There has been a call over the last few years for more women and people of colour to be represented both on screen and behind the camera, particularly after with this year’s Oscar nominations where every single director nominated was white and male. William Friedkin, director of classic movies such as The Exorcist and The French Connection, has given his views on the matter in an interview with Cinephilia & Beyond, and says that there isn’t a gender or race imbalance and calls for women to “put themselves forward”.
“I’ve been in Hollywood for fifty years and I have never met an executive of a television or movie company, or a talent agency, that was prejudiced against people of different colors or against women. I’ve never met anyone,” he said. “Now, why there are more men directing films than women, I can’t answer that. But it’s not because of prejudice. It’s a question like why there are more white basketball or football players in America. Most of them are black, or from another country. Why is that? The only answer to that is that they compete and that they’re better! Wherever women can compete, they get the jobs. I don’t know anyone who’s prejudiced against African-Americans or women, I’ve just never seen it. Why is that there are more black athletes? Because they’re better. So what should we do? Should we get some legislation or pass some rules that there have to be more white players? No, you can’t do that! Why are the greatest painters that ever lived mostly white men? I don’t know! Women are free to paint. But you cannot pass diversity laws in an art form.”
He also asks why there are more Chinese women in the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and proceeded to answer his own question.
“I can’t explain why that is, but that is an open playing field, and I believe that cinema is too,” he continues. “I have never heard of a man running a studio, talent agency or a network saying, ‘Oh, I don’t want to hire a woman for that job.’ But women have to put themselves forward. …All I can say is that I’m certain people have faced obstacles in trying to work in all the art forms or in sports. I was a pretty good basketball player when I was a kid in high school, but I could never play on a professional basketball team. There was no way anybody could pass a diversity law so that I could. I just wasn’t good enough. And that’s hard for people to face. If you’re good enough, you’re gonna work. All this other stuff to me is just smoke screen… Anyone who would deny a talented woman, or a talented member of a racial minority, a job, is just an asshole, and not fit to be in a position to hire,” he adds. “Are there assholes in every business in every industry, in every country? You bet. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be cured by some kind of diversity rule.”
Recently, Meryl Streep noted that there aren’t enough female critics in the world, something Friedkin seem to take exception to. “who the fuck is counting the gender of critics?!” he said. “What is that? Are we now asking for diversity among film critics? Oh my God! What is the world coming to? Let me just say this to you. I guess in the United States, which is all I can speak about, I think there are probably now more women than men. So the whole concept about how many women will be critics or directors or whatever is bound to change. In terms of African-Americans, there are fewer African-Americans in this country than white people, and as their numbers grow, there are bound to be more African-Americans in all facets of the art. Just by sheer numbers.”
What do you make of Friedkin’s comments?
Originally published December 9, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
