Reese Witherspoon, Brie Larson and more commit to “4% Challenge” supporting female directors
The campaign urges filmmakers and actors to work with a female director in the next 18 months
Stars including Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Jordan Peele and Captain Marvel actor Brie Larson have pledged to take on the “4% Challenge” to support female directors.
The challenge urges filmmakers and actors to work with a female director within the next 18 months, in light of statistics showing that only 4% of the 100 top-grossing films of the past 10 years were helmed women.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgQHdIAa0GU&list=PLbs-Pk9dtKb8YP3Qd5UDiUQqkuzd776iF
Developed by the Time’s Up campaign group, the challenge was sparked by Thor actor Tessa Thompson who announced her commitment to the cause at an inclusion panel at the Sundance film festival.
“Because only 4% of the top 100 studio films over the last decade have been directed by women, #TIMESUP is initiating a challenge, the 4% challenge, and I intend to take it: I commit to working with a female director in the next 18 months,” she said.
https://twitter.com/TIMESUPNOW/status/1089039210680438784
A string of stars soon made the same pledge on Twitter…
https://twitter.com/RWitherspoon/status/1089279085182763008
https://twitter.com/kerrywashington/status/1088936721725702146
https://twitter.com/brielarson/status/1089251570158493696
And after another call from Thompson, male stars like Jordan Peele and Paul Feig also took up the challenge.
https://twitter.com/TessaThompson_x/status/1089277945640759296
https://twitter.com/JordanPeele/status/1089348572657504256
https://twitter.com/paulfeig/status/1089192045841928194
The 4% Challenge comes after no women were nominated for a Best Director Oscar for the second year in a row. Only five women have ever been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars in the ceremony’s entire 90-year history.