In a piece for a New York Times series on How Can Women Gain Influence in Hollywood?, Chapman blames the “Hollywood Boy’s Club” who don’t want to “give up some of their seats for the ladies”. She went on to talk about her feelings on being replaced: “When Pixar took me off of Brave – a story that came from my heart, inspired by my relationship with my daughter – it was devastating… To have it taken away and given to someone else, and a man at that, was truly distressing on so many levels”.
Can't remember whether it was on this thread, but think I pretty much called it when Chapman was originally kicked off the project:
She picks a "girl power" project ("I'll be fightin' for mah OWN hand!"), and then plays the "Persecuted female director's" card and blames the "Old Boy's Club" when the studio thinks she's skewing the story too far and it has limited appeal. (She complains about not being "respected" as a director, and then uses a metaphor about gentlemen not giving her a seat on a bus?--Do I detect a certain double standard, here?)
Brenda, you got the job because everyone respected Prince of Egypt, and now your little social-entitlement tantrum just BLEW it. Take it over back to Dreamworks; they've been smooching up to the feminist audience ever since they found out only female audiences liked the princess-bashing in the Shrek movies.
Wasn't that excited about the final product, but at the time, I had more respect for Pixar's story department knowing how to give their stories more
universal appeal by finding the common appeal in the main character as a character we can sympathize with.
The only time we respect "female directors" is when we DON'T know they're female, and it shouldn't matter anyway. For a second, there, we thought we had a director who knew that.
