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Actors-turned-directors are hardly a new phenomenon in Hollywood, but the women wearing both hats have rarely received equal invitations to the Oscars. The men have earned 20 Oscar acting nominations for films they directed, as well as eight receiving directing and acting nods for the same film. No woman has achieved this feat, but Olivia Wilde may be the first. With “The Invited,” Wilde’s third feature as a director, he’s made the strongest case yet for his work behind the camera and given himself an acting role that could put him in the Oscar history books. In a year filled with big-budget contenders including Christopher Nolan’s mythological epic “The Odyssey,” Los Angeles’ Spanish-language drama “La Bola Negra” and Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming “Dune: Part Three,” Wilde’s film remains a rapturous crowd-pleaser. General audiences are in droves, and industry voters flock to awards screenings even when the film is available to watch at home. “The Invite” is fast emerging as A24’s strongest awards bet of the season. Worth noting is that Wilde has also joined the directing race, with some women appearing to be among the leading contenders. On Variety’s most recently published Best Director Predictions chart (dated October 8), she appears in the top 30 with only two other female filmmakers: Sian Heder for “Being Human” and Beth de Araujo for “Josephine”. If Wilde receives nominations for both acting and directing, she will join eight men who have received acting and directing nominations for the same film: Orson Welles: “Citizen Kane” (1941) Laurence Olivier: “Hamlet” (1948) Woody Allen: “Annie Hall” (1977) Warren Beatty: “Heaven Can Wait” (1978) and “Reds” (1981) Kenneth Branagh: “Henry V” (1989) Kevin Costner: “Dances with Wolves” (1990) Clint Eastwood: ”Unforgiven” (1992) and ”Million Dollar Baby” (2004) Roberto Benigni: ”Life Is Beautiful” (1997) So Beatty and Eastwood have done it twice each, but a woman hasn’t done it even once? This has to change, no? Submitted by /u/ThrowawayGreenWitch |
