Women get ready for action

Undeterred by the lukewarm response to the latest cinema exploits of Lara Croft and Charlie’s Angels, Hollywood is preparing to unleash a slew of new blockbusters fronted by voluptuous, ass-kicking action-heroines.

Catwoman, Wonder Woman and even Jinx, the bikini-wearing CIA spy played by Halle Berry in the most recent James Bond film, Die Another Day, are all about to become stars of their own multimillion-dollar franchises.

Given the tepid box-office takings for the most recent female-fronted action movies, the decision by executives to invest in a whole new wave of similar projects may, on the face of it, seem misguided. However, major studios are said to be increasingly confident that they will soon find a formula to replicate the "Buffy effect" - a buzz-phrase for the popularity of the cult television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The first of the new films to go into production is likely to be a long-awaited solo outing for Catwoman, the sultry nemesis of Batman. After years of rewrites, during which everyone from Nicole Kidman to Ashley Judd has been mooted for the title role, Halle Berry is finally set to play the temptress immortalised a decade ago by a purring Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns.

Indeed, if producers get their way, Berry is likely to be kept busy by the glut of proposed action-heroine franchises. Another project in development is Jinx, the first bona fide James Bond spin-off, in which she would reprise her role as the sleuth she played in 007’s latest outing.

The studios are also eyeing up Wonder Woman. Depending on who you talk to in the industry, the film will star either Sandra Bullock or Buffy herself (Sarah Michelle Gellar).

Other female-led action movies in the early stages of development include Alien 5, the latest instalment in the gothic science fiction franchise, which stars Sigourney Weaver. Meanwhile, Miramax has still to unveil its long-completed remake of Modesty Blaise, starring the little-known British actress Alexandra Staden as the secret agent in a role made famous by the Italian actress Monica Vitti in the 1966 film featuring Terence Stamp and Dirk Bogarde.

The planned plethora of new action-heroine movies has come as a surprise to many industry observers, given the less than stellar performance of the most recent entries in the canon. Lara Croft : Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life entered the American box office chart at a lowly number four last month, while Charlie’s Angels : Full Throttle plunged out of the top 10 within a week of opening with a chart-topping weekend turnover of $38m.

However, Steven Gaydos, the executive editor of Variety magazine, believes rumours of the premature demise of the action-heroine genre will prove exaggerated. "I believe we will see more and more female action heroes, and if something like Catwoman is made and it’s a great movie, it will be a colossal hit," he said.