The first woman to direct a “blockbuster”
Men have always dominated the cinematic canon. From Alfred Hitchcock to Quentin Tarantino, male directors have been endlessly celebrated, funded, and rewarded for their contributions to film. This is particularly true of blockbusters – from James Cameron’s Avatar films to the Russo brothers’ Avengers series, the highest budget, highest-grossing films of all time have almost always placed a man at the helm.
The women of cinema have often been forgotten, pushed aside, or subjected to harsher standards than their male counterparts, and it’s all the more difficult for women of colour. This makes it even more impressive when women break through the boundaries against them, succeeding in their cinematic ventures. One such breakthrough came in 1988 when Penny Marshall became the first woman to direct a blockbuster.
Marshall began her directorial career on a television show called Laverne and Shirley, which she also starred in. In 1986, she helmed the Whoopi Goldberg film Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Even though the film was received poorly, a producer named James L. Brooks looked past the film’s failure and recruited Marshall for a film called Big.
The film starred Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a 12-year-old boy who wishes to grow bigger. When he divulges this wish to a wish-granting fortune-teller machine, it becomes his reality, and Josh finds himself stuck in an adult body. Upon its release, Big received unparalleled critical and commercial success, going on to gross over $151million. It marked itself as the first film made by a woman to earn over $100million.
In an interview with TODAY following the release of the film, anchor Jane Pauley asked Marshall about the film’s revolutionary success. Pauley states that her success is unprecedented for a female director, and Marshall sheepishly responds, “I hear that too.” Modestly, she states, “I think the movie is a good movie, but it’s shocking that it got this big.”
The film’s unprecedented success placed similarly weighted pressure on Marshall, who felt she needed to deliver another hit to follow on from Big: “You’re always scared of failing on something. Now, the pressure that you make a hit, the next project has to be. I thought I would just be learning… But now the pressure’s a little higher.”
Fortunately, Marshall delivered another blockbuster just four years later with A League of Their Own. Marking her second collaboration with star Tom Hanks, the Baseball dramedy pushed her over the $100million dollar mark once more.
Marshall’s 1988 summer blockbuster was a huge turning point for women looking to make it in the industry. Since then, a number of other blockbusters have been helmed by women, including Captain Marvel, Frozen 2, and Wonder Woman. Still, the list of the highest-grossing films of all time is overwhelmingly dominated by white men.
From Lois Weber becoming the first woman to direct a feature film in 1914 to Kathryn Bigelow becoming the first and only woman to win the ‘Best Director’ Oscar in 2010, women have made incredible strides in cinema. However, there are still a disappointing number of “firsts” we’re waiting on for women in the film industry.
