Off-Topic: Girl Power/Female Empowerment Feature Films Hollywood Should Make

So I'm trying to put off writing an entry on Bendis' X-23 usage.  Not that I find it bad, in fact there are spots already that I adore, but there are spots that raise some red flags to me as well.  I'm trying to figure out how I want to balance that entry still.  So instead I want to focus on something else real quick!  Here has always been a place I wanted to use to focus on female empowerment and cover many topics associated since that does have a tendency to fall on the line of both genders.  One topic that's rarely discussed is the other intellectual properties out there that could do just that.  Hunger Games has already proven female protagonists are box office smashes if the story is there and it's handled with care to make a great movie, so let's discuss what other properties are out there that could break the mold as well.


Donna Troy/Troia

So kicking off this discussion, is the recent announcement that Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman contract is a multi-picture deal.  One of which is outright a Wonder Woman solo film!  Now granted this discussion should go over characters that have yet to be or are not currently planned for film but it should be discussed that with Diana comes her own history from Themyscira.  Besides Diana, there is also room for characters like Artemis, Donna Troy, Cassie Sandsmark, and more!  Donna Troy in particular I think would do well to be featured as a cameo in a Wonder Woman solo film.  Her character history with some mild tweaks could be quite interesting on screen for how it portrays an orphan taken to the island and raised among these women who grows into her own hero with her own name.  She also provides an interesting spin on the normal heroine romantic angle as she eventually married a mortal normal human man.  This provides interesting potential as a counter-balance to the Clark Kent Lois Lane dynamic where he eventually did the same.  It has interesting potential to show that yes, guys do love strong women that have ambitions and capabilities unmatched by any and will support them even if that guy is only human in comparison.

Maybe I'm just biased when it comes to Donna Troy, but many of her costumes and redesigns have always had that reaching for the stars touch to them and she was also one of the earliest members of the Teen Titans themselves.

She has a long history with Wonder Woman media forays since she was created in 1965.  In 1967 she appeared in the  Aquaman Superman Hour of Adventure cartoon show.  Then later in 1976 she also appeared in a slightly altered form within the classic Wonder Woman live action TV show.  She was the first sidekick that Wonder Woman ever had, creating the mantle of Wonder Girl that eventually faded off of her and led her to becoming her own hero in her own right under her own set of powers.  The mantle of Wonder Girl was then passed on to another much like Batman's sidekick Robin has been.  Granted, this go round her origin should be kept simplified as intended, and with the film forays of Wonder Woman this could happen.  The orphan story was an amazing story device as would be some form of story device means of granting her the Amazon like abilities after years of growing up on the island and training under them would allow.  This relatively simplified back story and added piece of Paradise Island folklore of bestowing Amazon powers to a human could play amazing well to audiences.  It would show women everywhere that any of them could become Wonder Woman and they are not limited from it by not being born on Paradise Island.

Finding a way to mix all the elements of her modern interpretations could also provide for some interesting design elements among DC's New 52 lineup as would be sure to happen after her appearing in any of the Wonder Woman feature films.  This allows Cassie Sandsmark to maintain the Wonder Girl title they've currently started with, and allows Troia to make her return again without having been underneath anyone's shadow.  She'll simply be a strong female protagonist with an interesting subtle back story and ready for the big leagues.  Thanks to her media exposure and fans, alongside her rich history with Diana herself, there is a strong possibility she may cameo at some point.  One could only hope that WB does bite at this chance to bring her to the big screen and have her make a big splash with her presence among DC's line of comics.  The fans miss Donna Troy.  Among all the other redesigns and fresh starts other heroes have gotten, she's one that could shine bright among the stars once again for all she represents and what should be corrected from her previous overly-convoluted character history.

As for full on feature films though?  Oh my list is much more open ended to be free standing as their own properties.


Tomb Raider

Of course, right off the bat I have to mention Lara Croft.  I know, I know.  Angelina Jolie already portrayed the infamous character from Tomb Raider in the classic video game adapted movie and sequel.  Lara Croft though has received her own kind of face lift and rebranding rather recently in video game form.  Of course I'm speaking of the 2011 game from Squaresoft and Crystal Dynamics.  That Tomb Raider game acted as an origin story for the character and dove into her early years of how she became who she is with her first adventure.  The game was magnificently handled and elevated the genre to new heights in how it was approached.  Maybe it's time for movie Lara Croft to get the same treatment with her own origin feature film that could do the same and cover the themes that game presented.


