Study Says Female Filmmakers Made Major Gains in 2019
2020-01-04
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1Lulu Wang, Lorene Scafaria, Melina Matsoukas and Greta Gerwig led Hollywood to a record year for women in film directing.
2In 2019, women directed more of the most popular movies than in any year before.
3Women directed 12 of the top 100 most profitable films in 2019.
4That is the finding of a study released Thursday by USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
5That percentage of female filmmakers, 10.6, is greater than researchers have recorded before.
6It suggests change is finally coming to a film industry where inequality in directing has remained common.
7The past high in USC's yearly study was eight percent, in 2008.
8In 2018, only 4.5 percent of the year's top films were directed by women.
9"This is the first time we have seen a shift in hiring practices for female film directors in 13 years," said Stacy L. Smith, a writer of the study.
10She noted that Universal Pictures alone had five films with women directors in the top 100 movies.
11The success of several of these films had already made 2019 a historic one for women.
12Wang's The Farewell is one of the year's most popular independent releases.
13Scafaria's Hustlers sold more than $100 million worth of tickets.
14Also on the list was Matsoukas' Queen & Slim and Gerwig's Little Women.
15Frozen II with $1.2 billion in worldwide ticket sales, is close to setting a new box-office record for a movie directed by a woman.
16Jennifer Lee, who co-directed, set the record with the first Frozen film.
17Other notable films included Kasi Lemmons' Harriet, Tina Gordon's Little and Jill Culton's Abominable.
18USC researchers singled out Universal Pictures, where women directed 26 percent of the studio's films last year.
19Universal's chief, Donna Langley, is the only woman to lead a major movie studio.
20Paramount Pictures, in contrast, has not released a female-directed movie in the last five years.
21Films from the streaming company Netflix largely bypass theaters so they remain outside the study's limits.
22However, women directed 20 percent of Netflix's 2019 movies.
23The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University released a separate study Thursday.
24It examined women in the top films as not just directors but writers, producers, executive producers, editors and cinematographers.
25Women accounted for 20 percent of all such work in 2019's top films, up from 16 percent the year before.
26Study author Martha Lauzen suggested there is still room for improvement.
27She said in a statement, "While the numbers moved in a positive direction this year, men continue to outnumber women 4 to 1" in important non-acting positions.
28Also of note, female filmmakers have been largely ignored in this awards season.
29The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe awards this Sunday are an example.
30No women are among the nominees for best director.
31No films directed by women are among nominees for best picture, either.
32Rebecca Goldman is the chief operating officer of the anti-discrimination group Time's Up.
33She said the lack of women nominees is unacceptable.
34"This year, there have been twice as many women-led features than ever, with more films by female directors on the way," Goldman said.
35"Women - and especially women of color - continue to be pushed to the sidelines by a system that holds women back, on-screen and off.
36I'm Caty Weaver.
1Lulu Wang, Lorene Scafaria, Melina Matsoukas and Greta Gerwig led Hollywood to a record year for women in film directing. In 2019, women directed more of the most popular movies than in any year before. 2Women directed 12 of the top 100 most profitable films in 2019. That is the finding of a study released Thursday by USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. That percentage of female filmmakers, 10.6, is greater than researchers have recorded before. It suggests change is finally coming to a film industry where inequality in directing has remained common. 3The past high in USC's yearly study was eight percent, in 2008. In 2018, only 4.5 percent of the year's top films were directed by women. 4"This is the first time we have seen a shift in hiring practices for female film directors in 13 years," said Stacy L. Smith, a writer of the study. She noted that Universal Pictures alone had five films with women directors in the top 100 movies. 5The success of several of these films had already made 2019 a historic one for women. Wang's The Farewell is one of the year's most popular independent releases. 6Scafaria's Hustlers sold more than $100 million worth of tickets. 7Also on the list was Matsoukas' Queen & Slim and Gerwig's Little Women. 8Frozen II with $1.2 billion in worldwide ticket sales, is close to setting a new box-office record for a movie directed by a woman. Jennifer Lee, who co-directed, set the record with the first Frozen film. Other notable films included Kasi Lemmons' Harriet, Tina Gordon's Little and Jill Culton's Abominable. 9USC researchers singled out Universal Pictures, where women directed 26 percent of the studio's films last year. Universal's chief, Donna Langley, is the only woman to lead a major movie studio. 10Paramount Pictures, in contrast, has not released a female-directed movie in the last five years. 11Films from the streaming company Netflix largely bypass theaters so they remain outside the study's limits. However, women directed 20 percent of Netflix's 2019 movies. 12The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University released a separate study Thursday. It examined women in the top films as not just directors but writers, producers, executive producers, editors and cinematographers. Women accounted for 20 percent of all such work in 2019's top films, up from 16 percent the year before. 13Study author Martha Lauzen suggested there is still room for improvement. She said in a statement, "While the numbers moved in a positive direction this year, men continue to outnumber women 4 to 1" in important non-acting positions. 14Also of note, female filmmakers have been largely ignored in this awards season. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe awards this Sunday are an example. No women are among the nominees for best director. No films directed by women are among nominees for best picture, either. 15Rebecca Goldman is the chief operating officer of the anti-discrimination group Time's Up. She said the lack of women nominees is unacceptable. 16"This year, there have been twice as many women-led features than ever, with more films by female directors on the way," Goldman said. "Women - and especially women of color - continue to be pushed to the sidelines by a system that holds women back, on-screen and off. 17I'm Caty Weaver. 18The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21shift -n. to go through a change 22practice -n. something that is done often or regularly 23ticket -n. a piece of paper that permits you to see a show, take part in an event, travel in a vehicle, etc. 24author -n. a person who has written something 25onscreen -adj. in a motion picture or a television program