Why Lynne Ramsay just set women directors back 20 years...

Lynne Ramsay, the female director of the critically acclaimed WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN made headlines today by failing to show up on the first day of shooting for JANE GOT A GUN, the Natalie Portman, Jude Law starring western.

Those of you unfamiliar with how films are made should know why this is a such a big deal.  When a director decides to make a movie, they begin pre-production.  This involves casting, hiring crew, location scouting, costume and set design, coming up a with a shooting schedule and working the script into the best shape it can be in.  It is a massive undertaking even for a small movie about several people in a room talking.  It is the time when a director acclimates herself to the heartbeat of the film, in order to make her decisions align with the needs of the film.  It is also the time where the cast and crew begin to build a trust with the director, who is captain of the ship.  The director is by far the biggest influence on a film.  Actors and crew must trust her to deliver a vision that will make them all look good.  Directing is a lonely and stressful job...you must have all the answers all the time, and any sign of weakness can literally destroy a film's progress...it is much like a therapist/patient relationship...if the therapist starts to crack, the patient will no longer trust them.  It is also much like a war ship...the captain is the head honcho, and any chinks in his armor has drastic consequences on crew morale, and could even lead to a mutiny.  So you can see why it is so important to keep the bond between director and cast/crew intact.  Steven Spielberg once remarked "even if you don't know what you're doing, pretend you do!"

Once pre-production is done, production begins.  This is when the film is shot.  It is when all the prep work done in the months before shooting will start to pay off and the film comes to life.  A director abandoning a film at this stage is completely traumatic and near fatal for the film's life.  The cast and crew's faith in the film is only as good as their faith in the director.  If she bails, then the film is doomed, because morale affects everything...actors cannot give their all if the director is fucking around.  The crew cannot focus on making the actor look good if the director is fucking around.  Directors are given tons of leeway when it comes to behavior, but abandonment is unforgivable.

That said, Lynne Ramsay has broken the sacred trust a director relies on between herself and her team in order to make the film work.  That's if she even has any intention of returning.  Apparently (per the producer), there is some bad blood between Ramsay and certain members of the team.  But even this is common on film shoots.  It is like a dysfunctional family trying to decorate a house...there will be tantrums and yelling and hurt feelings.  But this is simply water under the bridge in the grand scheme of things.  A film is forever, hurt feelings are temporary.  Now, even if Ramsay returns to work, she has probably irrevocably sabotaged her own film, as she has broken the bonds of trust...if the director of the movie can't even be bothered to show up on the first day, then what hope is there?  Even Lindsay Lohan shows up on the first day!

Now here is why Ramsay's actions have dire consequences for women directors.  It is no secret that Hollywood is a white boy's club.  The vast majority of filmmakers, movie executives and crew members are white males.  It is a male dominated industry...and misogyny runs rampant.  As if producers needed yet ANOTHER reason to not hire female directors, Ramsay throws them all the ammo they need to keep ignoring them.  Katherine Bigelow winning a precedent setting best director Oscar for THE HURT LOCKER was a huge blow to the age old view of women directors as inferior.  Ramsay just destroyed all that progress.  To add insult to injury, Ramsay has a pay-or-play deal; meaning she gets paid whether she finishes the movie or not.  Even Natalie Portman fought to get her attached to the film in the first place.  Even for a male to pull what she pulled would be absolutely unforgivable.  But men wouldn't be short of work afterward.  Nobody is going to say "I will never work with another male director again!"