EXTRA EDITION DIRECTOR/ WRITER JANUARY 23, 2020 ADVERTISEMENT CONTENDERS Directors & Writers FIRST-TIME OSCAR NOMINEE TAIKA WAITITI ENTERS THE HOME STRETCH WITH 'JOJO RABBIT' ACADEMY AWA BEST PICTURE Untitled-31 1 1/17/20 10:27 AM EDITOR’S LETTER Awards Contenders Reflect Current Issues By Steven Gaydos IT WILL BE UP TO FUTURE HISTORIANS other dispossessed in the guise of a to figure out whether or not there was “comic book” movie. ever a time of greater prosperity in Amer- “Parasite,” a parable of rich and poor ica when the general mood of the country colliding under one roof, could be a dia- was as gloomy and sour as our own. gram for the Bernie Sanders’ campaign The credit or blame for the current plans for economic reform. national state of disconsolation can be And beyond the mean streets of L.A., attributed to the media, social or mass, other woes unsettle any talk of “happy but the very real calamities of increasing days” on Wall Street. social inequity and a global environmen- The gripping WWI tale “1917” opened tal emergency also offer handy explana- the same week that the threat of a tions for our collective funk. wrenching no-holds-barred war with As is often the case, the awards season Iran was front-page news. films that are resonating with audiences, The rise of anti-Semitism again as well as critics and the entertainment plagues cities from Paris to New York, professionals who bestow honors, reflect confounding those who imagined World the world of their time. War II an the end to that particular infec- Hollywood’s major studios, responsible tion. “JoJo Rabbit” reminds viewers that for the majority of the films in contention, you must never stop steering the young are based in a city where homelessness away from hate. exposes the brutal downside of the afore- Time’s Up is making dramatic prog- mentioned American “prosperity.” ress for the cause of gender parity, but “Joker” has amazingly grossed a billion “Little Women” takes a story from 160 dollars while viscerally confronting the years ago to show the still-formidable living conditions of the mentally ill and social forces behind inequity and the daunting challenges that women every- where still face. While “Once Upon a Time in Holly- wood” and “Ford v Ferrari” extoll the virtues of friendship and fidelity to core values in deft and dazzling new ways, “Irishman” and “Marriage Story” are deep dives into the mysteries of mortal- ity and marital union. Timelessness and tenderness also have their virtues. What all the major honorees this year indicate is that filmmakers are pick- ing up the need for a kinder, gentler and more compassionate reckoning with the darkness on the edge of prosperity. Who- ever wins the various awards, it’s already clear that the concerns of the moviego- ers are being heard and then artistically STEVEN GAYDOS imagined and produced as vital 2019 Variety executive vice president, global content filmgoing experiences. 6 VARIETY Cover Photograph by Caitlin Cronenberg TOP BILLING ONSEE THE HER LAM JodieMargot Turner-Smith Robbie’s character and inDaniel “Bombshell,” Kaluuya starabout in sexual IN THE OPENING shot of Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in “Queenharassment & Slim.” at Fox News, was Translation” (2003), Scarlett Johansson is lying on photographed and dressed in a bed, back to the camera, shown in partial view, a way to highlight her sex appeal in order to under- wearing underpants. In Ridley Scott’s “Blade Run- score the film’s point. ner 2049” (2017) a banged-up Ryan Gosling stares up at a bone-thin, enormous nude projection of a woman. More recently, Jay Roach’s “Bombshell” (2019) featured Margot Robbie lifting her dress for John Lithgow as the camera takes in her legs. All typical images from Hollywood films, all doing their job: telling story, building charac- ter and providing context. These are images that have been used in cinema almost since its begin- nings more than 100 years ago. But what if many shots framed and filmed by directors and cine- matographers — men, women, nonbinary — actu- ally do something else, too — like undercut every other progressive stride women make on the cam- era, and in real life? That thesis is being put forward by indepen- dent filmmaker Nina Menkes, who’s been making waves with her talk, “Sex and Power: The Visual Language of Oppression,” at festivals. Now, with her upcoming documentary “Brainwashed,” set to be released in the fall, Menkes is aiming to take the discussion about how shot design affects our perception of women to a wider audience. As she notes, there’s a direct connection between how women are shown on the screen, their lack of proportional presence in key industry