We brought a cancer drug to the market last quarter. It’s already saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Yet in development, it killed a quarter of a million lab mice. Now, I didn’t ask for their little permissions. I’m not going to ask for yours.
Gina Prince-Bythewood, who wrote and directed The Secret Life of Bees, will direct Silver and Black, Sony’s Spider-Man offshoot that centers on characters Silver Sable and the Black Cat.
Silver Sable, created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz in 1985, is a mercenary who runs a company that hunts war criminals. The character has been both antagonist and ally to Spider-Man.
Black Cat, an acrobatic cat burglar whose real name is Felicia Hardy, has a long and tangled romantic history with Spider-Man in the comics. The character was cut from scripts for the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, and a “Felicia Hardy” (played by Felicity Jones) briefly appeared in Amazing Spider-Man 2, though no Black Cat connection was ever made explicit.
Note: This deal will make Prince-Bythewood the first black woman to direct a superhero movie, the second woman of colour (following Lexi Alexander) and the 4th woman overall to direct a live-action superhero feature film following Lexi Alexander, Patty Jenkins and Anna Boden (co-directing with Ryan Fleck).
A story of love, friendship and compassion with an ancient warrior and a young African American, who has just discovered she is immortal, as protagonists. Because the world needs women and courage knows no gender differences. 20 years after “Love & Basketball” and after “The Secret Life of Bees” and “Beyond the Lights - Find Your Voice”, Gina Prince-Bythewood comes to the action movie with very clear ideas on how to reinvent the rules. We talked to her over the phone while she was in Los Angeles during the lockdown.
A superhero movie that doesn’t look like a superhero movie. Is that why you decided to make it?
Absolutely yes, when I read the script I realized that despite the fantastic genre there was a very realistic background. These characters are real and it’s easy for the audience to relate to them despite being immortal. They fight for goals and reasons that people understand. The more realistic the film, the more viewers can reflect themselves in the protagonists.
In fact, the most fascinating aspect of the characters is their vulnerability: they are immortal, but up to a certain point, which is a paradox. They too have to deal with the sense of the end.
There is a possibility that they may die, that their immortality is interrupted, that they still suffer from their wounds, and this brings them closer to us. The public still feels sorry for them when they see them in danger.
Immortals suffer, and not just physically.
Many think that being able to live forever would be extraordinary, but no one asks what this really means. Immortality has consequences: it can be a gift, but it can also be a curse.
Ah thank you for this I always love reading all the interviews no matter it’s new or old article and it’s incredible that they have quite a lot of interviews and podcasts we can listen to.
I will highlight what I like from this interview..
Don’t play with my heart like this Gina saying it’s a trilogy but keep the news to yourselves and not to us, say it explicitly and proudly please that we indeed will get the second and even third movies
“Nicky is the heart of the group, He is the most sensitive character of all of them.” - Gina the soft Nicky OG.
Also I need to see so badly that scene you did with Marwan Kenzari oh Luca Marinelli.
Luca being a shy bean.
“And Charlize is an athlete of the body and the heart” - Luca with his words choice.
“I don’t feel like playing games, mixing reality and fiction on a terribly real subject like this. I think that in reality, outside of any cinematic fiction, it’s fundamental to fight for equality, within society, but also within ourselves.”
Also I want to tattooed it on my forehead so people can read it haha many need to hear this, Mister Marinelli is the real one.
New Image of Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, and Sheila Atim in The Women King (2022).
A historical epic inspired by the true events that happened in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.
AsBlack History Month begins, revisit last year’s guide of 60 essential, underrated, and flat-out extraordinary films helmed by Black women directors, from undersung, boundary-breaking pioneers to creative, contemporary trailblazers, including Ava DuVernay, Kathleen Collins, Julie Dash, Sara Gómez, Tanya Hamilton, Tina Mabry, Stella Meghie, Euzhan Palcy, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Dee Rees, and many more.
Director and screenwriter Gina Prince-Bythewood workshopped her award winning film Love & Basketballat the 1998 Directors Lab and premiered it two years later at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.
Black women directors have created some of the most powerful, nuanced, and layered stories of our time. From indie hits to serious blockbusters, projects written and directed by black women have proven to be essential in contributing a unique cinematic gaze. In the span of 39 years, Sundance Institute has supported numerous black women artists in telling their stories via labs, grants, and the annual Festival in Park City.
In celebration of Black History Month, we’re highlighting black women feature-film directors with ties to Sundance Institute. We’ve chosen 11 artists who have worked to portray the intricate lives of black women, bring into focus cultural aspects of the African diaspora, and express socially relevant themes through film.
