New 10 of the Month – Kathryn Bigelow

Depending on how big a movie fan you are, you may not have heard of my New 10 this month.  But she has already made history – and at next week’s Oscars®, she may very well make more.  One of only four women in history to be nominated for the Best Director Academy Award® for her film “The Hurt Locker” and the first woman ever to win the Director’s Guild’s top prize (for the same movie), Kathryn Bigelow is currently the front-runner for the prize that will essentially crown her the best female director of all time.

Which is something she finds slightly annoying.

Should Bigelow win the Oscar®, she has expressed quite strongly that she doesn’t want it to be all about the fact that she’s making history or breaking a barrier.  Neither does she care much for the admittedly-irresistible side story that she is competing against her former husband, “Avatar” director James Cameron, for the prize.  She simply wants the focus to be on her work and her movie, nothing more.

Of course, it’s not hard to focus on Kathryn Bigelow as a woman.  She’s one of those creatures who you look at and sigh, “it’s just not fair.”  She’s tall and reed thin and impossibly beautiful, her eyes sparkle with intelligence, and she honestly looks a good 20 years younger than her 58 years.  Clearly, she is among the genetically blessed.

But what matters about Kathryn Bigelow is what’s inside, not what’s outside.  She’s not just about breaking down barriers; she refuses to recognize them in the first place.    In her words, “There should be more women directing; I think there’s just not the awareness that it’s really possible. It is.”  As the mother of a teenage daughter, I find that incredibly inspirational.

Bigelow has made a career of proving what’s possible and ignoring stereotypes, never once directing a film that could be characterized as a “women’s movie,” but focusing on human stories.  Of course, as a woman, she brings a unique perspective to the way she tells them.  That’s part of their power.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit I haven’t seen “The Hurt Locker.”  It’s a modern war movie about bomb diffusers in Iraq, and is supposed to be extremely intense and violent – not my usual preferred type of film fare!  But the very fact that Bigelow chose to make this particular type of movie, and did it so honestly and so beautifully and so well, is part of what makes her so special.

Kathryn Bigelow has proven what we already know in our hearts, but sometimes forget.  Women really can do anything.  All we need is the strength and courage to reach for our dreams.  Whether or not she wins the Oscar® next week, I have no doubt she will continue to blaze trails as the amazing, incredible New 10 that she is.

And if you’re ready to bring out the New 10 inside of you, I’d like to remind you that my new book, “The New 10:  Redefining Beauty” will be available for pre-order beginning March 10.  I hope it inspires you to reach new heights in your own life.

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