Jan 2, 2020

Female filmmakers' record-setting year

Axios

Writer-director Greta Gerwig (left) and Meryl Streep on set of "Little Women.” Photo: Wilson Webb/Sony Pictures via AP

Women directed 12 of 2019’s top 100-grossing films — the most ever recorded, AP reports.

Why it matters: The previous high in USC’s annual study was 8%, in 2008. In 2018, only 4.5% of the year’s top films were directed by women.

  • Four women of color directed one of the top 100 movies in 2019, but the number of underrepresented directors dipped to 16.8% from last year’s record of 21.4%, per AP.

Between the lines: Despite the gains, female filmmakers have been largely overlooked in this awards season.

  • No women were nominated for best director at this weekend's Golden Globes, and none of the Best Picture nominees were directed by women, either.

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Exclusive poll: Women lock in on 2020

Democratic women are gearing up to become even more engaged around the 2020 election than they've been in recent years, according to a new survey by American University's Women & Politics Institute and the Barbara Lee Family Foundation provided exclusively to Axios.

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Goldman Sachs CEO says bank won't take companies public without one female or minority board candidate

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told CNBC Thursday the investment bank won't help companies go public unless they have at least one diverse board candidate, “with a focus on women,” starting in July.

Why it matters: Government and shareholders are pressing public companies to put more women on boards. Goldman’s announcement will push some private companies to think about diversifying their boards before going public.

Go deeperArrowJan 23, 2020
Axios

"Joker" leads Oscar nominations with 11

Photo: Dean Treml/AFP via Getty Images

"Joker" led the way among Academy Award nominees on Monday, nabbing 11 nods, including Best Picture.

The big picture: The awards ceremony — like last year's — is set to be a showdown between traditional Hollywood studios and new streaming giants. Netflix's "The Irishman" and "Marriage Story" both got a nomination for Best Picture and nabbed a number of top acting nominations as well.

The top nomineesArrowJan 13, 2020