Would Greta Gerwig have been nominated for a Best Director Golden Globe if she were a man?
'Nominate more women!'
'Nominate more women!'
Greta Gerwig is undeniably a genius, with the filmmaker being the woman behind Lady Bird, Frances Ha and most recently, Little Women.
The 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 19th century classic stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Laura Dern and Timothée Chalamet to name a few and has received a unanimous thumbs up. In fact, critics have found it near impossible to find a fault with the project.
It seemed inevitable therefore that Gerwig would be among the directors and screenwriters to receive a Golden Globe nod.
Surprisingly however, the 36-year-old was snubbed.
Little Women was nominated for two Golden Globes - a best actress nod for Saoirse Ronan and a best score nomination for Alexandre Desplat.
Greta was one of the first to celebrate the nods, telling Yahoo Entertainment, ‘I was thrilled that Saoirse and Alexandre got nominated, because they’re so extraordinary and couldn’t deserve it more.’
The excitement however has not outweighed the disappointment, with Greta's snub being her second, also missing out on a Golden Globe nomination for her acclaimed breakthrough film, Lady Bird, in 2017. In fact, it is thought that Greta’s Lady Bird snub is what prompted Natalie Portman to make a political statement while introducing ‘the all male nominees’.
On closer inspection, a female filmmaker hasn’t been nominated for a Golden Globe since 2014, with Ava DuVernay being the last to receive the nod for Selma.
People are now questioning whether Greta Gerwig’s gender is holding her back from getting a Golden Globe nomination.
When asked about the snub, Greta explained, ‘It’s always a bummer, because of course it’s nice to be recognized. But there was so much beautiful work done this year by women filmmakers — truly extraordinary, groundbreaking work, and I would love to see that recognized. It deserves to be placed there alongside all the other work.’
And she’s not the only one talking about it. ‘Little Women is a lovely film — can’t believe Greta Gerwig wasn’t nominated for best director or best screenplay,’ tweeted Barbra Streisand ahead of the awards. While fellow female director Lulu Wang, the woman behind The Farewell, made a very clear message on the red carpet - 'nominate more women’.
The nominees for the Academy Awards, SAGs and BAFTAs are yet to be announced, but the fact that the Golden Globes has started with a female-less Best Director category has not been an inspiring start.
We’re hoping that the other award ceremonies don’t follow suit.
