'The Night Manager' director Susanne Bier: I want to be the first woman to direct 'James Bond'

Susanne Bier, the Oscar-winning Danish director behind the BBC's hit spy drama "The Night Manager," wants to be the first woman to direct "James Bond."

The Radio Times reported in June that Bier has been shortlisted to replace Sam Mendes at the helm of the mega spy franchise. The magazine said she is among a "handful" of names admired by "Bond" producer Barbara Broccoli.

Business Insider asked Bier if there is any truth in the report.

"I'd be very honoured and it would be a lot of fun, but it's all rumours. It's all the media stirring something up. I don't know why rumours grow or what initiates them," she said.

Bier added that she is yet to be approached by Broccoli, but stressed that becoming the first woman ever to direct a "James Bond" movie would be "amazingly fun."

Bier's stock has risen since she directed John le Carré adaptation "The Night Manager," which is nominated for 12 Emmys this Sunday after becoming a major ratings hit both in the UK and America on AMC.

Susanne Bier: Gender balance in Hollywood is "extremely uneven"

She is the only female director nominated in the Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special category, and taking on "James Bond" would chime with her ambition to improve gender parity behind the camera in Hollywood.

"It's still extremely uneven. There's no doubt there needs to be more female storytellers. It needs happen," she told us. "It's about avoiding the default, habitual way of doing things. You have a young woman and a young man, and the woman might present herself differently, might talk about the material differently. It's about listening to what she says."

Bier, who won an Oscar in 2010 for her Danish film "In a Better World," is weighing up her next project. She has read up to 100 scripts over the past two months and has been impressed by the quality of television projects.

"Before I started doing TV, I was warned it was going to be more limiting than feature films. I was really happily surprised. It was just a very rewarding experience. Television right now is more courageous, " she said.

"I've read between 75 and 100 scripts. There are some excellent feature film scripts, but in general the level of writing seems more interesting within television."

Bier is also hopeful that "The Night Manager" will return for a second series. John le Carré has not written a second book, but the BBC wants to work with him to continue the story on-screen.

Bier would like to be involved, but she warned that the project is very much in its infancy.

"I can see it happening and I would love to be involved. As of now, it's a vague possibility. There's no book, there's no story, so it's big thing to figure out how to do it," the director said.

"It's a possibility and worthwhile exploring a storyline that could work. That is as far as I could go. We all feel it's been so much fun doing this. Everyone would be keen to re-join the party again."