Back in 2018, Natalie Portman made headlines for calling out the lack of female directing nominees at the Golden Globes. While on stage to present the award for best director, she quipped: “Here are the all-male nominees.”
Well, for the first time in a long time, the Golden Globes made good on that omission and recognized female filmmakers.
After shutting women out of the best director category for the last six years, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — the voting body behind the annual awards show — nominated not one, not two, but three women: Chloe Zhao for “Nomadland,” Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” and Regina King for “One Night in Miami.”
They will compete against David Fincher for “Mank” and Aaron Sorkin for “The Trial of the Chicago 7” to take home the trophy when the Globes are hosted on Feb. 28.
It’s the first time in history that more than one woman has ever been nominated in the best director category at the Golden Globes. In 78 years, just five female directors had ever been nominated — Barbra Streisand (in 1984 for “Yentl”), Jane Campion (in 1994 for “The Piano”), Sofia Coppola (in 2004 for “Lost in Translation”), Kathryn Bigelow (in 2010 for “The Hurt Locker” and 2013 for “Zero Dark Thirty”); and Ava DuVernay (in 2015 for “Selma”).
Generally speaking, award shows don’t have a stellar track record when it comes to honoring women behind the camera. The Academy Awards have only nominated five women in the span of 92 years. Lina Wertmüller (in 1976 for “Seven Beauties”), Jane Campion (in 1993 for “The Piano”), Sofia Coppola (in 2003 for “Lost in Translation”), Kathryn Bigelow (in 2009 for “The Hurt Locker”) and Greta Gerwig (2017’s “Lady Bird”).
Streisand is the only women to ever win the Golden Globe for best director. But that could change this year.
