Earlier this month, Halle Berry saved a family of kitties she discovered in her yard. Aside from being undeniably adorable (and I’m saying that as a dog person), the arrival of the felines was quite timely, as this month — July 23, to be exact — is 20 years since Catwoman was released to great praise and success. JK, JK, the film was mercilessly panned, with Halle very memorably winning the Razzie and accepting in person for worst actress that year. A female-led comic book movie in the early aughts? The film was simply ahead of its time! Entertainment Weekly decided to mark the anniversary with an oral history of the making of the movie, in a conversation that included the director, producer, one of the (many) writers, and Halle. I’m excerpting here some comments from Halle on how she weathered the criticism:
On Catwoman not finding its footing: I didn’t love [the backlash]. Being a Black woman, I’m used to carrying negativity on my back, fighting, being a fish swimming upstream by myself. I’m used to defying stereotypes and making a way out of no way. I didn’t want to be casual about it, but I went and collected that Razzie, laughed at myself, and kept it moving. It didn’t derail me because I’ve fought as a Black woman my whole life. A little bad publicity about a movie? I didn’t love it, but it wasn’t going to stop my world or derail me from doing what I love to do. … Growing up as a Black woman, that’s two strikes against you. There’s an innate resilience. I hated that it got all put on me, and I that, to this day, it’s my failure. I know I can carry it. I still have a career 20 years later. It’s just part of my story. That’s okay, and I’ve carried other failures and successes. People have opinions, and sometimes they’re louder than others. You just have to keep moving.
On showing up to the Razzies: The studio knew what I was going to do at the Razzies. I told them I wanted to take the piss out of it and laugh at it. I don’t think it’s a God-awful film, but I was at the Razzies, so I had to do what they do; I sh-t on it because they sh-t on it! I wrote [that speech] within an inch of my life. I put a lot of thought into how I could do it in a fun way and let everyone know I didn’t take it that seriously. You can never take away my Oscar, no matter how bad you bash me! If you say I earned it, I’ll take this, too.
She’s not territorial, she loves her fellow cat ladies! I love when I see any woman’s version of what Catwoman is to them. Like men who play Batman or Spider-Man, we’re in a group all our own, and I admire every version I see. I loved Zoë Kravitz’s version; I always smile at that. It makes me happy. I don’t feel there’s any competition. We all have our version of this iconic character.
Halle has a really great attitude. When you’re Catwoman in Catwoman, of course the public is going to lay the blame with you. But if you read the full EW piece, it was the studio that really made it impossible for the movie to work. They repeatedly futzed with the script, firing and rehiring writers until it was truly a screenplay by committee. But the world didn’t see all that; they saw Halle, going full throttle with her feline femme fatale. But what’s great about Halle is that she went just as full throttle with her Razzie acceptance speech. If you haven’t watched it in a while (or ever), treat yourself, and stick around to the end for a surprising cameo. Her performance at the Razzies was a master class in owning bad publicity and transforming it into a win. Here we are 20 years later, and not only does Halle still have a career, but Holy Skincare, Batman! She hasn’t aged a day, I swear. Just look at her posing on Instagram with her new kitties, Boots and Coco, to wish the movie happy anniversary. Me-YOW!
Photos credit: Wenn/Avalon, kpa Publicity / Avalon
I hope that Maude v Maude movie with Angelina Jolie is still a go. Love to see both in a movie together.
Catwoman killed her career and I always thought that was unfair. One strike and you’re out.
I still remember her appearance on Oprah after the movie release. She taught Oprah how to use Catwoman’s whip, it was so cute and funny!