George Clooney is rebalancing Hollywood's gender disparity one project at a time

‘We tried to be a part of the solution as opposed to being part of the problem’

(Image credit: Rex)

‘We tried to be a part of the solution as opposed to being part of the problem’

George Clooney is one of the most talked about people in the world, making news for everything from his friendship with Prince harry and Meghan Markle to his power relationship with barrister, Amal Clooney.

He is undoubtedly one of the most influential actors and producers out there, so the world was relieved to see that he has used his power for good on his latest project.

The 58-year-old was producer and actor in the new TV adaptation of Joseph Heller’s iconic novel Catch-22.

And while Clooney and his co-producer Grant Herslov predominantly stayed true to Heller’s work, a male dominated story, they did make some alterations in order to include women.

‘We tried to be a part of the solution as opposed to being part of the problem,’ George told the Radio Times of their adaptation, welcoming onboard a female, producer, director and editor to include more female voices - and reportedly hiring more women in crew positions to rebalance the gender disparity in the entire production.

Another change made by Clooney and Herslov was around character names, with the two producers changing the previously named ‘Nately’s whore’ and ‘Nately’s whore’s sister’ to actual names, and giving them proper storylines.

‘We made it our mission statement to make the portrayal of women more interesting,’ one of the co-writers Luke Davies explained to The Telegraph of the alterations.

Catch-22 is set to air on Channel 4 later this year.

Jenny Proudfoot
Contributing Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.