Films, News

“Ocean’s Eight” Cast Adds Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, and Helena Bonham Carter

Mindy Kaling on “The Mindy Project”: Hulu

Warner Bros. is closing in on more cast members for its all-female installment of the “Ocean’s” franchise, officially called “Ocean’s Eight,” and thankfully the cast is a diverse one.

According to Deadline, close to joining previously announced stars Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett are Anne Hathaway, pop star Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter, and Asian-American rapper and actress Awkwafina (“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”).

But those names only make seven; there’s still one more cast member to add.

The film is set for an October start of production, with “Ocean’s Eleven” director Steven Soderbergh producing. The script was written by Olivia Milch, Soderbergh, and Gary Ross. Ross will direct the feature.

We’re definitely wondering if this all-female “Ocean’s” movie is going to treat these women the same when it comes to financial equality. Will this film be given the same budget as the original, which was reportedly made for $85 million? The original trilogy, Deadline writes, took in almost $1.2 billion all together. Will the stars of this film be paid a salary equal to that of the original’s male stars? Considering salaries have changed in the 15 years since the original film, inflation may mean that equal pay would require these actresses to receive a higher salary than the original actors. But will that happen? We’ll be keeping our eyes on this production as it moves forward.

Update: the budget for this Ocean’s film is now reported to be $70 million which is less than the original. And Hollywood is now nervous about ensemble pieces starring women since Ghostbusters did not live up to expectations.

Also, while we’re excited that an all-female “Ocean’s” flick is on the way, the project brings up some conflicting feelings. We love the idea of an ensemble cast of women in a thrilling caper, but just rebooting male franchises with female casts isn’t the answer to the lack of quality roles for women in Hollywood. We loved “Ghostbusters,” but with that, “Ocean’s,” and now a female “Rocketeer” on the way, we’re worried that Hollywood might use female reboots as an excuse to ignore original stories focused on women. Gender-swapping a story doesn’t solve the problem of the dearth of female-focused films. What Hollywood must do is make original films that star women, tell stories about women, are written by women, and are directed by women.


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