We Dare Media Dares Hollywood to "Pop the Question" and Hire More Women Directors

Los Angeles, CA, March 16, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Hollywood has a gender problem. We’ve been hearing about it for decades. But we may finally have reached a tipping point: thousands of women want to make movies, audiences want stories told by women, and studios, who have been slow to realize it, need the money that female-helmed films will bring. But how can we steer the Hollywood behemoth into a more equitable future?

The stats are stark: A new Comprehensive Annenberg Report on Diversity (CARD) shows that in 2014 only 3.4% of film directors were women. Yet, research shows that the majority of the nation’s top film schools, including USC and NYU, boast gender parity in their classes. How do we go from classes with 50% women filmmakers, to an abysmal number like 3.4%?

A group of women tackles this issue head-on in a new satirical piece, “Pop the Question.” Written and Directed by Ora Yashar and Produced by Corinne Jayaweera, “Pop the Question” asserts that women want to direct big budget movies – and they have the skills, the brains, and the stamina to do so – it’s time for the industry-wide hiring bias to be dismantled and for the Studios to act as vital partners in this change.

These filmmakers have taken the popular call to action: #AskHerMore, important enough to have been mentioned by Chris Rock at the 2016 Academy Awards, one step further. Not only should women be asked more on the Red Carpet, but within the Studio System itself. Women in entertainment want out-loud, concerted, and sustained efforts on the parts of the major and minor studios to hire women directors.

As filmmakers like Kathryn Bigelow, Ava Duvernay, Catherine Hardwicke, Jennifer Lee, Elizabeth Banks, Vicky Jenson, Phyllida Lloyd, Nancy Meyers, Sanaa Hamri and so many more show us, women direct movies that make money, that touch us, that make us laugh, cry, hang on to our seats… they make comedies, dramedies, action movies, science fiction and everything in between.

They just need the opportunity.

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