Halle Berry would like another crack at Catwoman, thank you very much
The Oscar winner starred in 2004's Catwoman, among other, better movies
Halle Berry is the first woman of color to win an Academy Award for Best Actress, picking up her statue in 2002 for Monster’s Ball. She also has an Emmy for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. One half of an EGOT, and she’s got her (unfortunately) Razzie-winning role in 2004’s Catwoman on the mind.
Berry appeared on the YouTube channel “Jake’s Takes” to discuss her directorial debut Bruised, which she also stars in. When asked if she could go back and direct any movie from her substantial body of work, she said she’d take another crack at the cat.
“I would love to direct Catwoman,” Berry said. “If I can get ahold of that now, knowing what I know, having had this experience, and reimagine that world the way I reimagined this story. Bruised was written for a white Irish Catholic 25 year old girl, and I got to reimagine it. I wish I could go back and reimagine Catwoman and redo that. Have a redo on that, now knowing what I know [about directing].”
“I would have Catwoman saving the world like most male superheroes do, and not just saving women from their faces cracking off. I would make the stakes a lot higher, and I think make it more inclusive of both men and women.”
Berry did not direct the original film. Instead, Parisian visual effects maestro Pitof helmed the 2004 superhero movie. Since then, fellow Oscar winner Anne Hathway played the character in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. Zoë Kravitz dons the ears in next year’s The Batman.
Catwoman is known for a few things. First, of course, it was a massive box office bomb, returning roughly $80 million of a $100 million budget, according to The Numbers.
Berry famously won a Worst Actress Razzie for her performance, which she was a good sport enough to accept. She gave them an incredible amount of her time, appearing on stage with her Academy Award, sending up her famed Oscar speech, and telling the Razzie people that she hopes never to see them again.
Still, she doesn’t deserve to be mocked for Catwoman, which she referred to as a “piece of shit, god awful movie.” If anything, we should praise her for its basketball scene.
Bruised hits Netflix on November 17.