I noticed an image of four film directors who have been
the premiere filmmakers of the last few decades, Scorsese, Spielberg, Coppola
and Lucas – which I liked for simply the way it looked and for the influence these
fellows have had over movies. But the image prompted a friend to say that
despite the radical changes these men made, they didn’t really provide much change for
opportunities for women as filmmakers.
It’s a good point, to which she added that perhaps in
decades to come we’ll see a collection of grey-haired ladies who have made
movie history. I think it’s worth noting that an elite group of women
have been crucial to the success of these fellows, though.
Scorsese has had one person, film editor ThelmaSchoonmaker, craft all his films into shape, from “Woodstock” to his current
projects. His films have a total reliance on editing, providing the rhythms and
structure that are seen as hallmarks to his work. Likewise, Spielberg’s first
two film s, “Sugarland Express” and “Jaws” were edited by Verna Fields – let’s
be honest, it’s the editing that makes “Jaws”.
Yet, she is quoted on IMDB as saying:
“I don't think there's a great deal of discrimination --
although I'm completely perplexed and confused as to why there aren't more
women. For instance, if we're looking for new, young directors, which is
something we do all the time, we certainly never go look at films because
they're directed by a man or a woman. We look at films because they are winning
awards, they're good, and it has nothing to do with gender. And women certainly
have equal opportunity to get into a university like UCLA or USC, to get into
the film department, to take the same courses to allow them to make films, to
deal with a whole gamut of subject matter, and yet I don't know what happens.
There's something that happens in the process of getting there that seems to
turn many women away.”
As for George Lucas – an interesting fact – his wife
Marcia was integral to his earliest works, again as a film editor, for the “Star
Wars” films, and on “Taxi Driver” with Scorsese. But, once the couple divorced
in 1983, she left Hollywood and filmmaking. Scorsese’s wife Barbra Da Fina was
also his producer from “Color of Money” to projects now underway – but they too
divorced.
Coppola – well, that has brought us his daughter Sofia, a
rising star director.
In truth, these four men did much (successfully or not)
to mark the end of studio control and the rise of independent filmmakers, but
they are certainly the Old Boys network leaders today. Fighting those powers,
asserting control, all was a rather constant and often brutal struggle.
And let’s be honest too – when it comes to the forms of
Western drama, women were just barely allowed onstage as late as the
mid-late-1800s. That’s a huge hurdle to overcome. Oddly, back in the old
Hollywood studio days, women were pretty much in charge of all film editing, as
wage-workers mostly, since studio heads saw the job as rudimentary and lacking
artistic merit.
“Gender discrimination in Hollywood goes far beyond women
simply not getting the gig. It is reflected in movie budgets, P&A budgets,
the size of distribution deals (if a female director's movie is lucky enough to
score one), official and unofficial internship or mentorship opportunities,
union eligibility, etc.
“Women in Hollywood have no male allies. There are some
who pretend to be on our side, but yeah, not really. They may say the right
thing because, after all, they're liberals and that's a public image they'd
like to keep up. Others may actually believe in gender equality, but are not
willing to put up a fight for it that could sacrifice their own status or
relationships.”
Here’s what I know
for certain, no matter that much of the world can’t seem to grasp this idea: It’s
a grave error to marginalize women, no matter what the field of endeavor. And
changing this view is indeed a large obstacle.
