Who run the world? Women!
The 2021 Golden Globes nominations were announced on Wednesday, Feb. 3, by Taraji P. Henson and Sarah Jessica Parker and a theme was quickly noticed in this year's directorial acknowledgements.
In the Best Director category, Regina King, Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell all snagged a nom for their films One Night in Miami, Nomadland and Promising Young Woman, respectfully. David Fincher (Mank) and Aaron Sorkin (Trial of the Chicago 7) also received nominations in the category. However, this is the first time in the ceremony's history that three women have been nominated for the category. Talk about making a statement!
The trio join a short yet prestigious list of others who have received the honor including Ava DuVernay (the last to be nominated in the category in 2015 for Selma), Barbara Streisand (the only woman to win the category in 1984 for Yentl), Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, and Kathryn Bigelow.
This wasn't the only empowering moment from the nominations, either. King is the second Black woman in history to earn recognition in the best director category, following in DuVernay's mighty footsteps.
This is all a very big deal as the Golden Globes have long been called out for snubbing women from the director category. At the 2018 ceremony, Natalie Portman made a note to call out the exclusion while presenting the award. As she perfectly quipped, "And here are all the male nominees."
Alma Har'el also added her two cents on the heated discussion after being snubbed for a nom for her work on 2019's Honey Boy. starring Shia LaBeouf. In a multi-tweet thread, the director asked fans to keep in mind that the awards "do not represent us."
At the time, she wrote, "Good morning to everyone that's writing me about the #goldenglobes. I feel you but know this. . I was on the inside for the first time this year. These are not our people and they do not represent us. Do not look for justice in the awards system. We are building a new world."