Entertainment

Jennifer Aniston's Next Step Is as a Director

by Alanna Bennett

Today was not a day that included Jennifer Aniston getting an Oscar nomination. But don't be fooled: That doesn't mean that it's anything less than another great day in the generally great life of Jennifer Aniston. She's still got Cake to promote, after all, and during some press for the film, Aniston mentioned that she plans to direct her first feature film. When, she did not say. But in her own words, "We're going to make it happen, but I have a lot of time. We're just beginning."

Damn straight, Aniston. That's a pretty great point of view to take on life, no matter your age or movie-star status. "We're just beginning" — let's make that 2015's mantra, okay?

It's good advice for all of us, but for Aniston in particular it's crucial. Aniston's been in the public eye — and heavily scrutinized as a result of that — since Rachel Green's haircut became iconic in 1994. Since then, and especially since Friends ended a decade later, she's been pigeonholed time and again, so an it's-just-the-beginning philosophy is exactly the kind of thinking that could help her take the steps to move in a new direction creatively. Like Reese Witherspoon, in recent years Aniston's made a run of romantic comedies and other movies that ranged from run-of-the-mill to ugggh. She's always had more in her than those projects and those scripts, and she's shown that in the performances of hers that surprise us or step out of the box she's long lived in.

One piece of advice women in Hollywood often get is to create their own content. She's not a complete newbie to directing, but she's never done a feature film before. The moment Aniston finds a feature project that she's passionate enough about to direct (and maybe even star in) is a moment we should all pay attention to, because it will be Aniston declaring herself.