Chloë Sevigny speaks out on Hollywood sexism

We all know the stories from the Hollywood casting couch of yesteryear, where young stars, both male and female, were expected to do more than just give a good acting performance to land a role. According to Chloë Sevigny, times haven’t changed that much. Speaking to The Guardian while promoting her directorial debut, short film Kitty, the cult star of Kids, Boys Don't Cry and the soon-to-be-released Love & Friendship revealed that practices in Hollywood haven’t got any less predatory.

“I’m not going to name any names, but I will say that I did audition for a couple of bigger mainstream directors and they were creepy situations,” she told The Guardian’s Benjamin Lee. “One asked me afterwards, ‘What are you doing after the audition?’ which is just inappropriate obviously knowing what he wanted. Another one wanted to bring me shopping and have me try on clothes for him.”

The worst, however, was the director who said she should get naked on screen more often. “I went in dressed a little provocatively,” she recalls. “It was kind of dressing the part, you know? And he was like, ‘Oh, you should definitely show your body off more before you get too old,’ like this other actress who had been recently naked [in a film]. He was like, ‘You should show it off now, you never show your body,’ And I was like, ‘Actually I’ve been nude in almost every movie I’ve ever done, so I don’t know what you’re watching.’”

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Sevigny is clearly well aware of the challenges and prejudices facing her as she moves into directing, and left her sharpest commentary for the problems facing female filmmakers. “I feel like male directors, some of these people I can see out of the corner of my eye, are often [seen as] ‘the mad genius,’” she says. “The behaviors that they’re allowed to get away with are celebrated and that makes people think that they are even more talented because they exude these behaviors that are eccentric, whereas when females do it they get labeled as crazy and they don’t work again. I just feel like, why can’t the woman be the mad genius as well? There’s not room for that just now, unfortunately. Women get judged in such an unfair way.”

Last year at Cannes, the biggest controversy revolved around whether women could cross the red carpet without wearing heels. This year the political battles seem more pointed and urgent. Susan Sarandon echoed similar sentiments to Sevigny several days earlier at the festival, at an event celebrating the 25 year anniversary of kickass female buddy movie Thelma & Louise, in which Sarandon starred with Geena Davis. When asked if the iconic road movie could be made today, Sarandon hit back with the withering comment, "Maybe as an animation? After Thelma & Louise, they predicted there would be so many films starring women. But it didn't happen."

But her Thelma & Louise co-star, speaking at the same event, was more optimistic. “The thing about film is it can change overnight,” said Davis. “It isn’t like real life, where it takes so long to get women to be half of Congress or boards or CEOs. The next movie somebody makes can be gender-balanced. We don’t have to sneak up on it, just do it.”

We hope Davis is right. Things might even be changing at the traditionally male dominated Cannes: a female director could be in line to pick up the Palme d’Or. It’s only happened once before in the award’s 61-year history, with Jane Campion winning in 1993 for The Piano, but with only a few films still to show in competition, German filmmaker Maren Ade looks to be one of the favourites for her charming comedy Toni Erdmann. Change may be in the air.

Toni Erdmann trailer