Geena Davis will produce a feature-length documentary about gender inequality in Hollywood. According to Variety, the actor will work on the project with the film-maker Tom Donahue, who also directed HBO documentary Casting By.
“I’ve been encouraged by my peers speaking out on gender disparity in recent years, but we still are not seeing the actual number change,” Davis said. “There’s been no real improvement in the number of female roles since 1946, and there’s still a dearth of female directors.”
The film will include information gathered by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media and testimonials from women in the film industry. “This documentary will allow us to share what has worked, and to highlight our successes and impact on the industry,” Davis said. The film will also attempt to explore solutions to the problem.
Davis recently expressed frustration with the lack of female roles in the film and TV industry. “When I started watching Breaking Bad, I binge-watched it,” she said. “I thought it was so good that I started to cry. It’s the only time in my life I’ve been completely jealous … I was like, ‘I want to do what Bryan Cranston gets to do. I want a part like that.’”
In the 1980s and 90s, Davis was one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood, with roles in The Fly, Thelma & Louise, Beetlejuice and A League of Their Own. She’ll next appear in a TV version of The Exorcist, and will co-star with Tim Robbins and Jon Hamm in the forthcoming sci-fi film Marjorie Prime.
