Jessica Biel: “Where are the Good Scripts for Women?”

By Amanda Pendolino on November 13th, 2009

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I’m not the only person wondering why there is such a lack of good roles for women — Jessica Biel is too. CNN reports that the 29-year-old actress says she’s having trouble finding a good follow-up to her upcoming animated film, Planet 51.

In the movie, Jessica plays a teenage girl who is fiercely independent and questions authority when the government tries to convince everyone that aliens are taking over. She really enjoyed playing such a strong women. ”I wanted to be in this movie because I liked the idea that the character was a strong woman that young girls could look up to as a role model,” she said.

Unfortunately she’s not used to reading scripts with a strong female character. “It’s rare to see good scripts that show good strong women,” she said. ”In Hollywood the number of well-written and great scripts which show women in strong positive roles are rare. On top of that there are so many talented women and there are not enough projects for everyone to really blossom. It’s so disappointing that there isn’t more material out there for actresses.”

Amen, sister. I get so annoyed that we even use the phrase “female-driven.” We never use the term “male-driven” — we just say movie! It’s also interesting that there seems to be such a huge divide between the strong women on TV versus film. Shows like The Closer, Damages and Mad Men are critically acclaimed and feature meaty roles for women. And if you argue that men don’t want to buy a movie ticket for a movie featuring a strong woman, I know it’s not just women watching those shows.

It seems that the only solution is for actresses to stay picky and demand good roles, for women writers to be encouraged to provide those roles, and for more women to try their hands at directing. It also couldn’t hurt for the men in Hollywood to think twice before writing a damsel in distress or a thinly developed love interest.