As the voices have grown louder about how women are treated in Hollywood (check out the eye-opening short documentary "Celluloid Ceilings") here’s a reminder that there are consequences for those who wish to speak out.
Actress and director Rose McGowan tweeted last night she was fired by her agent for highlighting "the bullshit in Hollywood." Many have pointed toward her recent tweet about a casting notice she received for an upcoming Adam Sandler production specifying the use of push-up bras and showing cleavage. However, that is not the only occasion in recent memory that McGowan has been vocal about her observations of the industry.
Earlier this year at the New York Film Critics Circle awards, McGowan accepted "The Babadook" director Jennifer Kent‘s Best First Film award on the filmmaker’s behalf as she couldn’t attend the ceremony. And she used the opportunity to call for more female voices in film.
"Let’s give the six percent a shot," she said, referring the number of female filmmakers working in the industry. "’Cause that represents 50 percent of the audience, of which I am a member. I am not being served and I am not being heard. I ask you to take up the hand of the female director until we no longer say ‘female director.’ It is a unisex term. I am a director. Jennifer Kent is a director. Let’s do smart, let’s bring it. She did. I think she’s thrown down the gauntlet. When they say, ‘Oh, the box office is down,’ it’s perhaps because we don’t need more fucking superhero movies! It’s time. It’s getting a little old and Jennifer is a wonderful, dedicated director and I can’t wait to see what she does next."
And McGowan has no problem making her voice heard. "I’m stepping up because no one else is," she told Defamer. "There are some, they’re starting to get louder, but I realized as an artist you’re in an un-fireable position. And actually we all are. All of us humans cannot be fired from being ourselves. We can be fired from our jobs, we can not be hired for a job, but we can’t be fired. We’re us. And we’re legion. And it’s an amazing feeling and an amazing, empowered feeling."
READ MORE: 10 Female Directors Who Deserve More Attention From Hollywood
Well, McGowan’s agent certainly feels she can fire her client, but something tells me McGowan will be just fine.
Below, check McGowan’s tweets, her recent comments about Hollywood sexism on "Sway In The Morning," as well as the short film she recently directed, "Dawn," in full.
Update: Rose McGowan is now praising her agent who reportedly stopped working at Innovative Artists before the actress was fired. More details here and an update from the actress below.
casting note that came w/script I got today. For real. name of male star rhymes with Madam Panhandler hahahaha I die pic.twitter.com/lCWGTV537t
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) June 18, 2015
I just got fired by my wussy acting agent because I spoke up about the bullshit in Hollywood. Hahaha. #douchebags #awesome #BRINGIT
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) June 25, 2015
The awesome thing about being an artist? You can’t be fired from your own mind. #FREEDOM
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) June 25, 2015
Sheila Wenzel is a wonderful agent that ceased working with Innovative before my firing. She’s a good, strong woman I’m proud to know.
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) June 25, 2015
Bonus: listen to a 25 minute Film Society Of Lincoln Center podcast conversation with Rose McGowan
Doris – It\’s exactly thinking like that, that\’s the problem. The reason there are "not enough good female directors" (in your opinion, although the I am pretty sure you haven\’t ventured out and looked for many) is simple because there ARE not enough female directors working in the industry. Because there not given the chance to. Directors like Jill Soloway (who by the way speaks about this very issue a lot) who had to produce the incredibly successful and brilliant Transparent herself in order to get it made at all, prove that it\’s about inequality in opportunities.
@Glass I don\’t think it\’s fare to speak on their behalf. How do you know they have no interest in directing big budget films? It\’s like saying that because Cuarón made Y tu mamá también then he probably does not want to do Harry Potter. In the world of independent film where many of these women have worked, one can, to a certain degree, be self-made. You write your script and go hustle to get the financing. But in the world of studio films one has to get hired for the job. Andrea Arnold (nor any other woman) can direct Harry Potter if WB does not even consider hiring a woman for the job. Is not about women not making big films but about women not getting hired to direct big films. I love Anime, I love comic book adaptations, I have been watching Spiderman since I was a kid (the \’68 series and Spiderman and his amazing friend my personal favorites but whatever). My point? Even if I ever direct an indie that gets some success (like Marc Webb) it is statistically impossible for me to get a job to direct an adaptation of Spiderman (because unlike Marc Webb, I am a girl). That\’s my point.
