1:30PM, Jun 30, 2009
As more and more female-friendly films top the headlines (and the box-office), Sky Movies celebrates with some of the best chick flicks in the perfect Girls’ Night In season...
After the phenomenal box-office success of Sex And The City and Mamma Mia! last year, women are proving big business for the film industry – and Hollywood is finally starting to listen. To mark this shake-up and celebrate the ascendance of the ‘chick flick’, Sky Movies has pulled together everything you need for a perfect girls’ night in, showcasing the best in rom-coms, tearjerkers and even song-and-dance films during May and June.
Move over boys, here come the girls...
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL GIRLS' NIGHT IN LINE-UP
Plus if you fancy taking part in our fantastic Girls’ Night In photo competition for your chance to win some amazing Panasonic digital cameras and a Cyprus spa break just click here.
Summer blockbusters have traditionally been a male-oriented phenomenon – bursting with action stars, special effects and superheroes – but 2008 debunked the common thinking as the scales tipped... and tipped, and tipped. The big Hollywood studios have suddenly found themselves looking to the ladies to put bums on seats and help bring home the bacon.
Cue a high-heeled, immaculately dressed entrance from Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) as the hugely popular TV show, Sex And The City – which introduced women around the world to the joys of Manhattans, Manolo Blahniks and “Big” – made its glamorous silver-screen debut straight in at number one in UK cinemas last May.
After 10 years of shopping, lunching and dating (a lot in Samantha’s case!) the fab four are still sipping, tipping and tripping into embarrassing pickle after embarrassing pickle – that’s why women love them (and why a sequel is coming in 2010).
Somewhere sunnier – but somewhat less chic – the story of a girl trying to pick the winner between three possible fathers in time for her wedding may not sound like the basis for a sure-fire hit, but throw in Meryl Streep doing the splits in mid-air – in dungarees! – Julie Walters feeling frisky, Pierce Brosnan singing (or giving it his best Bond try) and, oh yeah... a soundtrack spanning 22 different Abba songs, and you’ve got yourself a worldwide phenomenon.
For those who have managed to miss all the hype (where have you been living for the past six months?), Mamma Mia! is now the highest-grossing film ever released in the UK (it even knocked Titanic off the top spot).
This success has paved the way for more female oriented films, and Sky Movies will be premiering six great chick flicks, including 27 Dresses, What Happens In Vegas, Fool’s Gold and Made Of Honor – as well as Sex And The City and Mamma Mia! – throughout May and June, perfect for a girls’ night in.
Speaking of which, Sky Movies Screen 1 / HD has put together a whole Girls’ Night In season, featuring a week of the best chick flicks leading up to the premiere of Sex And The City on Saturday 6 June. Weep along with Bette Midler in Beaches, dare to dream alongside Audrey Hepburn as you peer through the glamorous shop window in Breakfast At Tiffany’s and never let go of that beautiful sinking feeling at the end of Titanic, as you laugh, cheer and cry your way through Sky Movies’ line-up of more than 30 of the greatest films for a girls’ night in.
If the dodgy singing and cheesy dance moves of Mamma Mia! have inspired you, Sky Movies Screen 1 / HD is showing some of the greatest song and dance movies from 15-21 June. Bung your handbag in the middle of the lounge and boogie! If there’s no room, you’ll have to make do with tapping your feet as Sky Movies brings you Flashdance, Saturday Night Fever, Step Up 2: The Streets, Hairspray, How She Move, and Spice World and many more, all week long.
There’s never been a better time to celebrate the movies women love, so schedule some evenings with the girls and work your way through the fantastic selection of titles available on Sky Movies over the next two months!
Meryl Streep, Q+A
We get the Mamma Mia! actress to sit still just long enough to talk Abba, acting and life on the farm…
Sky Movies Magazine: Tell us about Mamma Mia!…
Meryl Streep: We filmed it on the island of Skopelos, in Greece. I had a wonderful time. Julie Walters, who I’d never met before but whose work I adore, is also in the film. We spent most of our time together yakking away about our children! Making that movie was a complete joy – we used to have evening karaoke sessions. Julie was always very enthusiastic about those!
SMM: Did you know Abba’s music beforehand?
MS: Well, I thought that I didn’t, but then when the songs were played to us, I realised that they were all in my head anyway – stuck in there without me even knowing about it!
SMM: What is your take on the film’s incredible success?
MS: Just amazing. I never anticipated anything like this, as much as I loved making it and we all believed in what we were doing. People of all ages and backgrounds seem to have taken it into their hearts... I have so many people come up to me saying how much they love it and that’s incredibly humbling.
SMM: You’ve said that it gets harder for women to get the good roles as they grow older…
MS: Well, it’s true. But maybe I’ve been very fortunate. I honestly gave up worrying about my age and my looks when I was in my teens. I take the view that there’s a job to do and I just get on with it. It’s called having a life and being your own person.
SMM: The best thing about being a movie star is…?
MS: I don’t subscribe to all the Hollywood hype – and I never have. Our home is 3,000 miles from Los Angeles, in Connecticut. We have a farm where we try to lead as ordinary a life as we can. As far as the neighbours and the folk in the local town go, I am Mrs Gummer, and that suits me fine.
SMM: Do you have a motto?
MS: If you can’t enjoy your work, then you are really missing out on something.
Words: Kat Halstead
This article first appeared in the Sky Movies Magazine, May '09.
