Entertainment

The movie doesn't have a script yet, but it seems everyone has someone in mind for the Wonder Woman role, usually for the wrong reasons. In Beyoncé's case, that would be, well, Beyoncé. As for Megan Fox, she fits the costume so amply, to the mind of one fanboy anyway, that a fake poster was created to convince fans that she had already been picked for the part.

A quote from Beyoncé captures the spirit nicely:

I would definitely have to keep it right for that costume. The way that Lynda Carter wore it, she was sooo fine. She was amazing. I saw her costume at the Met. Her waist was unbelievable. It was pretty crazy, actually, her proportions. But I love Wonder Woman and it'd be a dream come true to be that character. It sure would be handy to have that lasso. To make everybody tell the truth? I need that. It would come in very handy.

Is this really the best way to go about picking our heroines?

Now that the long political season is over, and the flock—or the gang, depending on how you choose to view it—has its new leaders, we can instead focus on what happens when someone goes about doing good in the world without waiting for direction or worrying about what others are doing or not doing. What follows is a promotional spot for HALO (Helping Art Liberate Orphans), the foundation started by former taekwondo champion and Rigged star Rebecca Neuenswander:



I hope you didn't give all your money away to politicians and can join me in making a donation to HALO.

Before Title IX, before cable and satellite television, before the Internet, young boys and girls went to the circus and sat awestruck as they watched well-muscled women perform extraordinary feats of strength and stamina high in the air. The circus was one of the few places you could see athletic women in their element then, but by the time Vicki Unus (aka La Toria), the star of this clip, began her career in the early 1960s, there had already been a long tradition of great female aerialists:

There has been no other actress more tailor-made for the role of a superheroine than Brooke Shields. At six feet, Brooke's stature alone affords her a commanding screen presence. That she also has a powerful physique makes her an even more formidable heroine. (No stranger to the gym, she is a fitness buff and has mighty arms to show for it.) Indeed, her Amazonian frame overwhelms the camera in a mere car commercial:



Thus it's a pity that we've not seen Brooke kicking ass on television or the big screen. This is no fault of hers, though—blame Hollywood for not making enough superheroine roles available. Consider Wonder Woman, for instance. Brooke seems like an obvious candidate for the role (if not now because of her age, then certainly in the past). But we are still waiting for a movie to materialize, despite years of talk.

Perhaps we will yet see Brooke, her muscles flexed, pummeling bad guys and saving the world. But so far all we have is her turn as Brenda Starr:

E! Online story

As Jessica Biel shows us here, much effort goes into becoming an action heroine: strenuous exercise, martial arts training, special dieting, and, yes, even drinking "protein powder things" (sorry, Angelina). Natural ability, which Biel has in spades, of course also helps. And contrary to what Dominic Purcell says in the clip, we have expected our heroes to look able-bodied since classical antiquity; the distinction is—now, finally, the same is true for our heroines:

Rocky, Fight Club, Million Dollar Baby—you can make comparisons to those three movies, but Rigged is unique, a new twist in a threadbare genre. Rigged is about a female fighter; nothing new there, except this woman fights men—heavyweight bruisers—and beats the living crap out of them. And with a setup like that, well, you can imagine how eager I was to see it. I was fortunate to do so last night.

Rigged revolves around two characters. Michael Dublin (Chad Ortis) is a sleazy fight promoter, more a swindler actually, since he often fixes the fights for a handsome profit. One night, when Michael is in a particularly tight spot, he meets Katherine Parker (Rebecca Neuenswander) and soon discovers that she can punch out men twice her size (great scene). Of course, dollar signs immediately go off in Michael's head; he's found his meal ticket. This sets off a series of adventures with plenty of ring action. I won't say more about plot here, for fear I'll give away spoilers, only that the movie did not disappoint.

Fight scenes are crucial to a movie like Rigged, and they are presented here in novel but effective ways. But it is Neuenswander, a former taekwondo champion, who makes the fight scenes work. Katherine's fights with big, heavily muscled men look convincing (mostly)—not an easy thing to do—thanks to Neuenswander's ability to move and punch like a trained fighter and the muscle she packed on (20 pounds) for the role.



Neuenswander earns praise not only in the action scenes but throughout the film; it's easy to see why she recently won Best Actress at the SoCal Film Festival for her performance in Rigged. She is a wonderful young actress (not to mention a humanitarian: she is the founder and executive director of HALO, a nonprofit that helps orphans worldwide). I sincerely hope we see more from her soon.

