Oscars 2023: Host Jimmy Kimmel jokes about lack of female Best Director nominees

Jimmy Kimmel, the host of the 95th Academy Awards, made a joke about the lack of female directorial nominees in his opening monologue while discussing James Cameron, who missed out on a Best Director nomination for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’.

Kimmel questioned how the Academy could neglect to nominate the filmmaker. ‘I mean, how does the Academy not nominate the guy who directed ‘Avatar’? What do they think he is, a woman?’, Kimmel joked.

This year, nominated in the Best Director category were Todd Field (Tár), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin), Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness) and Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans).

New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion won the Academy Award for best director for ‘The Power of the Dog’ last year.

So far, only seven women have been nominated for the Oscars. Campion was the third woman to take home the prestigious award after Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland).

Cameron was not nominated for Best Director, but his 2022 blockbuster ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ was nominated for several awards, including Best Picture.

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