Olivia Wilde on sexism in movie industry: ‘Little girls are told to act and boys are told to direct’

Posted On December 9, 2024December 9, 2024

Female filmmakers have historically struggled to receive the same opportunities and levels of acceptance as their male counterparts. Despite more female directors emerging now than ever before, there is still a significant gender imbalance, which Booksmart’s Olivia Wilde has recently noted.

The filmmaker began her career as an actor in the early 2000s, appearing on popular television shows like The O.C. and House. Wilde then began starring in popular movies, too, including Tron: Legacy and Her, before eventually making her directorial debut, Booksmart, in 2019.

The movie was well-received, quickly cementing itself as a popular coming-of-age comedy-drama. Her next film, Don’t Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, emerged in 2022. While it wasn’t as revered as her debut, the film was still a commercial success, grossing $87.6 million.

While Wilde’s filmmaking career is still just beginning, she has been carving a name for herself in the industry for over two decades. The multi-talented star spoke about the difficulties women face when trying to enter the film industry during a recent panel at the Red Sea International Film Festival. She explained: “For many young women, when we love movies, as little girls, we’re told you should be an actress.”

However, for men, the story is a lot different. “When little boys say they love movies, people say, ‘You should be a director’,” she said.

“In acting, it’s the only job where the more experience you get, the less valuable you become – certainly for actresses,” Wilde added, “I want to become celebrated for my experience, as opposed to some sort of value placed on something that is inherently fleeting.”

Gender imbalance in the film industry

The statistics show that female filmmakers are valued less than male ones. It wasn’t until 2010 – around 80 years after the inception of the Oscars – that a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, won ‘Best Director’. Since then, two more women have won the prize, Chloé Zhao and Jane Campion, but there have been very few other female nominees.

A study of 2023’s 250 highest-grossing films conducted by San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film discovered that just 16 per cent of the directors behind these movies were women.

While there have been certain successes – such as Greta Gerwig becoming the first woman to direct a movie grossing over $1 billion with Barbie – across the wider industry, women are still struggling to land directorial roles.

Related Topics