Kathleen Turner’s Top 20 Films Put 1984’s Crimes of Passion at No. 1

Q: Labeled 'difficult' in the 80s, how does she view Hollywood's treatment of outspoken women in the current era?

Kathleen Turner’s view is that Hollywood has improved less than many assume: outspoken women are still often punished for behavior that would be praised in men. Drawing on her own experience of being branded “difficult” in the 1980s, Turner has said that label was “pure gender crap.” Her argument is that when a man arrives on set with firm ideas, he is seen as decisive, while a woman doing the same is treated as a problem. That, she suggests, was the basis of her reputation at the time, not misconduct or lack of professionalism. She has also indicated that the broader climate has not changed enough. In later interviews, Turner said women today face “much the same” issues she was talking about decades ago, including unequal treatment, pressure to stay quiet, and backlash for asserting themselves. She has linked this to a wider sexist culture that expects women—especially those who speak up about mistreatment or insist on control over their work—to “pay a price.” So while Turner has long been frank about sexism in the industry, her current-era assessment is largely pessimistic: Hollywood may talk more openly about these issues now, but she believes outspoken women are still judged by a harsher standard than men.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 11

1984’s "Crimes of Passion" topped a new ranking of Kathleen Turner’s 20 best films, praised as the clearest example of her effort to complicate the femme-fatale image created by "Body Heat."
The article argues Turner used Ken Russell’s lurid psychodrama to assert control over her screen persona, playing fashion designer Joanna Crane and her sex-worker alter ego China Blue.
1981’s "Body Heat" placed second and 1983’s "The Man With Two Brains" third, with the top 10 also featuring "Prizzi’s Honour," "Serial Mom," "The War of the Roses" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
The ranking presents Turner’s career as unusually wide-ranging — from noir and black comedy to animation and mainstream hits such as 1984’s "Romancing the Stone" at No. 9.