Was 2009 the Year of the Woman?

This article at The Daily Beast by Nicole LaPorte ponders the success of films directed by women, staring female leads, or aimed at female audiences. Films like New Moon, The Proposal, Julie and Julia, and The Blind Side did extremely well at the box office and The Hurt Locker has become a serious awards contender.

My, what a difference two years makes. Last fall, newly installed Disney Studios Chairman Rich Ross declared that one of his missions was to make movies for women. Two of the biggest upcoming summer movies are Sex and the City 2 and Eat, Pray, Love, based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s chick-lit sensation, which stars Julia Roberts. And when The Blind Side recently crossed the $200 million mark in domestic ticket sales, a Warner Bros. executive told one producer that if he could cast any movie star in a movie right now, it would be Sandra Bullock. “That’s extraordinary,” the producer said. “He was including men!”

Considering that even when women are “hot,” they’re rarely selected over (or paid nearly as much as) stars such as Will Smith or Brad Pitt—particularly, when, like Bullock, they’re 45 years-old—the statement was, indeed, extraordinary, and is the reason many in Hollywood have come to consider 2009 The Year of the Woman.

La Porte is reserved in her proclamation that the industry has turned some sort of corner, as she she should be. Although these films were well received, most of them weren't very good (yes, Blind Side, I'm looking at you) and did not present anything empowering or groundbreaking about their stories (that's you, New Moon). But what this year's successes might do is allow female directors and producers to get films made that they might not have otherwise by proving that there is a female audience out there that will pay to see films made and marketed to them.