ROTTEN TOMATOES: Halle Berry Says "No, Again" to Catwoman

Halle Berry Says "No, Again" to Catwoman

by Scott Weinberg | April 13, 2007

Just a few weeks ago Halle Berry was telling everyone that there would never be a "Storm" spinoff movie (as if anyone actually expected one), and now she's on record as saying that if the "Catwoman" character is ever resurrected for a "Justice League" movie ... she won't be expecting any phone calls.

At a recent press junket in support of her new thriller "Perfect Stranger," the lovely Ms. Berry was tossed a few "Cat"-related questions. And let's just say she didn't mince words: "No, no ... You guys didn't like Catwoman the first time, and I'm not a masochist ... I make movies for people, and if people don't really want to see that, then I wouldn't make the same mistake twice, obviously." Which is a good answer, I suppose, but if she makes movies for "the people," how does she explain "Swordfish," "Gothika," and, well, "Perfect Stranger"?

So between "Storm" fizzling out and "Catwoman" stuck in the kennel, I guess we won't be seeing Halle Berry in any more comic book movies. Whether or not that's a good thing is entirely up to you ... but I say it's a good thing.

Source: Cinematical

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(1-20 of 28 posts) | Reply

Bigbrother writes:
on Apr 13 2007 02:45 AM

Well, in fairness at least 10 seconds of Swordfish was for the people. Halle better watch herself though. She's treading on dangerous ground. She's dangerously close to infringing on ODB's copyright. Everybody knows Wu Tang is for the people...or was that the children? No, that can't be right...can it?

(Reply to this)

dagreenman18 writes:
on Apr 13 2007 04:23 AM

Wu Tang Clan: nothing to fuck with, for the children.

And technically, Catwoman 2 wouldn't be masochism, it would be sadistic.

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rumstoner writes:
on Apr 13 2007 04:34 AM

If only she'd refused to make the first one! I have to say it was the worst comic book adaptation i've ever had the mispleasure of viewing and, when considering what other dross there has been over the years, that makes it pretty damn awful.

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Matanuki writes:
on Apr 13 2007 04:40 AM

Catwoman 1 wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been written so poorly. I'm not sure what makes these hollywood folk think they're trapped in horrible stories. They take liberties with comic book and literature mythology all the time. Why not pull a Hulk and attempt a reinvention of their own screw-up? What pissed me off about the first Catwoman movie is they squandered the opportunity to do that awesome comic book femme fatale film. They should have got Johnathan Demm to direct. And have the premise be about a Cat burgular sucked into a plot that requires she choose a side; good or bad? They could have made it where she was essentially a villain, which she is, being a thief and all. But have the circumstances of the film make her heroic for the choices she makes. It could have been the perfect anti-hero movie.

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Apr 13 2007 05:38 AM

In reply to this comment (#861308)
Catwoman the worst? I"m assuming you haven't seen Supergirl. Now there's a film our gov't should incorporate in their torture technique.

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Apr 13 2007 06:38 AM

In reply to this comment (#861310)
Helen Slater looked good in the outfit though and just the overt silliness of it was kinda fun. Catwoman isn't even so bad it's funny. It's just bad.

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Apr 13 2007 06:52 AM

In reply to this comment (#861311)
Must you remind me! Yeah, ok, so she looked good in the outfit. But that required no feats of compelling writing. If the best thing about a film is the way the girl looks, that makes it worse than bad. Because it plays into that stereotype that men are stupid and superficial. I guess that describes Catwoman. But the result certainly defeats the ridiculous stereotype. Add to that Ultraviolet. But I think Elektra is the one that pissed me off the most. It had the best character, the most potential, and the best action star in the title role.

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ChinaRises writes:
on Apr 13 2007 06:57 AM

[b]These Movies All Sucked[/b]
Thats all that needs to be said, please stop obsessing over spilt milk.

As for Halle Berry, I've lost any respect for her I might of been capable of having. She was brilliant in "Monster's Ball", and DESERVED that oscar, but she seems so affraid to tackle any role that daring anymore that even I have forgoton she is capable of acting.

(Reply to this)

liono86 writes:
on Apr 13 2007 09:13 AM

I totally disagree with youa about Gothika, Scott. I wonder if you sometimes don't just hate on movies because critics do. Are you one of those who can't think for yourself and falls under the pressure of the crowd? Gothika is a pretty decent suepernatural thriller. Perfect Stranger, well, I haven't seen it yet, but, I eventually want to. Have you even seen it, Scott, or are you just going by the critics?

(Reply to this)

starlett2005 writes:
on Apr 13 2007 10:27 AM

If Catwoman is reprised then I hope it is better than the 2004 film.

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CFM writes:
on Apr 13 2007 10:41 AM

"...I make movies for people, and if people don't really want to see that, then I wouldn't make the same mistake twice, obviously."

I think she is confused. The only thing people really don't want to see is bad movies. That it happens to be Catwoman has nothing to do with it.

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moviewizguy writes:
on Apr 13 2007 01:59 PM

I disagree with you on Gothika. That was an above-average supernatural and has great cinematography with production design, which were a bonus!

(Reply to this)

wilkiedriver writes:
on Apr 13 2007 02:18 PM

In reply to this comment (#861317)
I knew someone was going to come along and defend Gothika. It seems every other friend or drinking buddy of mine says Gothika is "not bad." Ugh.