It could be a full on standalone feature or be marketed as a prequel.  Either works.  With the right director and emotional impact to the story, it could easily break the box office and expectations.  Casting seems quite apparent too with only needing a starlet that's capable of doing a british accent and is looking to fill out the action film side of their filmography.  It is a story that has a focal point on a proverbial underdog.  One lone woman using her wits to survive and save her friends.


Black Rock Shooter

Black Rock Shooter is a character and growing property from Japan created by illustrator Ryohei Huke.  She had started off as a simple Miku Miku Dance model and song, but has grown to so much more.  She has been featured in several manga, has had her own video games, and even two forays into anime.  One was a standalone direct to video(web streamed too!) 50 minute feature and the second provided her first foray onto TV screens as a full on series.  This property has often been one to focus heavily on the power of friendship alongside the trials it can entail.  It's also had a heavy focus on natural human emotion, growth, and showing the strength within to do what's right and stand up for others.  She's a character that has already influenced the world in many ways with the dynamic action presented in both game and animation form, but she's also a character with very strong positive messages hidden underneath.  If a live movie were to be adapted of her, it could pull on multiple sources of influence and become a cult classic comparative to Sucker Punch, Assault Girls, or similar albeit without the hindrances many of those properties have tossed their way.  While there may be a few hindrances in the design barring how the story is approached, there is much room to use here as female empowerment piece.


Personally my view if it ever were to be adapted, is that it should lean either on the game's dystopian future story of an attack that wiped out humanity, or possibly heavily onto the another world developments that the anime uses.  It's highly dependent on the type of story that could be told, and both sides really have strong potential.  There are many ways to spin such a creation to still entail heavy visual action pieces of any setup while within the confines of the growth of relationships among friends at any age of the spectrum from high school to even self-referential method of the friendships being tested and built while such a film itself was being developed within itself.  These set pieces allow for a visual feast as well as symbolic exposition of what's occurring on the normal "earth" side.  It also allows for commentary within itself over various aspects of the visual side that could range from everything about casting to costuming, or even character design elements of such genres.  An art piece that could be a film that'd make you think as well as make your eyes go wide.  There are many directions that could be taken or commentaries that could be made within from overactive imaginations to much much more.  The conflicts, bridges built and burnt, or even misunderstandings are something that plague all walks of life and industries.


Gunsmith Cats

Gunsmith Cats is a property created by Kenichi Sonada.  As a manga in the 90s it reached up to 9 volumes and a straight to video 3 episode anime release.  Then thanks to how beloved and well received it was, much later it had a 5 volume follow up continuing on the story.  Gunsmith Cats itself is the story of a gun shop run by two women.  They aren't only the owners of this shop though.  They are also bounty hunters in Chicago where their shop is located.  The story covers many aspects of gender stereotypes as well as shows the strong bond these women have for each other and their friends.  It contains much situational humor to their lifestyle as well as has fast cars and action packed stories that show truly how badass these women are.  Rally Vincent and Minnie Mae are icons within the anime fandom outright.  Whether it's from how Rally outwits the macho man incarnate of Riding Bean, or takes down full on drug cartels headed by former KGB, these characters outright show that women can do anything and are capable of being the scariest women alive, but also have ethics, morals, and a warmth all of their own.  The dynamic between Rally and Minnie Mae has yet to be fully explored onscreen in cinemas.  The questions and commentary it could raise within audiences about the character histories are explored in playful jabs and commentary between the characters themselves.


This duo is one that could surprise all.  With the Transporter series having done as well as it has and how much the original Riding Bean anime that birthed Gunsmith Cats itself is reminiscent of, maybe it's time this duo had their fair shot too in a feature film to prove they could be even more successful.


