Hustlers director Lorene Scafaria addresses Hollywood sexism at Golden Globes

Lorene Scafaria isn’t letting the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s lack of female directing nominees rain on her Golden Globes parade.

Though her stripper-centered crime drama Hustlers seemed poised to gain traction throughout awards season with over $100 million in box office receipts and some of the strongest critical reviews of 2019, the film — as well as several other celebrated, female-directed projects like Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood — failed to score nominations in the Globes’ Best Director category. Scafaria feels we should use the moment as a springboard into discussions about gender inequality in the industry at large.

“I think it’s worth talking about the root of the problem and the sexism and misogyny that’s in the air, and maybe the kinds of stories that are valued and thought of as cinema,” she tells EW on the 2020 Golden Globes red carpet. “I think that may lend itself to that kind of thinking, seeing women in power and trying to wrap your head around it. There’s a lot that contributes to it.”

Like, she says, a “really tough” and “stacked” year, leading to one of the most competitive awards season races in recent memory.

“You had legends making great movies, you had some really groundbreaking work. I think it’s the year of Parasite, but, incredible work from women and men,” she continues. “So many movies that I loved certainly aren’t recognized here, including Uncut Gems [and other] movies made by men.”

Still, Hustlers — which follows a group of savvy strippers who band together to scam money out of their wealthy Wall Street clients in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis — wasn’t completely left out of the Golden Globes race, as supporting actress and producer Jennifer Lopez landed a nomination for her performance.

“This is all beyond my expectations, it was a really hard movie to get made and a really tough sell and a tough shoot, so to see it resonate with so many people,” Scafaria says. “Obviously, for Jennifer’s performance to be recognized means so much.”

Watch EW’s red carpet interview with Scafaria at the 2020 Golden Globes above.

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