Hollywood vs. Women

5 Keep counting after the opening weekend.
Women, unlike men, generally don't feel the need to be first in line on opening night. Quite the contrary, a lot of female filmgoers prefer to be coaxed into the multiplex by good reviews, an intriguing subject, and strong word of mouth; that's also true for all moviegoers over 40, another demographic group that the major studios bizarrely insist on treating as some sort of obscure minority even though they make up 43 percent of the total audience.

But that sort of foreplay isn't exactly Hollywood's forte these days — studio marketers are more slam-bam-sorry-that-was-over-so-fast types. However, shrugging off that audience by assuming they'll catch up with your movie on DVD is getting an entire generation of moviegoers out of the habit of going to movies — and that's bad business. Remember, women didn't rush to My Big Fat Greek Wedding when it first opened — it took weeks of building buzz. Our advice: Go slow. And by the way, it wouldn't hurt to make the kinds of movies that generate good word of mouth, which means less money spent on digital effects and more spent on script development and rehearsal time (yes, it actually helps).

6 Studio executives, please clip and save:
Eileen Atkins. Maria Bello. Jennifer Coolidge. Frances Conroy. Penélope Cruz. Zooey Deschanel. Jennifer Ehle. Vera Farmiga. Maggie Gyllenhaal. Bryce Dallas Howard. Ashley Judd. Regina King. Lisa Kudrow. Rachel McAdams. Catherine O'Hara. Lupe Ontiveros. Tilda Swinton. Evan Rachel Wood. Michelle Yeoh.

There's not an Oscar nominee on the above list. In other words, the talent pool is deep, diverse, and appallingly underused. So stretch your imaginations, lengthen your casting lists, and, unless you're looking for red-carpet arm candy, stop worrying so much about who looks ''hot.''

Still not satisfied? Turn on your TV, watch the work being done by Kate Burton, Blythe Danner, Hope Davis, Edie Falco, Sally Field, Lauren Graham, Rachel Griffiths, Felicity Huffman, Virginia Madsen, S. Epatha Merkerson, Sandra Oh, Mary-Louise Parker, Robin Weigert, and Chandra Wilson, among many others, and hang your heads in shame that you're not keeping them busy every hiatus.

Not happy with the screenplays you're getting? Pick up the phone and call a playwright, a novelist, or a TV writer. Many of them are actual women, who may, even now, be writing about things that interest other women. Many of them are really good writers. True, not many have heard of the quadrant theory. But that's a good thing.

Hollywood, it's on you now. Get to work. And do better.

(Additional reporting by Hannah Tucker and Karen Valby)

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