Celebrate Equal Pay Day By Debating Which Man Should Direct BATGIRL

An open letter to Hollywood.

By Apr. 10, 2018

So hey, Team DC. 

We know you’re having trouble with this Batgirl movie you’re trying to make. Noted male director Joss Whedon left the project a couple months ago, and now you’ve got a new screenwriter on the case, with no new male director in sight.

So we’re sure you’re looking for the next male director to hire to direct Batgirl.

Let us at Birth.Movies.Death. extend a helping hand, offering this alphabetised list of directors, all of whom have directed at least one feature or a sizeable body of prestige television work, who we think might bring something interesting to the project. Not everyone listed here has directed something action-heavy or expensive, but hey - that didn’t stop Universal from hiring Colin Trevorrow for two big dinosaur movies.

And yeah, we know: you’re looking for a male director, and these names don’t sound male, but trust us: just look into them. They've done good work, and they could do more good work - for you.

  • Lexi Alexander (Punisher: War Zone; Supergirl)
  • Ana Lily Amirpour (The Bad Batch; Legion)
  • Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect 2; Charlie’s Angels)
  • Roxanne Benjamin (Southbound; Body at Brighton Rock)
  • Susanne Bier (Academy Award winner, In A Better World; The Night Manager)
  • Kathryn Bigelow (Academy Award winner, The Hurt Locker)
  • Jane Campion (Academy Award nominee and Palme D’Or winner, The Piano)
  • Niki Caro (Whale Rider; Mulan)
  • Annie Clark aka St Vincent (XX; The Picture of Dorian Gray)
  • Sofia Coppola (Academy Award nominee, Lost in Translation; The Beguiled)
  • Claire Denis (Trouble Every Day; Let The Sunshine In) 
  • Kate Dennis (GLOW; The Tick; Preacher)
  • Mattie Do (Dearest Sister, Chanthaly)
  • Ava DuVernay (Selma; A Wrinkle In Time)
  • Isabella Eklöf (Holiday)
  • Coralie Fargeat (Revenge)
  • Jodie Foster (Black Mirror; House of Cards)
  • Veronika Franz (Goodnight Mommy)
  • Katrin Gebbe (Nothing Bad Can Happen)
  • Greta Gerwig (Academy Award nominee, Lady Bird)
  • Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight; Miss Bala)
  • Mary Harron (American Psycho)
  • Amy Heckerling (Fast Times At Ridgemont High; Clueless)
  • Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl; You Are My Friend)
  • Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman)
  • Angelina Jolie (Unbroken; First They Killed My Father)
  • Jennifer Kent (The Babadook; The Nightingale)
  • Karyn Kusama (The Invitation; Jennifer’s Body)
  • Melanie Laurent (Breathe; Galveston)
  • Mimi Leder (The Leftovers; Deep Impact)
  • Issa López (Tigers Are Not Afraid)
  • Michelle MacLaren (Game of Thrones; Breaking Bad; The Nightingale (a different one to Kent's))
  • Reed Morano (The Handmaid’s Tale; I Think We’re Alone Now)
  • Sarah Polley (Take This Waltz; Away With Her)
  • Lynne Ramsay (We Need To Talk About Kevin; You Were Never Really Here)
  • Dee Rees (Mudbound; Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams)
  • Floria Sigismondi (American Gods; Daredevil; The Runaways)
  • Kari Skogland (The Walking Dead; Boardwalk Empire; Penny Dreadful)
  • Agnieszka Smoczynska (The Lure)
  • Penelope Spheeris (Suburbia; Wayne’s World)
  • Rachel Talalay (Tank Girl; Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare)
  • Julie Taymor (Titus; Frida)
  • Jovanka Vuckovic (XX; Riot Girls)
  • Jenn Wexler (The Ranger)

Some of these folks might be busy. Some might want nothing to do with a comic book adaptation. But give ‘em a call, executives. You might be surprised - and you might get a hell of a movie.

Love,
The Birth.Movies.Death. team.

What do you think, readers? Have we forgotten anyone? Let us know - not because we’re scared we forgot anyone, but because we’d genuinely love to hear what further female directors are out there. It’s always good to find some new filmmakers to follow.

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