Arts & Entertainment

Michelle Rodriguez stars in controversial transgender action film

the movie has been called transphobic

Published

9 years ago

January 25, 2017

Mariah Cooper

(Screenshot via YouTube.)

“The Assignment,” a controversial new action film starring Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver, has released its first trailer.

The film, previously titled “(Re)Assignment” and “Tomboy: A Revenger’s Tale,” tells the story of an assassin (Rodriguez) who is captured by a surgeon (Weaver) and forced to undergo gender reassignment surgery. “The Assignment” has so far received poor reviews after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and has gotten backlash for having a transphobic storyline.

Nick Adams, GLAAD’s Director of Programs for Transgender Media, told The Huffington Post that the film’s story is problematic.

“We haven’t read the script, but it’s disappointing to see filmmakers turning what is a life-saving medical procedure for transgender people into a sensationalistic plot device,” Adams says. “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.”

Rodriguez defended her decision to take on the role in an Instagram post in September.

“The industry seems to be running low on edgy creativity & ‘real take a chance’ controversy, sometimes it makes me want to scream, instead I did what I always do when I’m bored with the ‘status quo’, I shot crazy b movie Indy to express my frustration,” Rodriguez writes.

Heheheh at TIFF promoting ‘TomBoy A Revengers Tale’ producers are convinced the new movie title should be re-assignment but I’ll stick to the title I signed on to shoot… ‘Tomboy’. It’s in the B Movie genre, a culture shock pic, shot like a ‘film Noir’ graphic novel. I played a male assassin for four days in the movie, boy was that beard itchy. Then out revenge, a twisted Doctor played by Sigourney Weaver decides to take my character’s manhood away with a sex change to teach him a lesson. I never felt more like a woman than when I played a man. For the rest of the film I was a man stuck in a newly operated sex changed body. I had fake boob covers to look like man implants & I wore a fake hairy ‘mangina’ which you can’t really see cause they made it so hairy. In retrospect I’m I glad took the plunge, the industry seems to be running low on edgy creativity & ‘real take a chance’ controversy, sometimes it makes me want to scream, instead I did what I always do when I’m bored with the ‘status quo’, I shot crazy b movie Indy to express my frustration. I wish I had more than a few weeks to prepare for this flic, I would have gained a lot more weight, & we would have made some hairy arms to match my Mediterranean look. I feel that my skinny build sometimes comes off hermaphoditic in the film, especially when you add the crazy male chest for the nude sequences. Lol hope y’all will enjoy the flic sometime, when we sell it of course… It’s interesting to say the least.

A photo posted by Michelle Rodriguez (@mrodofficial) on Sep 13, 2016 at 2:28pm PDT

Watch the trailer below.

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Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more

Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’

Published

2 days ago

January 5, 2026

Matt Minton

From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.

Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”

The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.

“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”

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Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.

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Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.

As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.