Two Major Hollywood Studios Have No Female Directors Through 2018

Photo: DEA/W. BUSS

Think all the recent conversation about encouraging studios to hire women as directors in Hollywood has magically made the world a fairer place? Think again. A new report by TheWrap found that all the movies scheduled to hit theaters through 2018 produced by major Hollywood studios 20th Century Fox and Paramount are being directed or will be directed by men. Shocking to hear, even now.

20th Century Fox and Paramount could not be reached for comment on the report, and TheWrap says their tally did not include Fox Searchlight, Fox’s art-house division, but the numbers are still dismal. Fox’s 22 consecutive films, and Paramount’s upcoming 25 were all directed by men all the way into 2018. Quite a different result from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, where 40 percent of the total features were directed by women.

Melissa Silverstein, founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood, explained to TheWrap, “It is always shocking, though unfortunately not surprising, to see that studios continue to not give women opportunities to direct.” She continued, “This is a complex issue. The film business is layered with sexism so that when you peel away one layer, you still have many layers to get through.”

A good experiment to see what kind of effect this bad bias can have on culture: Can you name one female director besides Ava DuVernay?

2 Studios Have No Female Directors Through 2018