Image copyright Warner Bros
Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett lead the movie's all-star solid
Ocean's eight has extra A-list actresses than just about any movie in Hollywood historical past, however its stars say it is time they demanded extra equality behind the scenes.
With numerous field workplace smashes to their names and a finest actress Oscar in every of their trophy cupboards, Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett are Hollywood veterans.
"Old. We're old. Is that what you're saying?"
It's certainly one of many solutions Blanchett delivers with a glint in her eye whereas talking to BBC News, seated subsequent to her co-star.
But, she provides, the pair's newest film is not like every other she's starred in not too long ago.
"In my career, I've only ever made one other film with an all-female cast, and that was the first film I ever made, called Paradise Road," she says. "So this is a very rare occurrence."
Ocean's eight topped the United States field workplace final weekend and has had principally optimistic opinionshowever one criticism it obtained is that it is merely leaping on the again of a male franchise.
Sandra Bullock: "I never love the red carpet"
Speaking to the BBC final yr, movie critic Rhianna Dillon identified: "They may've simply finished a unbelievable heist film with ladies, and not have something to do with Ocean's something.
"It's frustrating that they always seem to have to piggyback off a male franchise to make any headway."
I recommend to Blanchett possibly an unique movie may've been made as an alternative.
"Absolutely! Bring it on," she replies. But, she goes on to defend the pondering behind Ocean's eight.
"When somebody has an concept they're actually captivated with, as [director] Gary Ross did, he noticed Sandy [Bullock] on the centre of this story, and I believed, 'Wow, can that work? That's bought a lot of chutzpah that concept'.
"And when he listed the ladies he needed to put collectively, he was so captivated with it, you assume, 'Great, go and make that'.
"[The film] does not say, 'Only make extensions of franchises males have been in'. This movie can not stand for each single movie.
"It's when you have a cornucopia of female-driven narratives on screen that things are really healthy and exciting."
Mindy Kaling, one other of the brand new Ocean's crew, admits: "Franchise fatigue is something a lot of people have."
But, she provides: "There are lots of things, like the remake of Picnic At Hanging Rock [which] is affording so many roles for women, so I think it's hard to look a gift horse in the mouth when it's giving you so many opportunities."
So, given the principle solid is feminine, what was the gender cut up like within the crew?
"Very male," replies Blanchett immediately.
"Costume designer was female," Bullock provides.
Representation behind the digital camera is an challenge Blanchett has been personally monitoring for a while.
"I've been doing this thing on every film set I've been on in the last few years, and having stepped away to run a theatre company for 10 years, I've come back, and all those clapper loaders who were women, they're not [camera] operating. They're not lighting," she says.
"But all the clapper loaders who were men are operating and lighting. And so the career trajectory for the female members in the crew is [limited]... I'm very passionate about that."
"I think it's part of what Frances McDormand was saying about inclusion riders."
McDormand referred to as for inclusion ridersclauses in movie contracts which stipulate there should be equality amongst solid and crewwhen she accepted this yr's finest actress Oscar.
Blanchett and Bullock start riffing off one another as they clarify how strongly they really feel about this challenge.
Cate: "I've always been quite proactive in things I can do as an actress in trying to wrestle with the character and subvert expectations and female cliches. But I've been very polite about what I ask for on set. And I think now, it's like, you know what?..."
Sandra: "Stop being polite."
Cate: "We need this proportion of men to women on crews."
Sandra: "And also diversity. In terms of ethnicity and s3xual orientation."
Cate: "It's not just to make women happy for a small moment in time."
Sandra: "God forbid."
Cate: "It's a much more creative way to work."
Asked about the identical challenge later, Kaling says: "I do agree with the spirit of what Frances is saying, there's a lot of under-looked people, specifically women, in crews."
But fellow Ocean's eight star Sarah Paulson cautions: "I think whomever is best suited for the job is who should be hired, always."
Paulson is not any stranger to movies however arguably made her identify on TV, and final yr received a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her function in The People vs OJ Simpson.
"There was a time where nobody wanted to do television, it was just a bunch of dodos, and it was like, 'You can't get any film work huh? Going over to TV? Aww, I'm sorry'," she remembers.
"And now I feel like very accomplished people in the film world know that where the storytelling is, where the writing is, where the roles are, tend to be in television right now."
Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon are among the many stars of the massive display to have not too long ago made the leap to TV, because the leads in HBO's Big Little Lies. Meryl Streep is becoming a member of the present for the second season.
But, Paulson laughs, "I am like, this was my place, and now like I can not compete when Meryl Streep is doing Big Little Lies, like, what is going on to be left for me?! Nothing. Maybe we are able to go be the film stars!"
Bullock agrees: "I actually really feel the Netflix world, the streaming world, is influencing the standard of movies.
"Films are losing people to the streaming world, and I think we now need to step up our game in the film industry in order to keep an audience."
Ocean's eight is launched within the UK on Monday.