And there is more to like. The film, for instance, has a noirish feel to it that I found pleasing. Ortis also delivers, and the banter between Neuenswander's Katherine and his Michael is entertaining, though often crass, and fills the lulls between action scenes nicely. Don't expect the typical romance subplot here, either: she sleeps with women, ostensibly lesbian but never quite certain of the matter herself. The ending may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it. I walked out of the movie looking forward to seeing it again.

By now you've guessed, correctly, that I'm going to recommend you see Rigged. I am not doing that because I think it is the perfect, or nearly so, female action film, because it isn't. But it is much more, so much more, than we usually get—a little indie film that delivers what the big studios so rarely do. Rigged is a treat, and fans of the female action genre ought not to miss it.

Rigged is currently making the rounds at film festivals, with the hope that it will eventually go into wider distribution. Check the movie's website to see when it might be showing near you. I leave you with the official trailer:



Additional sources: lawrence.com

Cogent points are made in this worthwhile piece by Kym of Championing Ourselves. If you're like me, you'll find yourself nodding your head in agreement through most of it. Not only a lament, the piece outlines what could be the ideal female action series and even gives directions on who should star (Rhona Mitra heads the short list, to which I would add Jessica Biel and perhaps a few others).

Dancing with the Stars does a good job featuring female athletes. Most seasons at least one of the stars is a female athlete, and they generally do well—Kristi Yamaguchi, for example, is the reigning champion. The new season of DWTS got under way last night, and Misty May-Treanor looks to be off to a good start (and no doubt has the best guns on the show):

Don't forget to watch the season premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles tonight.

Still no word on a live-action film, but here is a trailer for the upcoming animated movie:



Wonder Woman is slated for release on DVD in February 2009. The voice is Keri Russell's. (Visit wonderwomanmovie.com for more information.)

The 2008 Summer Olympics officially opened in Beijing with a huge ceremony this morning (the opening ceremony airs tonight in the US). Watching the world's best female athletes compete will be a great way to spend these last dog days of summer. And making that even easier to do will be the unprecedented amount of live and on-demand video available online. Viewing this content requires the Silverlight plug-in and a short, painless registration process. Visit NBCOlympics.com to start watching the Games online.

Switching gears, but only a little, I have to say that I'm starting to get pumped about the return of Sarah Connor Chronicles, especially after seeing this promo:



This suggests to me that Summer Glau will be not only back for season two (season one's finale left that open) but also turned loose as the show's muscle, something SCC didn't fully commit to during its first season. If so, I say, Hurray! Summer is the best thing about an already good show, and SCC will get only better if it follows through on the promise hinted at here.

Jennifer Widerstrom (aka Phoenix), one of the new American Gladiators this season, is an outstanding all-round athlete. She was a track and field star at the University of Kansas, specializing in hammer and weight throwing (photo), and she has also competed in diving, rowing, gymnastics, and NPC figure. Jennifer looks like the explosive athlete that she is, with what is perhaps the best physique on the show. She introduces herself in this clip (use link if clip doesn't play on page):



The two-hour season finale of American Gladiators will air this Monday (August 4).

(Additional sources: Bodybuilding Weekly; University of Kansas Official Athletic Site.)

Unfortunately, this year's Comic-Con didn't provide much news for those of us hoping to see more female superheroes on the big screen; male characters continue to dominate the genre—surprise.

There are, however, three superheroine films in the works: Magdalena, Red Sonja, and The Witchblade. (Wikipedia can help if you're not familiar with the Magdalena, Red Sonja, or Witchblade comics.) I suspect all three films were motivated by the hotness factor with little consideration for much else, and casting splintery Rose McGowan as Red Sonja is probably a recipe for box-office disaster (see: "The subtle sexism behind bad female action films"). I'll try to remain optimistic, though.

On another front, a recent summit between Warner Bros. and DC Comics may be a sign that we're finally getting close to seeing a Wonder Woman movie. Time Warner shareholders have no doubt been happy with Dark Knight's box-office receipts, but they must be asking themselves, How much more are we missing out on? And there is no better comic-book character to discover that with than Wonder Woman, easily the most identifiable, and thus bankable, superhero still without a feature film.

We have this news from Comic-Con 2008 about the recently announced Red Sonja movie. Rose McGowan has been picked to star, but the 5'4" McGowan looks too delicate for such a role. (A few commenters suggest that Rhona Mitra or Jessica Biel would be a much better choice; I agree.) However, McGowan does say that she is working out three hours a day in preparation—let's hope that is enough.

Expect to see Red Sonja in theaters sometime in 2010.