Jodie Foster says Barbie's success proves Hollywood no longer views women as "a risk"

Jodie Foster is again all over the news with her exceptional portrayal, headlining the latest season of True Detective, titled True Detective: Night County. The veteran actress, who has been in the business since the early 1970s, also attended the Sundance Film Festival, where she spoke to Variety about Greta Gerwig's Barbie and what its success could mean for the women of Hollywood.

Jodie Foster, now 61, has seen many faces in the industry since her time as a teen idol in Disney films back in the 1970s. One thing that she has witnessed over the years is how Hollywood tends to treat women as a "risk" to the industry, with many female filmmakers marginalized simply because the men in power could not trust them.

However, the actress revealed in the interview how both the success of Barbie and the studio trusting Greta Gerwig with an insane amount of money to make and market the movie show the slow paradigm shift happening in the industry, with female directors now getting a more equal option.

With successes like Barbie, this is only expected to increase in the coming years, marking a positive change in Hollywood.

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"That’s new for women. I hope that continues"- Jodie Foster on WB giving full liberty to Greta Gerwig

Greta Gerwig came into the blockbuster scene and took the world by storm with Barbie, which also happens to be her first big-budget production. The director had only made independent films up until then in her career, making it an even more remarkable achievement.

Jodie Foster pointed this out and drew a contrast with the industry decades back when female directors were simply not given as much liberty by studios, mainly because there was a bias based on gender present throughout Hollywood.

Jodie Foster told Variety:

"I’ve had the beauty of being able to be in the business since the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and so on,...The progression or bettering of our audiences translates into a kind of new thinking about who our marginalized voices are. In the old days, they saw women as a risk. Not sure why they saw us as a risk — 50% of the population!"

Jodie Foster continued, with a positive takeaway about this paradigm shift, adding:

"That thinking has changed now. With a big success like ‘Barbie,’ they gave Greta Gerwig, who had made two mostly independent films, they gave her the keys to the kingdom and said ‘We’re going to give you our most important child’ and all the money to support it. That’s new for women. I hope that continues."

Barbie's success, which saw it become one of the biggest films in the history of Warner Bros., will surely inspire the industry to invest in and trust its female filmmakers, actors, and crew members more, knowing that they can do what men can do just as well.

Barbie has not only shattered several box office records but is also winning accolades in all major award ceremonies, even leading the line in some.

With the Oscars coming soon, the Margot Robbie-led film is expected to add some more awards to its already overflowing cabinet.

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Barbie is available for streaming on HBO MAX.