Anne Hathaway’s public image has gone through quite an evolution over the past decade, and so, apparently, have her thoughts on working with other women.
In an interview with Popcorn with Peter Travers, Hathaway talked candidly about some of the things her past relationship with director Lone Scherfig (who is both a woman and responsible for the 2011 film One Day) taught her. The movie came up when Travers asked her if there were any projects from the past that she’s learned something from. Hathaway admitted that on set, she had trouble trusting Scherfig’s vision and said, “And I am to this day scared that the reason I didn’t trust her the way I trust some of the other directors I work with is because she’s a woman.”
“I’m so scared that I treated her with internalized misogyny,” she continued, “I’m scared that I didn’t give her everything that she needed or I was resisting her on some level. It’s something that I’ve thought a lot about in terms of when I get scripts to be directed by women.”
“I’m getting red talking about this, it feels like a confession, but I think it’s something we should talk about,” she added.
It’s terrifying to try and be honest about the ways we’re coached to trust Daddy and not Mommy, but Hathaway seems to be very aware of how the industry’s ingrained sexism has influenced her approach to work: “When I get a script, when I see a first film directed by a woman, I have in the past focused on what was wrong with it. And when I see a film directed by a man, I focus on what’s right with it.”
She continued, “I can only acknowledge that I’ve done that and I don’t want to do that anymore,” and explained that even before she became more aware of her biases she’d tried to work more with female directors. She also promised to call Scherfig as soon as the interview ended to apologize, but, via ABC, it seems they’ll be on fine terms:
“Lone Scherfig is deep in pre-production of her next film and is consumed by it,” a representative for Scherfig told ABC News when asked about Hathaway’s comments. “She asked me to express her love and admiration for Anne and her work.”