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enlighten78 writes:
on Apr 13 2007 07:42 PM

[b]Stop hating on Gothika[/b]
I thought th movie was very good. One of the best supernatural movies in the past seven years. I even took the liberty of watching it more than once, something I rarely do.

(Reply to this)

gemini0577 writes:
on Apr 13 2007 11:04 PM

ah... but there is someone out there somewhere who like Catwoman. I didn't care for the movie... and I think the actress was not the reason for that. The reasons were that God-aweful costume, the anti-climatic villain, and the too popular hip hop soundtrack. The music did not match with my idea of Catwoman, who I always saw as slinky, clever, and stealthy... not thuggish which the soundtrack seemed to impose.
And as for Gothika... I loved that film. It was freaky and fun to me and featured some interesting "scare" moments. I thought she flailed a bit as Storm in the first two X films, but she regained lost footing and owned the role in X-3.

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Apr 14 2007 01:20 PM

In reply to this comment (#861321)
[b]Sexism and Racism[/b]
I think what sank Catwoman more than anything else was the horrendous writing. The suit of course was ridiculous. And the totally nondescript villain. I had hopes for this film. Especially with Berry in the title role. It could have been great. We've seen her perform well when the material is well written. And a Demme-type script with a femme fatale hook would have been an ideal Catwoman film. Catwoman is supposed to be a gritty but sexy anti-hero, not some tentative caricature who leaves cupcakes and a "sorry" note at crime scenes. feh.
As for Storm. I think your comments were spot on. But the problem with Storm in the X Men films was more misguided Singer than flailing Berry. Again with the dull writing. I blame the still existent race problem for that one. How else can you explain one of the most important characters in the entire X Universe being pushed into the background and given stupid lines like "Guess what happens when a toad is struck by lightning."
I was talking to a guy just the other day about Storm. He only knew her from the films, so needless to say he was surprised when I told him that the Storm I know was the type to rip hearts from chests with her bare hands. Literally. They just barely touched on her power in the third film, and that was just for the purpose of a catfight with Callisto. Feh. and feh again.
If we want these characters better represented on film, well the answer is not to dish on the actresses who risk their reputations to take the roles. The answer, rather, is to fire that god-aweful writing team -Mr. Sexism, and Mr. Racism.

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Bigbrother writes:
on Apr 14 2007 04:29 PM

I don't know about sexism or racism. I don't think any writer in his right mind is going to write something crappy and jeopardize his career just to stick it to an "uppity black girl". I just think Storm's power is tricky to convey on the big screen and it's like you said Halle isn't one of those Denzel Washington/Forest Whitaker actors who can thrive in any role. She really needs the role written for her. I think if they'd gotten an actress with more depth and range the finished product may have been able to overcome the deficiencies in writing.

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Apr 14 2007 05:37 PM

In reply to this comment (#861323)
When I say racism and sexism, I don't mean it in the way you interpreted it. Not the mustache twisting kind of racism or sexism, but the kind that plays out in the assumptions made about how to tell these stories. For instance, generally you see them putting more thought into the stories when the hero is a man. When it's a woman, they focus more on the costume. And when its a team story, the ethnic characters are usually either pushed into the background where their characters' presence seem little more than an afterthought, or they're omitted from the story all together.

(Reply to this)

enlighten78 writes:
on Apr 14 2007 09:45 PM

You guys. Movies is not an art it is a business. They got to sell the movie to their main costumers. Action or comic film is going to be directed torward males. That means either a lead male hero or a lead woman dress like a porn star. 2/3 of America is carcasian. They are going to put white people in fron of the cameron with the lovely ethnic people in the background. I don't know about you but I think every one played second fiddle to wolverine in the X-Men movies. ( camera time wise.) A good thing about the films were that all the characters played an important role in the plot except for X3 which I forgive since they only had about six weeks to write the script. In X2 we got a small insight it storms character, we got to see her play the role of leader at alkilie lake, Storm saved the whole human race from oblivion. On the other hand Cyclops got kidnapped, busted the dam, and cried and he's a white male. I don't see any racism or sexism. It is just business as usual

(Reply to this)

jeanpaul writes:
on Apr 15 2007 05:08 AM

[b]CATWOMAN SUCCESS!!![/b]
CATWOWAN tanked because of ONE reason: Ask me, I'm the expert: It did NOT show Catwoman NAKED!!

Now if they'd shown Halle Berry/Catwoman "in the buff"--- They could have her doing battle with a cold-beer can from outer space--- and the movie would still be a SUPER HIT at the Box-office!!
I think I can speak for all American movie goers, when I made the statement above.
If Halle had shown her boobs (again), every proud American would had 'seen to it' that the movie would had been a Box-office success...

Therefore, to Halle Berry I say: IT'S NOT LATE, yet.
Just call me and I'll show you the NEW CATWOMAN costume I've designed for you, Halle. It's... well... it's got a few more tear-marks on it... and some might say it's a "tiddy bit" on the... eh, "revealing side"...

But, hey, Halle? Just call me. You and ME and that costume? We'll make "CATWOMAN TWO" a smash hit, baby!!

(Reply to this)

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