This Sunday is Oscar night, prompting many celebrities to dust off their social awareness ribbons and go in search of their latest crusade, the Hollywood glass ceiling. On the heels of the announcement that Julia Roberts is making $20 million a movie-a lot more than Judd Nelson-Newsweek has come out with an article questioning whether women in Hollywood get the same treatment as men. Their conclusion is that the female screenwriters, directors, and actresses of Hollywood do not have it as good as their male colleagues.

Complains screenwriter Robin Swicord, "My husband, screenwriter Nicholas Kazan, is never offered the dog movies and the sister movies that I am. He gets news stories and legal stories. I get books with girls in them."

Crusading female screenwriters echo Swicord's sentiment. They claim that they are thought of only as female writers solely capable of writing about women. Actresses, in turn, complain about being type-cast because of their gender and given predominately "chick flick" scripts, while male actors are given action movies and gritty dramas.

Even female directors who complain that they have a harder time than their male counterparts at getting financial backing admit that making it in Hollywood depends on the financial success of one's work. Financial success depends on notoriously fickle audiences, and in this trade there are no guarantees. But as in other industries, earning top dollar takes years of proving oneself and gaining essential experience.

Ruth Vitale, president of Fine Line Features, rose through the ranks by acquiring such successful films as Dirty Dancing and Shine. But Vitale doesn't see her struggle as being any more difficult than her male counterparts.

"I've never been one of those people who say it's tough for women to be in this business," she says. "I'm not so sure this business divides itself by sexism. It divides itself by talent, aggression, and intelligence."

Women possess those traits in sufficient quantities that they now work in every aspect of the film business and run three of the seven major movie studios. In those positions they have learned to hire on the basis of who is right for the job. They decline to give other women special treatment, and they often find the complaining of their younger counterparts annoying. Remarked legendary editor Dede Allen, "They never had to face the really blatant sexism of 15 or 30 years ago. They think they can just start at the top."

So what is to blame for what some are calling gender discrimination in Hollywood? Once again, follow the money. Male actors typically bring in more money at the box office, by a margin of almost four to one, according to the Movie Times. Foreign markets, a popular outlet for action movies, account for much of the revenues.

It isn't about gender, it's about the bottom line. Male or female, if you pack in the audiences, you rise to the top. Julia Roberts didn't get in the $20-million bracket by whining about gender discrimination, and neither will anyone else.

—Laura Steadman

Research Assistant