'Twilight' writer forms production company, sets up 'Earthseed'

By Sarah Sluis

How apropos. Just yesterday I was talking about the shift away from female-centered romantic comedies to female-centered action projects. Now Twilight scribe Melissa Rosenberg has announced she has formed a production company based on this central premise. Tall Girl Productions aims to create "great, strong roles for women, but in four-quadrant, high-concept movies," THR quotes Rosenberg. "Not movies for women in the traditional sense but more interesting, intriguing, complex roles�and kickass women, as well."

The announcement arrives in the wake of backlash to writer/director Zack Snyder's female-centered, male-oriented Sucker Punch. Variety even commented on the debate, explaining that the "lingerie-clad heroines in a fantasy setting" have led some to raise eyebrows, wondering "whether this amounts to schoolgirl fetishism masquerading as entertainment." Sucker Punch isn't the first time a female-led action movie has appealed primarily to men, but costumed heroines in particular have a pretty poor track record--need I mention Cat Woman, Elektra, and Tomb Raider?

Rosenberg's first project, Earthseed, will be an adaptation of a 1983 young adult novel. The sci-fi tale, which is set up at Paramount, centers on a group of kids who have been conceived artificially in an effort to eventually colonize a new planet. The teens are left to fend for themselves in order to "test" the method. Everything starts to go the way of Lord of the Flies, forcing the heroine to step in and lead the group. Rosenberg will write and produce. The author of the Earthseed has written two sequels, so the project has franchise potential.

Certainly the sci-fi genre/space film is overdue for a quality film. 2009's Moon achieved a rare feat, a low-budget sci-fi movie, and this year's Sundance pickup Another Year blends relationship drama with sci-fi. The biggest budget attempt, Gravity, which may come out in 2012, centers on the aftermath of a space accident and will be directed by none other than Alfonso Cuarn. The space film has been under-served recently, and these projects should fill that gap--with some exciting female roles included.