As a woman and a foreigner, Danish director Susanne Bier faces a dual challenge as she prepares to break into Hollywood after a series of hit movies that culminated with an Oscar nomination this year for her drama After the Wedding (below).
Not only are there pitifully few female directors working for major studios, but Hollywood history is littered with numerous talented foreign filmmakers who have struggled to adapt to a notoriously risk-averse movie culture in which the bottom line is the bottom line.
Although this year's Academy Awards were notable for their diverse line-up, with an unprecedented show of overseas talent among the nominees, it's a bitter fact that for every Ang Lee there's also an Oliver Hirschbiegel. The Hamburg-based filmmaker directed Downfall, about Adolf Hitler's last days, and was then hired for the Nicole Kidman vehicle The Invasion. Warner Bros was so unhappy with the final cut of the film that it brought in Matrix creators Andy and Larry Wachowski before hiring V for Vendetta director James McTeigue for US$10 million reshoots.
The story serves as a cautionary tale for European directors attracted by the bright lights of Tinseltown.
Bier, whose After the Wedding will be screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, admits that she was initially wary after being asked to film DreamWorks' Things We Lost in the Fire.
The movie, starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, is her first English-language production after a trio of acclaimed hits that included 2004's Brothers and 2002's Open Hearts.
