12 Female TV Directors Who Should Direct A Franchise Film

The conversation about the lack of female directors in Hollywood has been rumbling on for what seems like forever, but that conversation has now found itself at a crucial point. At long last, people are beginning to get specific. After decades of vague allusions to a seemingly intangible, invisible issue, the conversation is finally becoming louder, and less easy to dismiss as the supposedly irrational ramblings of radical feminism. This is thanks to the visible activism of those concerned about the situation – on social media and within the film industry itself. It is also thanks to organisations such as the Female Filmmakers Initiative – launched by the Sundance Institute and Women In Film Los Angeles – which commissioned a vital study into the barriers and opportunities facing independent filmmakers, who try to engage in filmmaking while female. This research was a three year study, and the findings of the third and final phase of it were recently delivered in a powerful and disturbing report.

Sarah Myles

Published: May 6, 2015 09:42 am

Wendey Stanzler

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Stanzler is one of those highly qualified, award-winning, Emmy nominated filmmakers who has experience across a number of production departments. Starting out in editing, she was Sound Editor on 1985’s Stryker’s War, starring Sam Raimi, before stepping up to Editor with Michael Moore’s Roger & Me in 1989. Editing a variety of projects over the years – including 1993’s The Last Party, 1995’s Canadian Bacon, and TV series Now And Again, Ed and Sex And City, Stanzler also began producing – helping bring Roger & Me, 90210 and The Client List to fruition.

With this firm grounding behind-the-scenes, Wendey Stanzler progressed into directing, with the final season episode of Sex And The City, titled The Ick Factor, in 2004. The episode, notable for depicting the character of Samantha (Kim Cattrall) discovering she has breast cancer, led to what is now a most illustrious career repeatedly calling the shots on high profile television series. Grey’s Anatomy, Monk, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Nashville, The Mindy Project, Pretty Little Liars, Glee, Sleepy Hollow, Gotham and Arrow have all benefitted from Stanzler’s directorial eye.

What She Should Direct: The experience she has accumulated has, in recent years, tended toward those shows that are cinematic in quality, and based very much in action as well as strong characterization. As such, Stanzler would be a great choice to helm Cyborg – a planned DC superhero movie – the titular character of which has yet to make an impact on the big screen.

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