Jodie Foster hopes Barbie success allows Hollywood to trust female filmmakers

Jodie Foster hopes that the success of 'Barbie' encourages Hollywood to put more faith in female filmmakers.

The Oscar-winning actress has seen female directors battle for recognition during her career and thinks that the accomplishments of Greta Gerwig's blockbuster – which has grossed over $1 billion at the box office – should change how the industry perceives women behind the camera.

Jodie 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 marginalised voices are. In the old days, they saw women as a risk. Not sure why they saw us a risk – 50 per cent of the population!"

The 61-year-old star continued: "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."

Meanwhile, the 'True Detective: Night Country' star recently complained about the dominance of superhero movies – describing it as a "phase that's lasted a little too long".

Jodie told Elle magazine: "It's a phase. It's a phase that's lasted a little too long for me, but it's a phase, and I've seen so many different phases.

"Hopefully people will be sick of it soon. The good ones – like 'Iron Man', 'Black Panther', 'The Matrix' – I marvel at those movies, and I'm swept up in the entertainment of it, but that's not why I became an actor.

"And those movies don't change my life. Hopefully there'll be room for everything else."