Film director says he supports moves toward gender parity

The talk with actress Maria Bello, directors Caroline Suh and Tina Mabry, and University of Southern California professor Stacy L. Smith followed a screening of the short documentary "The 4%: Film's Gender Problem."

Smith, whose studies on gender and Hollywood informed the documentary, suggested A-list stars consider an equity clause in their contracts so that some movies might reflect real-world demography.

Research shows women are half of film-school students and movie ticket buyers — not to mention the human population — yet play the lead in just one in five films and are outnumbered by male directors 23 to one.