Bubblegum Crisis

Of course any entry talking about empowerment and girl power would not be complete without mentioning the Knight Sabers.  Bubblegum Crisis started off as an 8 episode direct to video anime release, but spawned a 3 episode direct to video follow up called Bubblegum Crash as well as a prequel spin off series that focused on the A.D. Police.  Much later BGC also received a 26 episode anime TV series and again the A.D. Police themselves gained another 12 episode TV series prequel.  Fans are still hungry for more.  Nene, Priss, Sylia, and Linna are anime icons of strong women from all walks of life that handle what the police of the future can't.  They take down threats on levels that even this future police task force can't and often times even have to clean up this task force's mess from being ill-prepared.  The themes covered and the stories told are all rich with potential, symbolism and world commentary even to this day.  Having been a series that was heavily influenced from Blade Runner, the pedigree of this scifi property is well in place and ready to become the next landmark serial blockbuster fest.  That's assuming of course if the action is handled well, and the Knight Saber armor suits are kept moderately to their iconic selves of at least the TV series initial versions.


The property is essentially a girl power form of Iron Man, but with more on burst jet propelled acrobatics than actual flight.  If you take the Pepper Potts action piece finale of Iron Man 3 and multiply it by about 50 times, you'd start to get somewhere around where the Knight Sabers are at.  That Gwyneth Paltrow scene would be considered a slow day for them.


Of course on this list should include X-23 herself, but KP will be coming back to that topic about a movie for her soon!  There's much that could be discussed still on the prospects and directions it could take!  For now though, what properties would you like to see on the big screen that have strong focuses and influences of female empowerment or girl power?  What are your thoughts on the ones suggested?  Personally I left off Battle Angel Alita since James Cameron has talked about bringing her to the big screen eventually.  That was a hard call to make though since it is a property that goes hand in hand with many of the ones mentioned.

Preview: All-New X-Men 22.Now

CBR has the preview up for All-New X-Men 22.now which hits comic shops and news stands January 22nd.  It will be kicking off the Trial of Jean Grey story arc.

More to follow soon, as the panel with X-23 and the previous issues all raise a valid concern that should be voiced.  (Alongside much to highlight for praise!)

Reminder: All-New X-Men Issue 21

All-New X-Men issue 21 hits comic shops tomorrow, January 15th.  It'll be picking up from where it last left off with the team captured by the Purifiers.  Be sure to check out the issue as it's sure to have quite a few twists and turns for Laura and could be what starts to fashion all to come with Bendis' usage of the character within the title.

Random January 2014 News Bites

So this came up awhile ago and it's worth repeating again.

The Hunger Games franchise has a new record on its hands from 2013.  The newest film in the franchise, Catching Fire, is not only the highest domestic grossing film of 2013 by surpassing Ironman 3, it's also the highest grossing film with a female lead which hasn't happened since 1973's The Exorcist.   Showing once again that female leads can have audience drawing power and break the box office.  This is the first film with a clear female protagonist, which excludes films like Titanic from the debate, to have done this in 40 years!  It reflects a tide turning in how Hollywood looks at franchise films.  As it shows outright that a female-led film of high quality can indeed maintain it's own franchise, and even be a heavy-weight box office contender.  Such record breaking acts like this could start to pave the way for more.  If Hunger Games can do it, just imagine what Marvel or DC may be able to do with cohesive well handled scripts for solo female properties.  Could a solo film Black Widow or X-23 be far behind?  We already are potentially getting a slow build up for a solo Wonder Woman feature later on down the line from Warner Brothers.


In other news, it's starting to become quite annoying about how the gossip rags treat forms of abuse other than physical, along with the fandoms that eat it up confused that it's love thanks to film franchises like Twilight and the soon to be 50 Shades of Gray.  For example, recently a rumor was spread about Selena Gomez camping with Bieber in Chris Brown's RV.  Of course Ms. Gomez's people denied this as they should, but I'm rather surprised it wasn't more verbose and direct in it's disregard of said event ever occurring. They stated: "This did not happen. There is absolutely not one ounce of truth to anything in this."

