Women in Film Quotes

One of the things that we've tried to do with the 'Guardians' films is to allow the women to be full characters.

I really feel like becoming a director came from other women saying, 'Yeah, you can do this.' I wanted to direct 'Six Feet Under,' and no, they didn't let me.

What was so exciting for me about Wakanda and seeing 'Black Panther' was how incredible the women were in it.

I don't understand why there aren't more powerful female directors. I don't have the answers, but I hope that things may start to shift and that studios will employ more women to handle strong and interesting material.

I think people like Lena Dunham really opened up the door to what was possible, and they've inspired young women to go into filmmaking and writing and directing and acting in a way that maybe they didn't before, because now there is a path and there are jobs.

Disney has proved without a shadow of a doubt that movies with a female lead work.

You know, with the film industry crews, there's an odd mix between a very technical and a very artistic approach to the work, and sometimes as a woman you have to be a little bit careful about how things come out because people don't really want to listen if it's in a certain emotional tone or too strong.

One woman who I think is great is Vidya Balan: her casting in 'The Dirty Picture' was very exciting. Let's break new grounds; let's think beyond the usual. Why can't a woman who plays a mother also play a lover, or why a lover can't play a villain?

I think the press is doing a wonderful job of putting the pressure on the decision-makers in Hollywood to support more female directors.

There was a time when it was important culturally to have the word 'actress,' I suppose, but when it comes to awards ceremonies, we don't have 'Best Directress' or 'Best Cinematographeress!'

There is more for women in terms of character roles now. Judi Dench and Maggie Smith have constantly changed over the years and challenged themselves with different roles. That's impressive.

There are woefully few women CEOs in the world, but there can be lots of them in films.

I'd love to hear what confident, intelligent women in the industry have to say: Rachel McAdams, Carey Mulligan, Angelina Jolie, Kristen Wiig and Tina Fey. I would stand in line all day for that panel.

For acting, if there's a strong female role and there is that action element, for me that just feels really natural.

If you're a woman, just make a freaking good movie. I don't believe in the women who say, 'It's too hard, I'm getting shot down.'

I started to have these ideas for films. They were like running images in my head. But I didn't think I could be a director. I just literally didn't think it was a possibility. Then I started to suddenly see films of women.

It's a huge change from when I started in the 1960s, but what is really impressive is that the number of ladies on set, the women working on set is a huge percentage. There used to be no women. It was just the leading lady's mother, perhaps the hairdresser and the makeup person.

There's really no precedent for someone like me gaining clout in the space that I'm in - a black woman directing films in Hollywood.

In the not-for-profit world, I never felt that being female was an impediment. I was, however, given my break into commercial theatre by a female producer, Judy Craymer, and women - in particular, Donna Langley, president of production at Universal - were crucial in giving 'Mamma Mia' a home in Hollywood.

I think Kellie Martin, Reese Witherspoon and Claire Danes represent the future for women in film, and I would be honored to share the stage with any one of them.

Should 50 per cent of Telefilm's projects be helmed, produced, or written by women? I think so.

I noticed that, on 'Spooks,' there were a lot of women behind the camera and in different departments.

There has never been a female director who has won an Oscar. There has only been one woman who won at the Cannes Film Festival.

When I was first starting out was also when I first started really paying attention to the Oscars and stuff like that. And I remember thinking, 'Wow, everything is great for women in Hollywood, because Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Jessica Lange, Sally Field - they're all doing incredible work.'

I'm encouraging these women, like Cheryl Strayed, to take the jump to writing for the screen. She is adapting her book Tiny Beautiful Things for us. They're infinitely capable of tackling the format.