Kate Winslet calls 'ambitious' a negative term for women in Hollywood
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'Titanic' star Kate Winslet, who makes her directorial debut with ‘Goodbye June’, a Christmas family drama written by her 21-year-old son, Joe Anders, noted over tea on a recent afternoon that "ambitious" is a negative term for women in Hollywood.
The Oscar-winning actress, who once had no plans to direct, took the helm of the film after reading her son’s script, now in theaters and streaming on Netflix starting December 24. It follows June (Helen Mirren), a cancer-stricken matriarch, as she spends her final weeks in the hospital with her husband, Bernie (Timothy Spall), and their four grown children, each grappling with unresolved family tensions.
Kate Winslet recalls directing 'Goodbye June'
“I don't know that I even could have done it before this time in my life,” the Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet said. “Alongside being a mum, I've always had this (acting) career to juggle as well. The sheer time commitment for a director is just so much more.” Winslet added that she couldn’t fully separate herself from her personal experiences while making the film.
The low-budget movie was shot on a tight 35-day schedule, and Winslet admitted, “I definitely found myself in moments where I’d be like, ‘Come on, Mum, come on! Tell me it’s good. Tell me I’m doing OK.’”
She felt particularly moved watching scenes between June and Bernie, as he struggled to express how much he would miss her. “I felt like I was reliving something I never actually witnessed,” Winslet recalled. “I was never in the room when my parents were having those conversations, so I felt like I was living through that, in a weird way.”
Winslet noted that the cast and crew each brought their "own separate experiences with loss, so there were days that were really challenging for everybody, which is why we had to laugh a lot. You have to be able to get it out, dust yourself off and move on."
Kate Winslet weighs in on unconscious bias between male and female directors
With over three decades in Hollywood, Kate Winslet says she has repeatedly seen unconscious bias shape how people talk about male and female directors.
“If you use the word ‘ambitious’ and you’re describing an actor who’s turned to directing, it’s positive,” Winslet said. “But with a woman, it’s immediately negative. Just the way that word alone is used and applied to women doesn't sound very nice, because somehow we're not allowed to have dreams."
"We're not allowed to reinvent ourselves and grow and change and aspire for something more, or be capable of occupying that role that has historically been dominated by men," she added.
Winslet emphasized that she never approached directing casually. “This is not something I thought, ‘Oh, I could try my hand at that,’” she said. “I am not the kind of person who does something by half. I would never have even considered it if I didn't feel ready.”
She added that directing requires a deep understanding of how to construct scenes and a strong commitment to telling the story well.
She now hopes to direct again, ideally with “a little bit more time” built into the schedule. Known for staying calm under pressure, Winslet says years of experience prepared her to lead a set.
“When the chips are down and suddenly it's raining outside and you were going to shoot a six-page scene in the park – I’m the one going, ‘Everybody calm down. We’re going to sit down, have a nice cup of tea, and make a plan,” she expressed. “That’s something I’ve learned to do across many decades, and that bled into how I wanted to be as a director. You don’t want people to feel anxious or stressed. Compassion and softness matter enormously.”
