Heather Graham Slams ‘Sexist’ Hollywood, Pens Script For Women

When Heather Graham opened up to Esquire about her role on Showtime’s Californication, the interview turned toward the troubling issue of sexism in Hollywood. And The Hangover star made no bones about where she stands on the issue:

“The movie business…It’s totally sexist. If you look at all the movies being made these days, eighty percent of them are about men.”

Esquire pressed further, questioning whether Graham was complicit with her place in the industry. Heather responded matter-of-factly:

“There’s not much I can do about it. It’s a sexist world and a sexist industry. But I’ve been very lucky as an actress, to work as much as I have and as consistently as I have. And when you don’t see the kind of stories out there that represent you, you have to make them yourself.”

Girls star Lena Dunham echoed similar sentiments at the SXSW festival last month. Dunham criticized Hollywood during her keynote speech, commenting that the ladies on her show are getting typecast as “high school ditzes” while the men from her show have a limitless film career ahead. Keeping with the sexist theme, Lena also noted that as far as her own movie aspirations go, she feels “there’s no place for me in the studio system.”

Graham, 44, meanwhile seemed thankful to have worked in the industry for as long as she has, despite her “sexist Hollywood” claims:

“I’m just glad to be working,” Heather told Esquire. “You can choose to look on the positive side and enjoy whatever roles you’re given. You can find the silver lining in anything.”

That silver lining for Graham could materialize in the form of new movie project she’s undertaken. Heather told Esquire that she just completed the script and that she’s looking to helm the director’s chair herself, keeping in line with her own advise to create stories for women when there aren’t enough good roles available. Graham described the script in terms similar to her own sex life when she told Esquire that the film centers around:

“Sex from a female point of view. But specifically women who like having sex. I don’t see anything in film about women who want to have sex. I don’t see myself and my friends represented. When do you ever get to see a movie from the point of view of a woman who’s more interested in having really great orgasms than finding a husband? I would say almost never.”

Sounds like something Lena Dunham would approve.

What do you think? Is Heather Graham right about Hollywood being “totally sexist?”