Brie Larson Calls for Greater Diversity Among Film Critics

Brie Larson is extending the call for more diversity in Hollywood to the journalists who cover the industry.

“Am I saying I hate white dudes? No, I am not,” Larson said Wednesday night when accepting the Crystal Award for Excellence in Film at the Women in Film Lucy and Crystal Awards. “What I am saying is if you make a movie that is a love letter to women of color, there is an insanely low chance a woman of color will have a chance to see your movie, and review your movie.”

Larson noted a recent study from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which found that more than 63 percent of film critics are white and male, and only 18.1 percent were white and female (Dr. Stacy L. Smith, one of the authors of the study, is pictured above with Larson).

Even fewer — only 4.1 percent — were women from underrepresented groups, according to the study.

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“I don’t need a 40-year-old white dude to tell me what didn’t work about ‘A Wrinkle in Time,'” Larson added. “It wasn’t made for him. I want to know what it meant to women of color, biracial women, to teen women of color.”

The top critics on @RottenTomatoes are OVERWHELMINGLY white and male. The newest report from @Inclusionists @USC shows a vast underrepresentation of diverse voices: https://t.co/WyvVNR0XkU #InclusionCrisis #30302020

— Brie Larson (@brielarson) June 11, 2018

Larson went on to say that while “it sucks that reviews matter,” the fact that reviews can greatly help or hurt a film’s success is just that — a fact of the industry.

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“Good reviews out of festivals give small independent films a fighting chance to be bought and seen. Good reviews help films gross money, good reviews slingshot films into awards contenders,” the Oscar winner said. “A good review can change your life. It changed mine.”

Larson said that both the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals will allocate at least 20 percent of press credentials to underrepresented journalists moving forward.

“I hope this is just the start. I hope there are more opportunities for these critics and journalists,” she said.

Women in Cannes: A Short History of Small Victories and Decades of Male Dominance (Photos)

From the time it first took place in 1946, the Cannes Film Festival has been dominated by male directors. Here are some milestones over the years when they did recognize the contributions of women.
1946:

Barbara Virginia, the first female Portuguese movie director, also becomes the first woman in competition at Cannes when the inaugural festival accepts her film “Tres Dias Sem Deus” as part of the lineup.
1954:

Two women are chosen for the main competition for the first time: Carmen Tocano for the documentary “Memories of a Mexican” (which she co-directed with her father Salvador) and Japanese actor-director Kinuyo Tanaka (above) with “Love Letter.”
1957:

Mexican-born actress Dolores del Rio becomes the first woman to serve on the Cannes jury.
1961:

For the first time, Cannes’ best director award is won by a woman: Yuliya Solntsevaa Russian filmmaker who wins for her World War II drama “The Story of the Flaming Years.”
1965:

Olivia de Havilland is named the first female president of the jury.
1968:

Swedish actress and director Mai Zetterling becomes the first woman to be selected for the main competition a second time.
1993:

Jane Campion wins the Palme d’Or for “The Piano,” making her the first (and so far the only) female director to take home Cannes’ top prize.
1998:

Women make up 50 percent of the Cannes jury for the first time, with five of the 10 seats going to writer-director Zoe Valdes and actresses Chiara Mastroianni and, left to right, Sigourney Weaver, Lena Olin and Winona Ryder.
2009:

With the jury slimmed down to its current size, nine members, women are a majority for the first time. Actress Isabelle Huppert, center, is president, with actresses Sharmila Tagore, Robin Wright, Asia Argento and Shu Qi also serving.
2013:

Two actresses, Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos, are pointedly awarded the Palme d’Or for “Blue Is the Warmest Color” alongside their male director, Abdellatif Kechiche. They remain the only performers to be so honored.
2017:

Sofia Coppola becomes the second woman to win Cannes’ best director award, which she receives for “The Beguiled.”

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From the first female director in competition to the first (and only) to win the Palme d’Or, here are a few milestones in a festival that hasn’t been welcoming to women filmmakers

From the time it first took place in 1946, the Cannes Film Festival has been dominated by male directors. Here are some milestones over the years when they did recognize the contributions of women.

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Women in Cannes: A Short History of Small Victories and Decades of Male Dominance (Photos)

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