At the 2014 Academy Awards, Best Actress winner Cate Blanchett railed at Hollywood’s predilection for male-centric filmmaking, sparking a debate about women in film that sent ripples throughout the industry.
After thanking her distributors for their bravery she turned on “those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the center are niche experiences. They are not. Audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money.”
[There are] those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the center are niche experiences. They are not. Audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money. The world is round, people.
Cate Blanchett
Hollywood, long perceived as a coterie of old white men, left the event with its wrist slapped, shamed by a guest at its own party.
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With ample supply and demonstrable demand, the industry has the solution to the problem at its feet.
Whoever wins on Sunday, the Academy will once again reward a batch of superlative performances by a group of gifted actresses. Similarly the public is rewarding filmmakers with leading women with high box office gross — between them, features with Best Actress nominations have grossed $523 million worldwide thus far.
It seems that with ample supply and demonstrable demand, the industry has the solution to the problem at its feet.
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