Let's look at this for a second.  Chris Brown who has anger issues he's trying to resolve now finally after court enforced therapy.  The man who had abused Rihanna, a woman Ms. Gomez looks up to as a musical influence, let Bieber use his RV to go camping.  The fact that fans ate this up thinking that a woman of Ms. Gomez's caliber who has spent an entire year trying to uplift women and show that it's both men and women's choices that matter.  Spent an entire year to show how she's grown and become her own woman who wants to inspire others into being the best they can be.  A woman who has adamantly spoken against bullies and spoken up to stop fans from doing harmful things to themselves in her name.  That no one should take advantage of such occurrences of inebriation on anyone. (And on said note, this also means don't take advantage of anyone while inebriated as even if someone may be touchy feely while intoxicated, that doesn't give anyone the right to take advantage. Do you really want the only reason someone did anything with you being because they were drunk or drugged into complacency?  You do know what that's called right?)  That even she could be the one that ends up sleeping on someone's couch after a night of enjoying the company of friends and deserves that respect to be left alone, has been linked to a camping trip using an abuser's RV.  An abuser who struck a woman she considers one of her influences.  Am I the only one that sees the gaping flaw in logic here?  It's outright disgusting that anyone could ever believe it was true.

Thankfully of course her people denied it as they should if it's false, but it's a sad state of affairs when people are so caught up in trying to force a toxic match that they look past details that you would think show how absurd it is.  Of course this also isn't counting other acts that can be considered forms of abuse via the instigating of fans to do dirty work based on lyrical content of an album that can be considered itself one long form of emotional and verbal abuse towards her and her friends or other acts and attempts to harm her reputation and hide his own drug abuse and immaturity.  Acts of using her as a prop and object without any regard to her feelings, safety, or reputation.  The public is letting it happen, and she has yet to speak on these matters directly.  I hope she does soon, as she has built herself up to be an inspiration to help uplift women, and it's sickening to see how others would try to tear that down by lies, half-truths, and twisting of facts or pushing her towards a known drug addict with a history of unsafe behaviors and attitudes when she's trying to grow and become the woman she wants to be that can help others stand on their own feet and show the spotlight can be handled responsibly. (When I mentioned hindrances before, this is what I was referring to.  How her name is dragged through the mud for no reason than to try and hold her down when she's done absolutely nothing wrong.  Even going so far as to smile and try to laugh it off when she should start becoming vocal on it as no one deserves to go through or be used like this.  Though it also might make a role like X-23 become cathartic for her as a means to vent through a film piece.  This could make that film role even more satisfying for her and make her performance even more hypnotic.)

It seems the world takes steps forwards, but also takes giant leaps backwards.  Women are dominating the music charts, and now the box office, yet people are still stuck in mentalities without being able to quantify or recognize various forms of abuse perpetuated.  The world has long strides yet to go in equality, recognition of bullies, abuse, and the overall treatment of their fellow humans.  (I didn't feel like listing all the incidents across the board this time from all outlets because I really don't want to depress even myself.  2014 has begun, can we start trying to make things better already by using our heads and thinking before speaking and acting first?  Seriously, it's time to start teaching people what responsibility means and not excusing it.  Excusing it only makes it worse and them thinking that degradation and abuse is okay.)

In other rather awesome news, the Juicy J Twerking scholarship has come to a close.  The winner?  A college student by the name of Zaire Holmes with a video that didn't even have twerking in it!  Congrats to her and her pursuit of becoming a doctor!  It's nice to see good surprises like these still happening.  Last year when the contest started, it had received a large amount of flack for endorsing questionable behavior of selling sex & objectifying women.  It spurred at least two entries of no twerking that instead talked about betterment for themselves and others.  It's nice to see that one of those won and also is an interesting commentary on perceptions of the world.

Fan Casting For X-23: The Wide World of Choices

So for this entry, I gave myself one stipulation.  I cannot choose my default choice.  Nope not for this entry.  Cannot praise her vast amounts of charity work and how dedicated she has been to trying to uplift her fans.  Can't talk about how I wonder what kind of shelf or mantle she uses to hold all those awards that it doesn't break, and can't go on and on about how amazingly perfect she could be in the role to define it for a decade to come.  Nope can't do it.  Not in this entry.  Not one word about her depth of talent nor her smile that can light up and soften any situation or eyes that could hauntingly portray Laura unlike any other.  Nope, not one word.  Not one iota for this entry.  Not even one bit about how her inspirational role-model status can help further this character to new heights!  Not even a mention of how she's developing a filmography as diverse and well rounded as Angelina Jolie, Sandra Bullock, or even Jennifer Lopez.  Nope.  It's not allowed for this entry.  Also can't go into any hindrances either.

For this entry, I'm forcing myself to look at what other actress choices are out there that can fit the role of Laura Kinney.  This list was not done in any particular order.  In fact, it wasn't even written in order!


