Colin Trevorrow’s Comments Regarding Female Directors Draw Criticism
Colin Trevorrow, the man who helmed this summer’s blockbuster Jurassic World and was recently announced as the director of Star Wars: Episode IX, has come under fire for comments addressing his female compatriots in Hollywood.
Trevorrow made the remarks while responding to a fan who engaged him on Twitter, as Variety reports. The person in question, Stephan Jansen, asked Trevorrow if he believed that he would have had the opportunity to make Jurassic World if he was a woman.
“I want to believe that a filmmaker with both the desire and ability to make a studio blockbuster will be given an opportunity to make their case,” Trevorrow responded. “I stress desire because I honestly think that’s a part of the issue. Many of the top female directors in our industry are not interested in doing a piece of studio business for its own sake. These filmmakers have clear voices and stories to tell that don’t necessarily involve superheroes or spaceships or dinosaurs.”
@AutisticWeirdo pic.twitter.com/Nt17F2ohMn
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) August 21, 2015
Trevorrow went on to point out that “as an employee of two companies run by brilliant women,” he doesn’t believe that he is naive regarding the issue. The idea of female directors taking on these projects also isn’t a simple question, Trevorrow asserted.
“To me, this is not a simple case of exclusion within an impenetrable corporate system. It’s complex, and it involves a component that I think is rarely discussed — very high levels of artistic and creative integrity among female directors.”
Colin Trevorrow weighs in on the lack of women directors making Hollywood blockbusters: http://t.co/JchH6Bewj7 pic.twitter.com/NxbzOu4xqi
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 22, 2015
Trevorrow’s tweet generated an almost immediate backlash, with actress Jamie King directly addressing him and asserting that his beliefs were “unfortunate.” Trevorrow responded to King, attempting to clarify his position regarding the issue.
“I believe that there is an imbalance in our industry that needs to change, and it will. If I’m muddling my point, I apologize.”
Jaime King responded to Colin Trevorrow’s thoughts on gender imbalance in Hollywood http://t.co/1rV3PyOhgW pic.twitter.com/z66GK6QYpE
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 22, 2015
Trevorrow has previously discussed his thoughts regarding the gender imbalance in Hollywood, speaking to the L.A. Times. The director revealed that he knows many of the female filmmakers who are cited in articles discussing gender inequality, asserting that they are being offered blockbuster projects, but in many cases choose not to pursue them.
“I think it makes them seem like victims to suggest that they’re not getting the opportunities and not artists who know very clearly what kind of stories they want to tell and what films they want to make. To me, that’s the reality.”
Though production on Star Wars: Episode IX is several years from beginning, Colin Trevorrow is scheduled to begin working with Lucasfilm on the project next year.
[Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images]
