Olivia Wilde Eyes Oscar History With 'The Invite' — SkimNews
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- Olivia Wilde's third directorial feature, 'The Invite,' positions her to potentially become the first woman to earn an Oscar acting nomination for a film she directed; men have accomplished this 20 times across Oscars history, women never
- 'The Invite' has become A24's strongest awards bet of the season, adapted by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack from Cesc Gay's 2020 Spanish film 'The People Upstairs' and starring Seth Rogen, Wilde, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz
- If Wilde lands both acting and directing nominations, she'd join only eight men who've earned dual nods for the same film: Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood and Roberto Benigni
- Barbra Streisand is the most notable near-miss — she directed and starred in 'Yentl' (1983, winning the Golden Globe for directing) and 'The Prince of Tides' (1991, with 7 Oscar nominations overall) but never made the Oscar directing ballot for either
- Just nine women have earned best director nominations in the Oscars' 98-year history, with three winners (Campion, Bigelow, Zhao), and none of them starred in their own nominated films
- Beyond directing, Wilde also impressed in Tony Gilroy's NYFF Centerpiece 'Behemoth!' (Searchlight) opposite Pedro Pascal and the Sundance standout 'I Want Your Sex,' reinforcing the sense this is her breakout year
Why it matters: A dual acting-directing nomination would close a 98-year gender gap: men have self-directed to 20 acting nominations and 8 dual nods, while only 9 women have ever been nominated for directing and none starred in their nominated films. Wilde's path runs through A24's biggest awards vehicle of the season, with two additional buzzy performances ('Behemoth!,' 'I Want Your Sex') strengthening her case beyond the directing branch.
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