#OscarsSoMale: People Are Outraged Over Lack Of Female Filmmakers In This Year's Best Director Category

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This year was supposed to be different, right? After opening up the Academy to a huge number of diverse people, this year’s Oscar nominations were going to be the bright, shining example of inclusivity that the awards show has lacked in years past. While there seems to be some diversity among the nominees, there is definitely a strong lack of females in the major filmmaking categories, despite 2018 being a banner year for women directors and writers.

With #OscarsSoMale becoming a trending topic on Twitter today, the founder of Women and Hollywood, Melissa Silverstein, took to social media to discuss her thoughts on the lack of female representation.

READ MORE: Oscars 2019: ‘Roma’ & ‘The Favourite’ Lead With 10 Nominations, ‘A Star Is Born’ & ‘Vice’ Closely Behind [Full List]

“I am always glad that days like this afford us to have a conversation about the lack of women getting nominated for big awards. Remember this is not about whether a film is good, cause Ahem- Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, Vice – but it’s about access and opportunity,” tweeted Silverstein.

She continued, “This is not about merit because Ahem- Debra Granik hasn’t been nominated for best director and that is just as tragic as Spike Lee not getting nominated which has been rectified this year. She makes extraordinary films. There would be no Jennifer Lawrence without Debra Granik. Both of the primary actors in Marielle Heller’s [‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’] are nominated, yet she is not. Chloe Zhao’s The Rider is spectacular and we will see her pain on a bigger canvas with her Marvel film. Lynne Ramsay was in directing jail, yet was able to make [‘You Were Never Really Here’] which has not one word of extra dialogue.”

READ MORE: Snubs & Surprises Of The 2019 Oscar Nominations

The discussion over the lack of female directing nominees throughout the years has been documented quite heavily. There have only been five females to receive a nomination, and only one win (Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker”). Many people chalk it up to the Oscars nominated based on merit, which Silverstein discussed above. However, what the Women and Hollywood founder wants to point out is just how the Oscar campaign resources are always limited when a female director gets consideration.

“What women directors are able to accomplish of the shit money they get. Bradley Cooper got about $40 million for his 1st movie- and it’s great- but let’s remember that his film gets to the finish line ahead of some others because of the investment that is made in the campaign,” she tweeted. “I know it’s hard for people who are not living in the weeds and don’t see women’s names as directors all the time to believe that women make movies that should be nominated year in and year out. But they do. So let’s use today as a learning experience. Let’s share our favorite films directed by women. Let’s celebrate the great work that women have done and are doing. I refuse to let this diminish the amazing future ahead. Let’s go high.”

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In the coming weeks, as we brace for the late-February awards ceremony, the female director talking point is surely not going away. We’ll have to see what gets done in future Oscar nominations and if any comments will be made during the telecast. As you might remember, Natalie Portman famously criticized the lack of female directors during the 2018 Golden Globes telecast.

Here’s just a sampling of some of the #OscarsSoMale tweets: