The quote came from Deadline Hollywood without attribution, so it may just be Finke's own choice of words, but I doubt it. You rarely see male actors with character descriptions that emphasize their attractiveness, yet when female actors are cast in this film or that, you all-but-always see their characters being described by their attractiveness. And that's if they get a character description at all, as opposed to just being cast as 'the love interest'. When actresses are introduced on talk shows, they are described as 'the beautiful, the talented' as if their hotness is more important than their skills at their chosen profession. And it's arguably a redundant description anyway. Ms. Chastain is an attractive woman and she probably won't appear in a mega-budget movie like Iron Man 3 without a token amount of polish. So if you're attracted to Jessica Chastain, you're probably going to think she's kinda hot in Iron Man 3.
The lesson is simple: As a woman, it doesn't matter what your achievements are since they are secondary to your ability to make men fantasize about having sex with you. And the need to emphasize the fact that she's "just as smart as Tony Stark" sells two memes. First of all, don't worry boys, she's not *smarter* than Mr. Stark, so she's not too threatening. Second of all, it's still considered noteworthy in 2012 that (shock!) a girl actually possesses the intelligence and skill-set to be whatever kind of scientist she's going to be. It's no secret that Iron Man 3 is partially based on the "Extremis" story-arc. Guy Pearce is probably playing Aldrich Killian while Jessica Chastain plays Maya Hansen. There was no reason to not simply say that Jessica Chastain was playing a fellow scientist or acknowledge that her character has a prior connection to Tony Stark. But the need to throw in a character description that is both sexist and patronizing at the same time speaks quite a bit to how Hollywood views its leading ladies, even those more known for their skills than their bodies.
Scott Mendelson
