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Hollywood

Thank You, Blake Lively, For Reminding Us Why We Need More Female Screenwriters

12:30 pm, June 26th | by Laura Donovan


Perpetually smiley, willowy Blake Lively may seem like an easygoing California girl, but she’s not one to take orders from those who may not be as well-versed in an area as she is. The “Savages” actress, who portrays a troubled young woman dating two pot dealers in the upcoming film, orchestrated some “revisions” and “rethinking” of her role to fully understand the part she undertook and better portray a 20-year-old girl.

Lively, who has said before that she has only been with boyfriends and is a committed relationship person, is a lot different from onscreen character O, who is kidnapped after her marijuana dealing boyfriends refuse to collaborate with the Mexican drug cartel. Though unable to relate to O’s path, Lively got to know her part well and told the LA Times magazine that the author of the book on which “Savages” is based and and male screenplay writer didn’t exactly have a ton of insight into her character:

“The character in the novel was written by a man, as was the character in the screenplay, and it’s hard for any older man to know what it’s like to be a 20-year-old girl. And my approach is, if she’s doing something you don’t feel is right, then at least let’s understand why. She’s a bit of a pessimist in the novel, for example, but it was important to me for her to be hopeful. If someone is hopeful and believes in good, then it’s much more powerful when that source of light is captured and threatened to burn out.”

Props to Lively for acknowledging that fact, holding her own, and reminding us that female screenwriters are few and far between. Rather than submit to director Oliver Stone’s initial image of O, Lively worked with him until “[she] said, ‘This is a girl I can understand.’ I wanted O to be a strong young woman.” Stone has said more than once that Lively was a bit of a “challenge” and was heavily challenged by “Savages,” but she brought her personal experience as a young female to the project–something the men behind the script couldn’t do.

[H/T The Frisky]

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  • Anonymous

    The more I read about this movie the less I want to see it and it’s all
    because of Lively. It sounds to me more like she couldn’t handle the
    character as written so they had to make it more “girly” for her.  I get the impression that  they cast her to have a hot girl in the movie and she
    bit off more than she can chew.

  • http://twitter.com/LauraDonovanUA Laura Donovan

    I don’t think that was it at all. They would have fired her had she been unfit for the role. I do know that Jennifer Lawrence was Stone’s first choice and he was disappointed not to have her in the movie, but Lively is much different than the book character to begin with. Stone said the novel character is more of a “girl with the dragon tattoo” type and he wanted to veer away from that image, as the book is much more graphic and sexually violent than he was willing to make the film (in the book there is a scene in which two men penetrate the female character at once. Stone was not going to go there in his movie). Lively also seems like kind of a perfectionist, so I think she really wanted to get in touch with her character rather than simply do the bare minimum. That said I do think Lawrence probably would have been better for the role.

  • Anonymous

    I suggest reading the book and seeing the movie before commenting, and don’t put words in Stone’s mouth. He has never discussed Lawrence. It sounds like both of you are projecting your biases and nothing more.

  • http://twitter.com/LauraDonovanUA Laura Donovan

    Actually I provided links for all of those claims. Everything was searched: 
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/20/oliver-stone-savages-war-on-drugs_n_1613496.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment

    “I think in the book she’s a shade younger. She’s a bit more like the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. And there were a lot of punk movies out that time of year, but I deliberately took another direction. ”

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  • Anonymous

    According to me about.  portray a 20-year-old girl. she is look like very innocent that place. and bout Reminding blacke lively like a move
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  • Anonymous

    I’m just glad they were open to Lively’s perspective, things like that can help to add dimension to characters.

  • Victoria Blood

    The LA Times magazine that the author of the book on which
    “Savages” is based and and male screenplay writer didn’t exactly have a
    ton of insight into her character:

    http://lighttouchmedical.com/

  • http://twitter.com/LauraDonovanUA Laura Donovan

    totally agree

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