Jennifer Lawrence Says Female Directors Don't 'Over-Direct' Like Men, Claiming Some Male Filmmakers 'Need to Feel in Control'

Jennifer Lawrence on Female versus Male Directors

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence criticized the male-dominated film industry by highlighting a key difference between working with female and male directors. Speaking after a screening of her psychological drama Die My Love, Lawrence observed a “noticeable difference” in the atmosphere and style depending on the director's gender.

Female Directors: A More Free Approach

Lawrence praised female directors such as Lynne Ramsay, who helmed Die My Love, for not “over-directing.” According to her, female filmmakers tend to foster more creative freedom on set.

“Female filmmakers tend not to 'over-direct,' a habit I link to a male director's need to constantly assert control.”

Male Directors and the Need for Control

She contrasted this with her experience working under some male directors, suggesting that some exhibit a “neurotic” need to control every detail, which she finds frustrating. This tendency results in an “unnecessary display of directorial authority” that disrupts the creative process.

Shared Experience with Female Collaborators

Lawrence noted that many of her female collaborator directors, including Debra Granik (Winter's Bone), Jodie Foster (The Beaver), Susanne Bier (Serena), and Lila Neugebauer (Causeway), share a collective approach that feels notably less controlling and more collaborative.

“I have identified a commonality in my female collaborators — a collective approach free from the annoying impulses I’ve seen in some male counterparts.”

Summary

Jennifer Lawrence emphasizes how female directors create a more open and less authoritarian set environment, contrasting it with some male directors' compulsive need for control.

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International Business Times UK International Business Times UK — 2025-11-07

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