Unlike Paltrow, Diaz still gets loads of money (in the range of $10 million for "Vegas"). "She might be an eighth as talented as Gwyneth, but she will always be bigger and better paid," notes one talent manager, even though Diaz hasn't appeared in a live-action hit since 2003's "Charlie's Angels" sequel.
One of the smartest agents I know explained to me that Diaz was caught in the "woman-girl syndrome." Like Melanie Griffith and Meg Ryan before her, she skyrocketed to fame essentially playing grown-up girls. But that's not a stereotype she can keep playing deep into her 30s.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, May 15, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 30 words Type of Material: Correction
Movie actresses: An article in Wednesday's Calendar section about the careers of actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz misspelled the last name of race car driver Danica Patrick as Patric.
Then there's the problem of the zeitgeist, in which romantic comedies, once the premier incubator of female star talent, have become an endangered species. Of late, the creative Politburos that run the studios have collectively decided that only men are entitled to their romantic fantasies, that love stories should preferably be told from the male perspective. The success of Will Smith's "Hitch" and the Apatow canon have ensured that.
At least the "Sex and the City" women are coming later this month to put a little X chromosome back into the equation. Carrie and company were allowed into big-screen existence based on the success of the TV series, and it's difficult to believe that a story of four middle-aged female friends would have been allowed to be born in the studio system proper.
Will my search for intelligent life be over? I (and millions of other women) can only hope.
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rachel.abramowitz@latimes.com
Times staff writers John Horn and Chris Lee contributed to this report.
