said, noting she was pressured to lose thirty-five pounds for ‘The Force Awakens.’
“We treat beauty like an accomplishment and that is insane. Everyone in LA says, ‘Oh you look good,’ and you listen for them to say you’ve lost weight. It’s never ‘How are you?’ or ‘You seem happy!’,” Fisher added.
It’s certainly a sobering reminder that there are still long, long strides that need to made, particularly in an industry that so often thinks of itself as progressive.
Meanwhile, in lighter news surrounding the sequel, director J.J. Abrams recently dropped by “The Howard Stern Show” and recalled his experience showing ‘The Force Awakens’ to Disney executives for the first time (without finished FX), while Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Harrison Ford are all doing the morning talk shows, sharing their reactions to finally seeing the completed film. Plus, Entertainment Weekly has dropped a couple of featurettes about BB-8 and Rey’s speeder.