Lucy Hale
Lucy Hale is an actress with a wide filmography and decent world wide exposure.  While currently she's one of the stars of the much beloved Pretty Little Liars and is now kicking off her dream of a music career (Go check out her new solo country single You sound good to me!), she also has many geek show connections that could play in her favor for this kind of role.  She portrayed the little sister in the relatively recent 2007 Bionic Woman reboot, and even had a guest spot on Wizards of Waverly Place.  Seemingly she's used to filming TV thrillers as the show Pretty Little Liars focuses on being, but she's also done film work for sequels of cult classics such as Scream 4.  Psychological thrillers aren't new to her filmography either with a film like Fear Island, and she's also well rounded in having featured in family comedies about trust, life, friendship, and legacies as shown in Sorority Wars.  Her career is diverse to reflect a skill set that can handle almost anything thrown her way and can flip even direct to DVD sequels like Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants 2 and A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song from what's normally sequel cliche pandering to becoming on par if not better than their previous films from the acting having a natural onscreen charm to it that makes the characters come alive as real and genuine.  She also has that piece of country soul that often gets connected to Laura Kinney that could help make the character pop on screen.  All around she is a potentially heavy contender for the role with the wide aptitude of talents she's displayed on screen.  Personally by all accounts, she's almost tied with my first choice for the role due to the ease of softness to furious she can portray alongside her genuine and down to earth manner to which she holds herself.  Also doesn't hurt that the 2007 Bionic Woman reboot had a "haven't seen the moon in 1,023 days" line in it from another modern geek iconic actor.  (I'm a sucker for coincidences, what can I say?)

Julia Goldani Telles

One of the stars of the much loved but sadly canceled Bunheads, Telles is an actress that has a wide range and history in ballet.  She shares similar traits that have been proven to be successful in a transition to a role like Laura Kinney as Summer Glau had shown with her ballet history to transition into River Tam of Firefly.  Her acting range has yet to be fully defined, and with being mostly an unknown still yields strong possibilities for this to be her breakout movie stardom role.  Being one of the youngest actresses on this list, she also presents potential for character portrayal scattered across many sequels by at least three years longer.  Having no real action film previous experience may be a hindrance, but again as shown with Summer Glau, the transition from dance choreography to action choreography can often go in quite poetic and surprising swings.  With having only begun her career rather recently, she is entirely a wild card slot that does not as yet have a filmography to draw on for reference.

India Eisley

She's displayed an aptitude to action roles in similar forays outright.  Between Kite and Underworld Awakening both, she has become a fan favorite for the role of Laura Kinney.  Many fans have made artwork depicting as such with her being their personal choice.  Underworld Awakening gave the fans a chance to see at least half the range that would be needed for the role of X-23.  Kite looks like it may yield the other half with the everyday girl expression range.  With having these action heavy blockbusters at her backing, it's easy to see why she would be their choice.  Both films have shown she has effects and stunt training on par to what would be needed for the role, as well as potentially being capable of  evoking the kind of presence needed to portray such a character.  With her filmography already becoming quite action heavy though, the question would be does she fear of being typecast by continuing on in these roles, or is it deliberate because she wants to become one of the future female badasses of film with names such as Michelle Rodriguez. Gal Gadot, Milla Jovovich, and her fellow Underworld Awakening co-star, Kate Beckinsale.

Saiorse Ronan
While not predominately an action star, the film Hanna did give the fans an interesting look into the potential of her as Laura Kinney.  She's a well versed and talented actress that brings all her roles to life as believable characters.  Whether it's her portrayal of a girl still finding herself as in How I live now or even her earlier work with Atonement, she is a star that has a wide range of unique talents that could be a perfect fit for X-23.  On top of the wide spectrum of roles she's conveyed, she's often been praised for having an ear for accents to help deliver foreign language dialogue with an unmatched ease.  She can seemingly slip in and out of various tongues that sound natural to the region she's attempting to evoke.  This is a skill that could play in favor of the X-23 role as Laura is a character that within her own origin tale bounces between three languages with natural ease and seamlessly perfect accents.


All 5 of these actresses present strong potential for the role of Laura Kinney if she were ever depicted on film.  So who would you like to see take on the role?