Improved it has, but gender inequality still runs rife in the movie business. Major Hollywood studios have repeatedly come under fire over the years for their treatment of female actors, not least in the realms of remuneration and exposure. Jennifer Lawrence, one of the industry’s most prolific stars, has touched on that very subject recently as part of an extensive interview with Vanity Fair.
Due to return to the business following a lengthy timeout, Lawrence is set to appear in sci-fi black comedy Don’t Look Up alongside an all-star cast. Speaking to the site, she reveals how, prior to pushing back against the decision, she and co-star Leonardo DiCaprio had shared equal billing. “Leo was very gracious about it,” she clarifies in response to her receiving pole position on the call sheet, adding that the change only came when she “kicked the stone further, like, ‘What if it wasn’t equal?'”
Lawrence continues to bring up Scarlet Johansson’s recent feud with Disney over the release and subsequent handling of Black Widow. The Mouse House and Johansson subsequently settled their dispute and, according to recent reports, the latter is even back working with Marvel.
As a bystander like everyone else, Lawrence says, “I thought that was extremely brave, adding “If two parties understand how a movie is going to be released, and then it turns out that one of the parties did not agree to that, that’s unfair. She was also crowning! She was giving birth.”
You can catch Lawrence in Don’t Look Up when it hits theaters next month, Dec. 10.