Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman in history to win an Oscar for Best Director last night for her film, The Hurt Locker. Bigelow said, “I hope I’m the first of many, and of course, I’d love to just think of myself as a filmmaker. And I long for the day when that modifier can be a moot point…But I’m very grateful if I can inspire some young, intrepid, tenacious male or female filmmaker and have them feel that the impossible is possible, and never give up on your dream,” reported the Associated Press. The Hurt Locker won a total of 6 awards, including Best Picture, Directing, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Writing (Original Screenplay). Geoffrey Fletcher also made Oscar history last night when he won Best Adapted Screenplay, becoming the first African American to win an Oscar for writing. Fletcher wrote Precious, which was based on the novel Push by Sapphire. Also for Precious, Mo’Nique won Best Supporting Actress and became the fifth black woman to win an Oscar for acting. In her acceptance speech, Mo’Nique thanked Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Oscar in 1940 for Gone with the Wind, reported the Baltimore Sun. Bigelow is the fourth woman to have been nominated for the Best Director award. Previous women nominees are Lina Wertmueller, Seven Beauties (1975); Jane Campion, The Piano (1993); and Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation (2003), according to the Los Angeles Times. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, women are only 7 percent of top-grossing directors, 8 percent of writers, 17 percent of executive producers, 23 percent of producers, 18 percent of editors and 2 percent of cinematographers in Hollywood.
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