Judging by the reviews (currently with a solid 96% on Rotten Tomatoes), “Little Women” is poised to be a big hit and a major awards contender. However, something strange has happened in the recent awards nominations at the Golden Globes and SAG — “Little Women” has been left out in the cold, pulling in only two Globes noms (Best Actress, Best Score) and zero SAG noms. Producer Amy Pascal thinks she might know why.
“Little Women” has one major weakness — men.
You see, according to a new interview with Vanity Fair, Pascal talks about what she’s noticing with the awards chatter that “Little Women” has received. While screenings have been packed and glowing reviews have been written, the actual people who vote for these awards aren’t paying attention. Basically, women love the film and have been championing it, but men aren’t showing up.
“It’s a completely unconscious bias. I don’t think it’s anything like a malicious rejection,” said the producer. ”I don’t think that [men] came to the screenings in droves, let me put it that way. And I’m not sure when they got their [screener] DVDs that they watched them.”
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The report claims that the folks attending the screenings skew heavily female, with an almost two-to-one ratio. And as we’ve seen with other acclaimed films this awards season, namely “Queen & Slim” (which has been discussed by that film’s director, Melina Matsoukas), if the voters don’t show up to screenings or watch the DVDs, then your film is going to be left out of the conversation.
“I think it’s kind of the same thing [as ‘Queen & Slim’]. It’s a different bias,” Pascal said. “[Voters think], These kinds of stories are important to me, and these kinds of stories are less important to me.”
The producer is concerned by the lack of engagement with “Little Women,” but thinks that Greta Gerwig’s film is more general than the title (and reputation) might allude to. Pascal claims that films like this, as well as the aforementioned “Queen & Slim” and the lauded “The Farewell” might be focused on specific groups of people, but tell very universal stories.
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“I think if you see ‘Queen & Slim,’ which is an excellent movie, you see ‘Little Women,’ you see [director Lulu Wang’s] ‘The Farewell,’ you go, Oh, well these are just stories about all of us,” Pascal added.
So, will the lack of voter engagement affect “Little Women” when it comes to the Oscars? We’ll find out soon enough. If “Lady Bird” is any indication, the Oscars will come out and support Gerwig and her films. But maybe “Little Women” is a bridge too far for many males in the voting contingent?
“Little Women” arrives in theaters on December 25.