GLAAD has criticised the makers of a new Hollywood thriller – Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale, which chronicles the story of hitman (played by Michelle Rodriguez), who falls into the clutches of a rogue surgeon, and is forced to undergo gender reassignment surgery against his will.
The film stars Michelle Rodriguez as a male assassin, who later takes revenge on his tormentor, who will be played by Sigourney Weaver.
A spokesperson for Glaad, said producers had picked an inappropriate storyline for their project.
GLAAD’s director of programs for transgender media, Nick Adams, told The Hollywood Reporter.
We haven’t read the script, but it’s disappointing to see film-makers turning what is a life-saving medical procedure for transgender people into a sensationalistic plot device. We are at a crucial moment in the public’s understanding of transgender issues, and stories like these have the potential to undermine the progress we’ve worked so hard to achieve.”
The film’s announcement comes at a time when Hollywood is coming under increasing pressure to clean up its negative portrayals of LGBT people.
Titled Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale, the film is the latest project from The Warriors and Bullet To The Head director Walter Hill. Hill will be directing from a script by author and occasional screenwriter Denis Hamill. Rodriguez and Weaver, meanwhile, previously worked together on James Cameron’s Avatar