Though this year’s Golden Globes Best Picture was directed by a woman, the shortlist for Best Director was decidedly male. And actress Natalie Portman had something to say about it…
Natalie Portman has taken aim at Hollywood sexism by announcing “the all-male nominees” for Best Director at the Golden Globes.
The actress was presenting the award with director Ron Howard – and judging by the surprised look on his face, her quip was decidedly off-script.
The category – which this year included Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg – has only ever been won by one woman, Barbra Streisand, and has not had a female nominee since Ava DuVernay’s nomination for Selma in 2014. Since 2000, only three women have been nominated – DuVernay, Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation in 2003 and Kathryn Bigelow, once in 2009 for The Hurt Locker and again in 2012 for Zero Dark Thirty.
This year’s nominees were Ridley Scott for All The Money In The World, Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk, Steven Spielberg for The Post, Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and eventual winner Guillermo del Toro for The Shape of Water.
Presenting Best Picture, drama, Barbra Streisand also called for more recognition for female directors.
“Backstage I heard they said I was the only woman to get the best director award, and you know… that was 1984. That was 34 years ago,” she said. “Folks, time’s up. We need more women directors and more women to be nominated for best director. There are so many films out there that are so good directed by women.”
The internet was, predictably, thrilled by Portman’s aside.
Many also pointed to Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird as evidence for the sexist double standard – if the film was good enough to win Best Picture, surely Gerwig was good enough to be nominated for Best Director?
With more and more pressure on Hollywood to tackle sexism, next year’s awards may be a chance to celebrate female creators – let’s hope so.
Images: Rex Features
undefined
By signing up you agree to occasionally receive offers and promotions from Stylist. Newsletters may contain online ads and content funded by carefully selected partners. Don’t worry, we’ll never share or sell your data. You can opt-out at any time. For more information read Stylist’s Privacy Policy
Thank you!
You’re now subscribed to all our newsletters. You can manage your subscriptions at any time from an email or from a MyStylist account.