After Netflix premiered the
“Unicorn Store” traileronline last week, Twitter user @TheJoeGil reacted to the film in a since-deleted post that questioned Larson’s status as a director. The social media user said Larson was “just riding ‘Captain Marvel’s’ wave” to land directing gigs (again, the film debuted at a major North American film festival in 2017) and had not put in the time and energy like fellow actor Jonah Hill, who was “mentored by Martin Scorsese and took years before he made his directorial debut out of respect for the artistry of film and the position of director.”
Netflix stood up for Larson by replying directly to @TheJoeGil with a list of Larson’s accomplishments to date. As the streaming giant noted, Larson has been working since 1998 and has amassed 58 acting credits, 53 award nominations, two writing credits, two short film directing credits, one composing credit, one producing credit, one Oscar, and one feature directing credit. If it wasn’t clear, Larson is not just someone who stumbled into directing. Furthermore, Larson won SXSW jury prizes for co-directing the short films “The Arm” and “Weighting,” so it’s not like she hasn’t already been recognized for her directorial chops.