Paul Feig risks cooties, remains only man in Hollywood willing to work with girls

Director Paul Feig's 2011 hit Bridesmaids shocked Hollywood by demonstrating that people will actually go to a movie that has girls in it, provided the ever-present risk of cooties is balanced out by a talented cast and a good script. The entertainment media breathlessly reported that times had changed, and The Year Of Movies With Girls In Them was upon us. That announcement was, of course, premature, and 2013 thus far has decidedly been The Year Of Movies With Very Few Girls In Them.

Of the 40 top-grossing movies this year, only four (Identity Thief, Mama, The Call, and The Host) have female leads, while three more (Safe Haven, Warm Bodies, Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters) have male and female co-leads. Amid this year's cinematic sausage fest, Feig stands alone as the only person in Hollywood who seems aware that women are both able to star in movies and attend them without being dragged there by their boyfriends. So, following the release of female buddy cop movie The Heat, Feig's next project will be Susan Cooper, a James Bond-like spy comedy for which the director is currently casting a female lead. He'll then follow that project with an as-yet-untitled mother/daughter comedy being scripted by The Heat writer Katie Dippold. Then he will presumably check into the hospital for prolonged cooties exposure. There's only so much one man can take!