@PAULINA – My immediate reaction to seeing your list – lots of really good filmmakers who would have no interest in directing the blockbusters everyone is saying is deprived of female directors. They\’re drama filmmakers and may they only make the films they want to make – especially Andrea Arnold.
To everyone saying women do not make for talented directors, google these: Agnès Varda, Susanne Bier, Penny Marshall, Claudia Llosa, Mira Nair, Jane Champion, Agnieska Holland, Lucía Puenzo, Joan Chen, Lynne Ramsay, Sofia Coppola, Bigelow, Lone Scherfig, Ann Hui, Dee Rees, Sarah Polley, Haifaa al Mansour, Mary Haron, Andrea Arnold, Lexi ALexander, Maïwenn, Zana Briski, Paola Mensoza, Jennifer Lee, Cherien Davis, Asia Argento, Emmanuelle Bercot… I can keep going. The talent is there, it\’s always been. The opportunities? Not so much.
Sofia Coppolla? Seriously? She\’s awful. Everything since Lost in Translation has been laughably bad.
This year alone Elizabeth Banks and Sam Taylor Johnson have both delivered blockbusters that made huge profits. So much so that both their films have already greenlit sequels. The problem is not that women can\’t deliver the box office or that they can\’t deliver a great film. The problem is that they aren\’t given the same opportunity that men are because most studios are run by men and so is most independent film financing. We can point to this same problem with the heads of corporations and Congress, it\’s not an isolated incident. It\’s really crazy, considering women are 51 percent of the population and they aren\’t being represented properly anywhere.
So, she got Tim Hunt-ed, huh? What a delightful irony!
Oh, sorry. Didn\’t realize that the Playlist deletes comments that don\’t follow the \’Hollywood is Sexist\’ storyline.
This woman seems unhinged. ALWAYS a good idea to tell your employers to hashtag bring it.
The problem is that women don\’t support women. The Babadook was a great little horror movie. NO ONE saw it. Also, HBO produced a great little mini-series called Olive Kitterage. Written by a woman, directed by a woman, produced by a woman and starring a woman. NO ONE watched it.
A little less hashtag you-go-girl\’ing and a little more real world support maybe.
someone like Mary Harron sets a good example too — American Psycho was brilliant by any standards… the fact it was made by a female just added a layer of cool to it. It\’d be great if more female directors tackled less obviously \’female\’ subject matter and showed they can make movies just as good as men. Harron is worth 50 expendable Gareth Evanses.
Well that is not exactly fair Doris, why do female directors have to be held to such higher standards? There are plenty of male directors who make conplete indie duds and blockbuster flops all the time. The truth is even when men fail in the industry they are still given way more opportunities than women. Plus an indie male director just needs one decent film before graduating into blockbuster territory, just look at Trevorrow, Marc Webb, Gareth Edwards, Rian Johnson and Josh Trank. I\’m happy for them but it\’s not like they had to jump through hoops or win a Palm d\’Or to get noticed.
And Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow are a dime a dozen they have both been in the industry long enough to fund their own films or have the connections to still get their
Films out there. Plus they\’re both oscar winners. What about the women who are just trying to get their foot in the door? Ridiculous to set these standards for new female directors. We represent half the audience, we should at least be represented by half the directors, writers and producers.
Don\’t you at least proof your headline!?
what the industry needs, quite frankly, is a higher caliber of female filmmaker. Sofia Coppolla and Kathryn Bigelow are genuinely brilliant, with a keen visual sense, storytelling skill, and a superb handle on performance and tone, etc. Their movies put the majority of male filmmakers to shame. A lot of female directors sadly just don\’t deliver great work. That\’s the real issue.