Paul Feig found himself facing significant stress prior to the launch of “Bridesmaids” in 2011, as the stakes were not merely about his personal career but extended beyond that.
Discussing on a panel following the debut of his latest movie “Another Simple Favor” at SXSW, he revealed that prior to the launch of “Bridesmaids,” he was informed that his success or failure could greatly influence how future women-led projects were perceived in Hollywood. Notably, Feig was the director, but the film was predominantly driven by women – Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo wrote the script, while they also starred alongside Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, and Melissa McCarthy.
Many of my female writer companions were frequently submitting scripts for comedies featuring strong female leads, only to be told by the studios, ‘Let’s see how ‘Bridesmaids’ performs first.’ Feig exclaimed, ‘Oh no! This isn’t my responsibility. Am I going to prevent women from being in movies?’ He also highlighted a discrepancy, stating, ‘I don’t believe they said, ‘We’ll wait until more men appear on screen before we make another one like ‘The Hangover.’ But thankfully it was successful.’
Initially, the movie’s prospects seemed less promising, but ultimately it earned over $300 million globally.
Up until the moment of our release, it was forecasted that we wouldn’t perform well, according to Feig. The expectation was set high, with the warning that if we didn’t earn $20 million on our opening weekend, we would be deemed a flop. Even our midnight screening the night before didn’t go as planned, which led people to predict a dismal $13 million earnings and label it a failure. Throughout the day, I couldn’t help but feel like I had single-handedly ruined comedy for women.
Feig learned some of his cast had surpassed predictions during their time together, delivering encouraging news.
“Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone dropped by for a meal at our place, when suddenly, a series of texts arrived: ’20 million. 21. 22.’ With this intriguing message, we all jumped into the car and headed off to the Arclight Cinema. To our delight, it was bustling with people. This was an unforgettable moment in our lives.”
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2025-03-08 22:48