Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet has made a candid admission about the financial struggles behind her first film as a director. The star revealed that some crew members on her directorial debut 'Goodbye June' were underpaid, a situation she directly attributes to the difficulty of securing a sufficient budget as a woman in the industry.
The Budget Battle for a Female Director
Speaking on the Kermode & Mayo's Take podcast, the 50-year-old Titanic star pulled no punches in criticising the inherent sexism within cinema. She explained that being a female director meant she was forced to call in personal favours to get the Netflix family drama made, as traditional investors were less willing to back her project.
This financial shortfall had a direct human cost. Winslet stated that department heads and their teams, who were eager to work on the film, sometimes had to accept less than their standard weekly rate. "When you're a woman, you do a huge amount of ringing around and calling in favours," Winslet said. "Sometimes people take a little bit of a hit because they want to come and be part of that experience and they want to support you."
A "Different Language" for Women in Directing
Winslet expanded on the unconscious bias she faces, highlighting a stark contrast in perception between male and female actors who transition to directing. She argued there is an automatic assumption that men will know what they're doing, while women are met with scepticism.
"It's somehow there's this societal assumption that they will automatically know what they're doing, whereas the same assumption is not made of women," she noted. This bias, she claims, manifests in the very language used. The dialogue is different when addressing female directors compared to their male counterparts, with women often having to prove their capability from the outset.
"People just think that you're a little bit too vain and want to stay in your trailer all day, and 'will you really do it well?'" Winslet added, critiquing the stereotypes faced by actresses-turned-directors.
Behind the Scenes of 'Goodbye June'
Despite the pressures, Winslet helmed the project, which landed on Netflix last week. The film features a stellar British cast including Helen Mirren as the titular June, with Timothy Spall, Toni Collette, Andrea Riseborough, and Johnny Flynn playing her family. The story of four siblings reuniting as their mother's health declines was deeply personal for Winslet, echoing the loss of her own mother to ovarian cancer in 2017.
The project was a family affair, with the screenplay written by her son, Joe Anders, 21. Winslet admitted to hiding her own fatigue and budgetary worries from the cast to maintain a positive set environment. "The hardest part was leaving any concerns I had at the door so that the actors never ever felt that," she told Grazia magazine.
Despite the challenges, the experience has not deterred her. Kate Winslet has confirmed she would "really, really love to direct again", signalling her determination to break down barriers for women filmmakers and secure the fair budgets and respect they deserve.
