In this May 25, 2017 file photo, director Patty Jenkins, left, and actress Gal Gadot arrive at the world premiere of "Wonder Woman" at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
The director of "Wonder Woman" says James Cameron's criticism of the film is "unsurprising" because he can't understand it.
In an interview with British newspaper The Guardian, Cameron called "the self-congratulatory back-patting" Hollywood's been doing over the film "misguided." Cameron says Wonder Woman is "an objectified icon." He points to Sarah Connor, the gritty protagonist from his Terminator films, as a better role model.
"Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins fired back in a tweet Thursday night, writing that Cameron can't understand the character because he's not a woman. She adds that "if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong … then we haven't come very far."
"Wonder Woman" has made a global total of more than $800 million at the box office since its release in June.
Cynthia Erivo attends the National Board of Review Awards gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Cynthia Erivo, who is starring in the hit musical "Wicked," was named Tuesday as the 2025 Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world's third-oldest still operating, said Erivo will receive her Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast Feb. 5. Afterward, she will attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 176th production, "101 Damnations." Actor Jon Hamm, who came to fame starring as ad executive Don Draper on the AMC series "Mad Men," is the 2025 Man of the Year. He will receive his Pudding Pot Jan. 31.
"We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo's arrival," Man and Woman of the Year Events Coordinator Hannah Frazer said in a statement. "We're sweeping out our broomstick closets and prepping some wicked smart humor as we eagerly await her in February. Before she flies off with her Pudding Pot, she'll have to work a little magic to earn it."
Along with starirng in the smash hit musical, the British entertainer is a two-time Oscar nominee and an Emmy Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award winner.
Erivo burst onto the scene with her brilliant performance in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple." winning her the 2016 Tony for best actress in a musical. She performed songs from the play on the "Today" show, earning the Daytime Emmy for outstanding music performance in a daytime program. And the show's soundtrack won best musical theater album at the 2017 Grammys.
Last year, Erivo starred in and produced "Drift," which follows a young Liberian refugee who has escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. In 2021, Erivo was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in the National Geographic series "Genius:... Read More
