The “Ghostbusters” director discussed women in comedy and we are listening
If you’re looking for a director who fights for women in male-dominated Hollywood …who you gonna call?
Well, Paul Feig, for one.
Feig, a USC alum and the director (ICYMI) of fantastic female-driven films like Bridesmaids and Ghostbusters, recently spoke about women in comedy during his alma mater’s annual USC Comedy Festival.
And he pulled no punches describing the sexism he’s witnessed in the film industry.
“When we were making Bridesmaids, the whole industry was on hold for women — I had a lot of female writer friends who were going out and trying to sell movies in the same world, with female leads, and all the executives said, ‘Well, we’ve gotta wait and see how Bridesmaids does,’ which is completely f*cked,” said Feig...
…especially since, at the time, Bridesmaids was expected to flop. But the film ended up as an incredible success, raking in more than $26 million on its opening weekend alone.
Bridesmaids broke the ground for other female-driven comedies, including this year’s women-centric Ghostbusters reboot. But even then, Feig was fielding some bizarre comments from other filmmakers.
“I’d had so many producers and stuff pull me aside and go like, ‘So, you don’t want to get pigeonholed into this. You’re going to be, like, this women’s director,’” Feig said.
“Like, what the f*ck does that mean? Do you pull Scorsese aside and say, ‘Mmm…you’re working with a lot of men…’”
SLAYYYYY.
Hopefully, Paul Feig’s sass, awareness, and general awesomeness will spread throughout the film industry — and the new USC scholarship in his name might help.
Now who’s ready for a Ghostbusters sequel?!?!
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