John Rogers, one of the writers on 2004’s Catwoman, has called the box-office bomb a “shit movie” and detailed some of his experiences on the film.
Rogers’ barrage of tweets came in response to a statement from conservative commentator DC McAllister who, trying to call Michelle Obama out on her statements about Black Panther, said “Michelle Obama says it’s about time black kids have a superhero that reflects who they are. Why didn’t we hear this when Halle Berry as Catwoman was released years ago?”
“As one of the credited writers on Catwoman,” Rogers responded,” I believe I have the authority to say: because it was a shit movie dumped by the studio at the end of a style cycle, and had zero cultural relevance either in front of or behind the camera. This is a bad take. Feel shame.”
As one of the credited writers of CATWOMAN, I believe I have the authority to say: because it was a shit movie dumped by the studio at the end of a style cycle, and had zero cultural relevance either in front of or behind the camera.
This is a bad take. Feel shame. https://t.co/6sth7w38Xx
— John Rogers (@jonrog1) February 24, 2018
Rogers admitted that he has never actually “watched the movie all the way through in one sitting,” as he “skipped premiere night.” Rogers noted that, by that point, he’d already been fired for “snark.”
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Rogers did specify what he meant by snark, writing, “I was fired off the movie after writing the green light draft because I kept arguing with notes that’d make the movie ‘very, very bad.’ Which I said out loud. At meetings. I got fired a lot in my 30’s.”
The screenwriter mentioned one of his particular arguments specifically. “At one point I said ‘You do realize the big 3rd act fight in your summer tent pole is Halle Berry dressed like a Québécois stripper beating the shit out of a makeup exec in a pantsuit,’” he said.
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Catwoman is often considered one of the worst films of all time and only grossed $82 million on a budget of $100 million. The movie starred Halle Berry as Patience Phillips, not Selina Kyle. A choice that Rogers said resulted from “an insane rights issue” that he would only reveal was “specifically tied to contracts from Batman Returns.”