Jennifer Lawrence didn’t hold back in a recent roundtable discussion for The Hollywood Reporter. Lawrence decided to put male directors on blast in a conversation that spanned topics like the depiction of female trauma onscreen, women directors, and taking ownership of one’s career choices. In her experience, they’re not as calm on set as the female she’s worked with, like “Causeway” director Lila Neugebauer. And the most emotional? Lawrence’s “X-Men” director Bryan Singer, who she cites as having the “biggest hissy fits.”
Lawrence made her comments in a THR roundtable with other actresses Michelle Williams, Michell Yeoh, Emma Corrin, Danielle Deadwyler, and Claire Foy. Before her comments about Singer, Lawrence praised her working experience on “Causeway,” a film she also co-produced. We had a female director [Neugebauer],” said Lawrence. “The schedule made sense. There were no huge fights. If an actor had a personal thing and wanted to leave early, instead of going, ‘Oh! Well, we’d all love to leave early!’ we’d put our heads together and go, ‘OK. How can we figure this out?'” We disagreed, and we listened to each other. Sometimes I was wrong and would learn that I was wrong, and sometimes I was right. It was incredible to not be around toxic masculinity, to get a little break from it.”
Then Lawrence juxtaposed her experience on “Causeway” with earlier productions in her career. “And it did always just make us laugh about how we ended up with, ‘Women shouldn’t be in roles like this because we’re so emotional,’ the actress continued. “I mean, I’ve worked with Bryan Singer. I’ve seen emotional men. I’ve seen the biggest hissy fits thrown on set. [Neugebauer’s] my third female director, and they are the calmest, best decision-makers I’ve ever worked with. I absolutely love working with female directors. But, yes, it’s getting easier.”
Beyond Neugebauer’s “Causeway,” her feature film directorial debut, the other female directors Lawrence has worked with are Jodie Foster on 2011’s “The Beaver” and Susanne Bier‘s 2014 film, “Serena.” Critics praised Lawrence’s performance in “Causeway,” and the actress will likely be a strong contender for Best Actress wins this awards season. Lawrence has Gene Stupnitsky‘s comedy “No Hard Feelings” on deck, set for a June 16, 2023 theatrical release. The actress also stars in Lynne Ramsay‘s upcoming drama “Die, My Love.”
Lawrence fingering Singer for on-set antics comes as no surprise given the director’s history. Singer was infamously removed from the production of “Bohemian Rhapsody” in 2017 despite only two weeks remaining in principal photography. Singer’s dismissal came in the wake of sexual assault charges made against him by various parties, but he also reportedly clashed on-set multiple times with crew and “Rhapsody” star Rami Malek. Malek went on to win the Best Picture Oscar for his performance in the film. Meanwhile, Singer hasn’t been involved in a movie production since 2019’s “X-Men: Dark Phoenix,” another film he was removed from due to the sexual assault charges against him.
Do Jennifer Lawrence’s comments signal a sea change in Hollywood? Maybe, maybe not. But what she said lines up with Bryan Singer’s reputation, and also signals that it is indeed “getting easier” for women to do solid work in Hollywood both in front of and behind the camera. One wonders what Singer’s response will be to Lawrence’s comments, if he responds at all.