Jodie Foster has signed on to star in the sci-fi film “Hotel Artemis,” THR writes. She’ll play a character called “The Nurse,” in the “near-future thriller that is set in its own distinctive crime universe.” The film will mark the directorial debut of Drew Pearce, a screenwriter with little directorial experience.
As Women and Hollywood previously reported, Pearce’s directing experience is limited to the 14-minute “Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King,” and a couple of videos for Funny or Die. This is yet another example of a another male director with very little directing experience has been given the job of directing what’s most likely a big-budget film.
“Casting Jodie Foster is a real coup. She is an extraordinary talent and will bring something very special to the film. We are delighted to welcome her to this exciting production,” said producing house The Ink Factory’s Stephen Cornwell. “Drew’s vision is unique and we can’t wait to see it brought to life by a stellar cast.”
While we absolutely love Foster, a powerhouse actress who has won Oscars for “The Accused” and “The Silence of the Lambs,” and has ventured into directing herself, helming the movies “Money Monster,” and “The Beaver,” as well as episodes for hit series such as “Orange is the New Black” and “Black Mirror,” we really wish this was not another instance of a man with no feature film experience getting a big time gig.
While we don’t know the proposed budget of “Hotel Artemis,” as a science fiction film, it will almost certainly involve special effects, and action-heavy sequences that require a lot of money — money that isn’t given to female directors. Women have no access to capital. The Hollywood big shots simply won’t want to risk a tentpole or big-budget film on a woman (even one with experience, yet have no problem giving that to a man with no experience.
But Foster herself has commented on this issue before, saying that studios, “make enormous movies tentpole films and they’ll be all in, kind of like a casino bet. That’s a really dangerous bet,” and that “People still see…women as a risk and I’m not sure why.” She simultaneously sees the need for female directors yet has said she is rather “sick” of the conversation and doesn’t see quotas as the answer. But if studios don’t take the initiative, women are still going to be left behind.
Just last week, “Star Wars” producer Kathleen Kennedy essentially said that there are no female directors with enough experience to helm a “Star Wars” movie, and that she’d rather groom one from the ground up. It’s an admirable cause, but this sentiment completely ignores the fact that plenty of male directors are given the chance to direct big budget films without such grooming, or are fresh off of helming smaller indies. Male directors are given these huge projects over more experienced female directors for no other reason than their gender. “Hotel Artemis” might turn out to be a great female-led film, but it’s yet another example of a studio handing the reins of a big-budget project to a guy with little to no experience, when loads of experienced women are waiting in the wings.
