Gina Prince-Bythewood Talks ‘Silver and Black’, ‘Wonder Woman’ & Advice From Patty Jenkins
Gina Prince-Bythewood directed her first feature film back in 2000 with the hit, Love & Basketball. Since then, she’s added The Secret Life of Bees, and Beyond the Lights to her roster.
But her next venture, Silver and Black (based on Marvel comic book characters, Silver Sable and Black Cat), will launch Prince-Bythewood into the world of superhero films and just like Patty Jenkins, Prince-Bythewood will get to deal with female comic book characters.
This means that Prince-Bythewood will likely become the next woman to helm a big-budget comic book character based film and will be the first woman of color to do so; hopefully paving the way for many more women of color to come.
During an interview with Vulture, Prince-Bythewood praised Wonder Woman and the effect it had on her. She told Vulture, “I remember there was a point in the movie where I was staring up at the screen, just letting the feeling wash over me that I’m watching a woman leading the film and she’s the hero and she’s badass.”
Bythewood also spoke about the changing climate of comic book film directors and said:
“There’s definitely a sea of change. It’s small, if you look at the sheer volume of movies they make — the numbers are still pretty dismal. But it really feels like within the last two to three years, it’s not just talk anymore. People have been refusing to shut up about it, and studios and production companies are listening and understanding that it’s really a problem they can’t ignore.”
Prince-Bythewood divulged she asked Patty Jenkins for some advice on how to tackle the comic book film genre when the pair met at a meeting for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where the two sit on an executive committee.
Of meeting Jenkins, Prince-Bythewood said, “She’s so cool and warm. She dropped a couple gems for me, which I will keep to myself for now. But it was just an immediate connection.”
When asked about the impending Silver and Black, Prince-Bythewood revealed:
“The strange thing is, I knew I was the best person for this. Normally I get nervous regardless of what it is when I go into a meeting but with this, I saw the movie in my head as I was reading it, and it’s an exciting thing as a director when you know what you want to do with it. I was able to be so specific, so it was exciting in those meetings because everything I was talking about, they loved. We were feeding off each other.”
When discussing why she wanted to direct the film, Prince-Bythewood said, “It’s so up my alley in terms of these two female characters and who they are and what they’re about. It’s the perfect way for me to dive into the Marvel universe, to focus on these two women who I really respect and can’t wait to bring to life.”
Currently, Silver and Black doesn’t have a release date yet, Prince-Bythewood is anxious to get the ball rolling on the film. The director said, “I go to bed thinking about it, I wake up thinking about it, and during the day, I have my notebook where I’m jotting down ideas and visuals and music.”
Are you excited for Gina Prince-Bythewood to direct Silver and Black? Be sure to let us know in the comment section below.
Prince-Bythewood’s first foray into the Marvel comics world will be when she directs the pilot episode for the FreeForm series, Cloak & Dagger which is set to premiere in 2018.
Source: Vulture
