By This week marks the 20th anniversary of two action films on both ends of the major studio spectrum of quality.
On the one hand you have Paul Greengrass’ “The Bourne Supremacy,” the middle of the original ‘Bourne’ trilogy and a beloved entry that cemented an already strong first film with a better sequel.
On the other you have “Catwoman,” the Halle Berry-led film that was only linked with the famed DC Comics character in name only. It remains widely lambasted and a contender for one of the worst films ever to score a wide release.
Twenty years on, Berry spoke with EW and says it’s not fair that she was the one saddled with the film’s failure:
“I felt like it was Halle Berry’s failure, but I didn’t make it alone. All these years, I’ve absolutely carried it. I hated that it got all put on me, and I hate that, to this day, it’s my failure.
I know I can carry it. I still have a career 20 years later. It’s just part of my story. That’s okay, and I’ve carried other failures and successes.
People have opinions, and sometimes they’re louder than others. You just have to keep moving.”
Talking about why it failed, she says she always thought the idea of Catwoman “saving women from a face cream” felt soft and didn’t have the stakes of other films of the genre. The shoot went great, but things turned when a first photo revealing Berry’s costume went online – the negativity just poured forth from there.
The film was directed by Jean-Christophe “Pitof” Comar, a French VFX supervisor turned filmmaker coming off period film “Vidocq” and a second unit director on “Alien Resurrection”. He never directed another theatrical release, though has produced works since and helmed a 2008 Syfy feature.
Berry was awarded a Razzie for her performance and famously showed up to the ceremony with her Oscar in hand to accept the trophy for worst performance.
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