12 Feb 2016

'She is a raw, sexual force, impeded'

10:19 am on 12 February 2016

The way Hollywood scriptwriters describe female characaters is under the spotlight, with a film producer sharing some of the worst examples.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence triggered a debate on gender inequality and Hollywood sexism last year Photo: AFP

Ross Putman is tweeting introductions for female leads in scripts that he has read, that involve long descriptions of how drop-dead beautiful they are.

He said he changes all names to Jane to protect writers' identities.

Putman said that he "couldn't make them up if I tried" - after one person asked him whether the scripts were real.

He has already gained more than 37,000 followers, despite only starting to tweet as @femscriptintros on Wednesday.

He said he planned on posting all female introductions, not just negative ones.

"But you will notice quite a few are... well, similarly problematic," he commented.

Jennifer Lawrence triggered a debate on gender inequality and Hollywood sexism last October.

She said she was mad at herself for failing to negotiate after she found out she was being paid less than her male co-stars.

The Hunger Games star said there was "an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight".

British actress Rachel Weisz said she thought there was a difference between stories for male and female characters in cinema.

"Women are actually not allowed to be difficult, interesting, complex, three-dimensional," she said.

"Female characters have to be sweeter and more likeable than a male character would have to be."

- BBC