Hathaway mistrusted female directors
As one of many who have spoken out about needing greater representation of women in the film industry, Anne Hathaway has admitted that, in the past, she has had trouble trusting a female director due to what may have been “internalized misogyny,” reports The Guardian.
Hathaway’s comments are timely, with a study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film having recently found that only seven per cent of the 250 highest- grossing films of 2016 were directed by women.
In an i nter view with ABC’s Popcorn with Peter Travers, Hathaway said that she was worried that she “resisted” Lone Scherfig, who directed her in 2011’s One Day, because she is female.
“I really regret not trusting her more easily,” Hathaway said. “And I am to this day scared that the reason I didn’t trust her the way I trust some of the other directors I work with is because she’s a woman. It’s so hard to admit. And I hope people understand that it’s hard to admit.
“I’m so scared that I treated her with i nternalized misogyny. And I’m scared I didn’t give her everything she needed because I was resisting her on some level,” Hathaway said, adding that it may have impacted her acting choices. “When I get a script, (if ) I see (it’s) a first film directed by a woman, I have in the past focused on what was wrong with it. And when I see (it’s) directed by a man, I focus on what’s right with it. I had actively tried to work with female directors. And I still had this mindset buried in there somewhere.”
Although she felt embarrassed to admit this, Hathaway said she feels it’s important that it become a point of discussion on how sexism can leave an impact on the industry in ways we don’t realize: “I’m getting red talking about this. It feels like a confession, but I think it’s something we should talk about. I can only acknowledge that I’ve done that and I don’t want to do that anymore, and maybe talking about it could make someone else think about whether or not they do it.”
And there’s no bad blood. Hathaway said she’d be giving Scherfig a call after the i nterview, but Scherfig’s representative also contacted ABC to say that while she “is deep in pre- production of her next film and is consumed by it, she asked me to express her love and admiration for Anne and her work."