Yesterday (April 10) we learned that former Toronto mayor Rob Ford would be portrayed by Damian Lewis in an upcoming thriller, but not everyone was excited about the film's other casting decisions. Robyn Doolittle, the Toronto-based reporter who broke the story of Ford's crack scandal, criticized the forthcoming Run This Town film via Twitter for flipping the plot to focus on a male reporter — and now she's elaborated on her concerns.
Doolittle appeared on CBC Toronto morning show Metro Morning earlier today, and spoke about the response she received after her "knee-jerk" reaction on Twitter, explaining that both the director and actor Ben Platt had reached out to her.
Platt claimed "The character is in no way based on Robyn Doolittle and the film does not attempt to co-opt her narrative," adding that her personal experience is "in and of itself an incredibly worthy and fascinating story, but its not the one we are telling."
In this morning's interview, Doolittle explained that it was never her intention to create a backlash against the individuals involved in the film, but she did point to a larger issue of how female reporters are portrayed in mass media. She criticized Hollywood's habit of inventing romantic plotlines (à la Lois Lane in various Superman adaptations or Kate Hudson's character in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), or sidelining good female journalist characters to minor roles (à la Rachel McAdams' character in Spotlight).
When asked by host Matt Galloway which actress she would like to be portrayed by should Hollywood ever recreate her personal involvement with the Rob Ford saga, she suggested Canadian actress (and Degrassi alumnus) Nina Dobrev. Unfortunately, she's already been cast in Run This Town.
Listen to the audio segment below via Metro Morning.
Doolittle appeared on CBC Toronto morning show Metro Morning earlier today, and spoke about the response she received after her "knee-jerk" reaction on Twitter, explaining that both the director and actor Ben Platt had reached out to her.
Platt claimed "The character is in no way based on Robyn Doolittle and the film does not attempt to co-opt her narrative," adding that her personal experience is "in and of itself an incredibly worthy and fascinating story, but its not the one we are telling."
In this morning's interview, Doolittle explained that it was never her intention to create a backlash against the individuals involved in the film, but she did point to a larger issue of how female reporters are portrayed in mass media. She criticized Hollywood's habit of inventing romantic plotlines (à la Lois Lane in various Superman adaptations or Kate Hudson's character in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), or sidelining good female journalist characters to minor roles (à la Rachel McAdams' character in Spotlight).
When asked by host Matt Galloway which actress she would like to be portrayed by should Hollywood ever recreate her personal involvement with the Rob Ford saga, she suggested Canadian actress (and Degrassi alumnus) Nina Dobrev. Unfortunately, she's already been cast in Run This Town.
Listen to the audio segment below via Metro Morning.
