Hollywood icon Jodie Foster, reflecting on her transformation from a young director to a veteran, recently expressed her amazement at how much the film industry has changed over the years, particularly when it comes to how it treats women.
She highlighted the success of Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" in a candid interview with "Time", the same magazine that featured her on its cover in 1991 when she was set to direct her first feature "Little Man Tate".
"This is not a business that is kind to women," she said of the film industry back in 1991. Now, things are much, much different. Speaking to "Time" for her role in HBO's "True Detective: Night Country," Foster recalled her earlier sentiments with a hint of surprise. "Sometimes I read things I said in my 20s and I'm like, really? But that's a pretty good one," she added, noting the way she feels has indeed shifted.
"I couldn't be prouder to have watched Greta Gerwig this year with 'Barbie'," she said. Still, the film, which grossed $1.4 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing movie in Warner Bros.' history, was something Foster admits she "never thought was going to happen."
This milestone comes decades after Foster directed "Little Man Tate", a film that saw commercial success, grossing $25 million against a $10 million production budget. Since then, Foster has directed several features including "The Beaver" and "Money Monster," and has helmed episodes for TV shows like "House of Cards" and "Black Mirror".
Currently, Foster is appearing regularly in HBO's "True Detective: Night Country", which premiered to 2 million viewers on HBO and Max. Though it's clear she's changed significantly in terms of her views on what Hollywood is capable of and how it handles the women who want to work within the industry, though unfortunately the success of "Barbie" is still very much an outlier and not the norm.
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