roles and the abuse and harassment that fueled the #MeToo movement. “I am not here to tell you how to shoot your film,” she says. “The point is to bring conscious- ness and awareness to a way of photographing women that has been so normalized no one even notices it.” And because it’s not obvious, it’s harder to weed out. “For years, as women we’ve been expected to relate to the white male protagonist — because that’s the person whose perspective is illumi- nated, and they’re the most complex, entertaining person in the film,” says director Marielle Heller (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”). “It’s about asking filmmakers what they’re try- ing to achieve,” says Madeline Di Nonno, CEO, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. “What are they trying to say? Is there a way to depict Filmmakers Reframe their vision without objectifying the female character?” The answer seems to be “yes,” but it requires the Male Gaze conscious thought to rewire long-held notions of how to light, frame or block a shot. “If I feel that Spidey sense that something is cringey, I ask, ‘Can this be done in a more power- IT’S NOT ENOUGH FOR WOMEN TO BE BEHIND THE ful, respectful way?’ ” says Catherine Hardwicke CAMERA, DIRECTORS MUST RETHINK TROPES (“Miss Bala”). “Certain shots don’t work that I’ve had imprinted on my brain. It’s a challenge to By Randee Dawn walk the line.” HILARY B. GAYLE/LIONSGATE B. HILARY 8 VARIETY.COM TOP BILLING Asking the questions is a start, but in voice around and place it on different images,” interpretations,” she says. “Saying that show- many cases filmmakers unconsciously hew to says director Numa Perrier (“Jezebel”). ing torsos and body parts could never be in long-established rules or tropes in their cam- “There’s often an utter neglect and dismis- service of a positive message is too strident.” era setups that inherently disempower female siveness that’s present — a director could have Although “Bombshell” director Roach characters. made choices to focus on a woman, but they declined to comment for this report, in Decem- “People are replicating a system and bias only focus on the man.” ber, Variety’s Amy Nicholson wrote about the they aren’t even aware of,” says Kirsten Schaf- Ageism in hiring non-20something perform- scene in a story about how filmmakers create fer, executive director, Women in Film. “Even ers can also contribute to that desire for flatten- safe sets, noting that Roach used extra cameras, well-intentioned male directors don’t realize ing soft focus, says DP Natasha Braier (“Honey which recorded the moment simultaneously how easy it is for cultural norms to pass on.” Boy”). “Women are expected to be treated with from three setups to get through the assault in “I am conscious of it,” says writer-director- more care with lighting, if they are not super- fewer, fresher takes. showrunner Noah Hawley (“Lucy in the Sky,” young, or anything after 30,” she says. “Some- “It was a disturbing scene to read. It was a “Fargo”), who adds that he’s made efforts to times it comes from the director, but many disturbing thing to reenact,” says Robbie. “But avoid the male gaze where relevant. “The real- times from the actress herself.” Jay is one of the most sensitive and emotionally ity is, it has the insidious power of being con- Nor is it only about live-action female por- in-tune directors I’ve ever worked with, so I felt sidered ‘normal,’ in that the history of cinema trayals; Marge Dean, president, Women in Ani- completely safe.” is primarily male, and male directors tend to mation, says the issues Menkes raises “are One area of general agreement, though, film women the way they see them, as opposed living hard in adult animation. The character appears to be in the solution: Get more women to the way women see themselves.” design, camera angles … movement or action into jobs where they control all sides of the sto- And one reason it may be critical to redefine [and] lighting are all set up to render women as rytelling. To some, this is more critical than “normal” in shooting women on film is, as sev- narrow characters that are disempowered.” realigning whether women’s stories are told eral directors point out, it’s a short hop from Of the Oscar-nominated toons, only “Toy with the correct lighting or point of view. portraying female characters as objects or sym- Story 4” has a powerful female lead: Bo Peep, “I can’t help but feel this discussion [of cam- bols on screen to doing so in the real world. who clearly chooses to embrace an independent era angles] is premature,” says Lloyd. “We’ve “Objectifying women on screen emphasizes life away from a child “owner.” got to get there first.