Charlize Theron, Beanie Feldstein and Saoirse Ronan speak up after the Golden Globes 2020 released its list of nominees and failed to recognize any women in its nominations for best director, despite a year of incredible female-directed films.
Earlier this week, the Golden Globes announced its nominations for the year 2020. Of course there were some predictable picks; Netflix swept the movie and TV categories, with many of the streaming service’s major hits including Marriage Story, The Irishman, and Unbelievable nabbing nominations. However, it seems that Hollywood still has a hard time recognizing the achievements of talented women behind the camera. Women nominees and Hollywood gender equality watchdogs have expressed disappointment and anger over the exclusion of women who have been considered top contenders in the category.
Filmmakers who have been snubbed in the ‘best director’ category include Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Alma Har’el’s (Honey Boy), Melina Matsoukas’ (Queen & Slim), Olivia Wilde’s (Booksmart), Marielle Heller’s (A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood) and Lorene Scafaria’s (Hustlers). The absence of Ava DuVernay in the TV category was also notable, given the 16 Primetime Emmy nominations for her series When They See Us.
Throughout the awards ceremony’s 75-year history, women have been nominated for the award just seven times and several actresses, including actress Charlize Theron, Saoirse Ronan and Beanie Feldstein spoke up about the lack of female nominees in the best director category.
After the nominations were released Charlize Theron told Los Angeles Times, “It’s really, really ridiculous. No woman wants to get nominated because it’s the right thing to do. It’s not cool; we’ve got to keep making noise until we’re heard and these stories get recognized. It’s really hard, and I think it’s unfair, and it’s why we can’t stop this fight.”
While Saoirse Ronan, who played Jo March in Little Women, has been nominated in the Best Actress in a film – drama category, filmmaker Greta Gerwig was left out of the best director race at the 2020 Golden Globes.
Saoirse Ronan nodded to Greta’s lack of acknowledgement when thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. She said, “My performance in this film belongs to Greta as much as it does myself and I share this recognition completely with her.”
Beanie Feldstein, who has bagged the nod for best actress in a musical or comedy for Booksmart, told Variety that she wished there was “more room” in the category, specifically for Gerwig, who directed her in Lady Bird. Feldstein said that Little Women is “the most extraordinary filmmaking I’ve ever seen. I cried for a literal two hours after I saw it. This is truly a remarkable year for female directors, of course Olivia Wilde and Lulu [Wang] and Alma [Har’el], the list goes on and on. Hustlers, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, there are so many beautiful, extraordinary films directed by women, so I wish there was room for them [at the Golden Globes] this year.”
While South Korean film director and screenwriter Bong Joon-Ho, who is nominated for Parasite lamented that Lulu Wang’s The Farewell was excluded from the best picture category and placed in best foreign language film, he also shared that female filmmakers have been acknowledged and equated in the film. “So many female filmmakers produced such great work this year. Everyone voted according to their own opinions and the result is just what came out. But Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, I really enjoyed that film although it’s nominated for the foreign language, I thought it was considered an American film because it’s an A24 film. Also Portrait of a Lady on Fire was amazing and also nominated for foreign language, so I think — if you look at it broadly — female filmmakers have been acknowledged and equated in the film. I hope that is some sort of comfort,” he said.
– With information from Variety and Los Angeles Times
-Instep Desk
