Hollywood Power Breakfast Honors Jodie Foster and Women in Entertainment

Jodie Foster was one of the many notable Hollywood women present for The Hollywood Reporter's 16th annual Women in Entertainment Power 100 breakfast yesterday. The fact that you or I wouldn't recognize most of the attendees is a good thing, as the event honors those women whose power and clout come from their actions behind the scenes in the entertainment industry as opposed to onscreen.

Foster was honored with the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, and in her acceptance speech she proved yet again why she's so widely admired and respected by both the public and her industry peers:

I'm not sure why I'm here today. I'm not powerful. I'm fragile, unsure, and I struggle to get there -- wherever there is. I've been in this business for 42 years; there's no way to do that and not be as nutty as a fruitcake.

Girlfriend, we love you because you work hard, you're a former child star who never went through that awkward DWI alcoholic "I forgot to wear any underwear" crash-and-burn phase, and you can actually act.

A look at the Power 100 list shows that more and more women can now be found in corporate roles and top creative positions. All change for the better.

One change, however, was definitely for the worse, as yesterday's breakfast featured its first-ever male giving a keynote address. That honor went to John Travolta, who cross-dressed to play the role of Edna Turnblad earlier this year in the film version of the musical Hairspray. Travolta said to the 640 attendees, "This is the first time a man has spoken (at the breakfast) truly knowing what it's like to be a woman."

Excuse me? Now that you've worn a dress you truly know what it's like to be a woman? Think again.

What a slick, silly, ignorant statement from a man who inhaled just a little too much Hairspray for his own good. (IMHO, he should have just stuck with Grease.)

Jodie Foster & Sherry Lansing Photo (c) Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images