“How do we have it so she’s not going [whining], ‘Tony!’ and I’m going [growling], ‘Where’s Pepper?’… That’s the other thing that I have been pushing for. She’s in great shape, she’s really game. There’s all these genre movies and you have these capable women and they’re like, ‘Oh my god, some action is happening, I better step away or get caught in something over here.’ It’s like, ‘Really, is that where we’re at in the 21st century?’” – Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. speaking with Moviefone on how ridiculous it looks when women don’t get to be involved in the action.

He also mentioned he was the one who insisted on having Gwyneth Paltrow in The Avengers: ”I was like, ‘You can’t just pretend that I got in a fight with Rhodey and Pepper’s out of town.’ They said, ‘You can’t have both of them,’ so I said, ‘All right, I need Pepper.’”

(via io9)

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In a surprising announcement, the folks making that Expendables-inspired action film starring women instead of men, have chosen Haywire star and former MMA fighter, Gina Carano to lead the cast. Interesting.

Don’t bother pinching yourself. You’re awake. This is actually happening. With The Expendables 2 just hitting theaters this weekend, Variety is reporting another Expendables-type film will feature a cast made up of female action stars. Hit the jump for my reaction and oh yeah, all the details we know so far. 

For Easter: a zombie bunny by Ruben Martinez! We don’t recommend leaving out any live carrots. Or people. (via The Zombie Research Society)

Although it’s based on a best-selling young adult novel, it’s safe to say the odds weren’t in The Hunger Games’ favor. True, the film was projected to do well at the box office but history likes to tell us female-led action films don’t sell. It’s often used as an excuse in Hollywood to not make those films. They can’t use that excuse anymore, Jennifer Lawrence helped The Hunger Games make a record $155 million this past weekend and she did it with all of her clothes on. 

Time for your unsubstantiated “Wonder Woman movie” rumor of the day: Gina Carano, the MMA fighter who is getting excellent buzz for her first starring role in Steven Soderbergh‘s Haywire, has said that she would love to play Wonder Woman if they made a movie about her — and she’s not the only one who would like to see her in such a role. That might be really awesome, but is this movie even happening? (Um, can it now?)

It’s a strange day in the Northeast, because after the Summer That Wouldn’t Die, we are now experiencing a winter storm and there is snow in the forecast the weekend before Halloween. (And not one “Winter is coming” joke from my geek friends. Seriously, guys.) But anyway, that said, if you’re also cooped up inside — or just unmotivated to travel further than your couch — then you might want to check out this web comic series from Tony Cliff, Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant. Raised by an English father and a Greek mother, Delilah Dirk is trained in swordplay, martial arts, is a “high-ranking member of at least three royal courts,” and is a skilled escapist, so even if you tried to capture her, she’ll be out of there before you can figure out what to do with her. She travels in a flying sailboat and is also crazy. It takes place in 18th century Constantinople, and it feels like Indiana Jones meets The Venture Bros., except with a female lead.

New chapters are posted every Saturday, and you can read the four existing ones right now!

(via io9)

Spoilers, if one’s really concerned about that in this sort of thing

After laying bare the thinking behind Colombiana‘s ad campaign earlier this month, I was more eager than any of you to see how such a promising thing, if one confused about its audience, would shape up on the big screen. I’m all too happy to report that this trim 107 minutes of bombast and revenge is exactly as advertised. Colombiana‘s a run-of-the-mill dumb action movie, and from where I’m sitting, that’s all to the good.

Turns out changing the gender of Salt was a great idea: because it’s officially getting a sequel. It was announced that the original’s screenwriter Kurt Wimmer has begun work on a new screenplay for Angelina Jolie‘s outed CIA agent, which means another action movie with a kickass lady in the lead. So far, that’s the only announcement, but it comes after Jolie declined to join a sequel for Wanted and after Salt left the field wide open to be continued.

Today, let’s celebrate all the powerful women who can pick it up, put it down, and keep it all together. (At DC Women Kicking Ass)