The cast and crew of “A Wrinkle in Time” align to discuss empowering the youth, the need for widespread representation and the brilliance that is Ava DuVernay!
With the remarkable success of Black Panther in a time where society longs for mainstream heroes they can identify with, comes Meg Murry. This curly haired, biracial adolescent is unlike any heroine we’ve ever seen before!
A Wrinkle in Time has a script penned by Frozen’s Jennifer Lee and is being helmed by the unbounded creativity of Ava DuVernay. Joining them on this otherworldly cinematic adventure are Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, Zach Galifianakis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Storm Reid, Levi Miller, Deric McCabe and Rowan Blanchard.
The conversation begins with an introduction of the cast and crew made by moderator Tanika Ray. With no shortage of witty remarks, Ava responds to tapping into her inner child with, “This is a film for young people and people who are young at heart. For me, I had to ask myself – ‘Do I still have a heart?’ first of all and ‘Is there an inner child still in me?’ Could I tap into that eleven-year-old, twelve-year-old the thirteen-year-old in me [and] find that light that I used to have, that dreamer? And so, I got to do that for two years. I got to really get in touch with all that I thought I would be when I was young and really tap into that and try to create some magic with this great group of people.” As the leader entrusted with bringing this magical film to fruition, Ava dared to dream big then dream even bigger on both a human and creative level.
Laughs cheers and applauds filled the conference as each castmate spoke; however, there was one moment that was especially special and deeply emotional by Zach Galifianakis. The actor became choked up as he professed the need for representation and roles that continue to eradicate stereotypes. “I think if you played the game which one doesn’t belong here – I feel like that sometimes when I get hired but Ava and all of the people here were very gracious,” said Galifianakis. With a sincerity felt throughout the room he continued on to say “To be involved with such a big movie like this it makes me – I feel real proud.” DuVernay referenced an early conversation with the actor where he emphasized the importance of boys seeing the film and being exposed to male characters that are shamelessly vulnerable and able to follow girls.
Ava DuVernay is the first woman of color to direct a $100 million blockbuster. When asked what makes her collaboration on this film with DuVernay different than any in the past, Oprah responds “Well, first of all, you have Disney money. What’s different is ‘Selma’ we were, in the end, like are we going to have enough money? How much do I have? Let me see if I can help you out here. You’ve got the Disney machine! And that’s one of the reasons why this is so exciting.”
Themes, messages and relevant subject matter galore. One after another the actors shared their testimonies for being a part of the beacon of light that is A Wrinkle in Time. Mindy Kaling recalls a time from her childhood saying “I loved science fiction and fantasy growing up but it was a genre that largely did not love me back. I never saw any representation of like a dark-skinned Indian woman, Indian girl or anybody in anything that I saw. It’s a really peculiar thing to grow up loving something that shows you no love back. It’s such a pure love because you’re not getting anything from it.”
Overall, the underlying idea of the day stressed the need for more representation and the social demand for more projects like this that empower our youth and the inner children within all of us! Oprah’s last remark to round out the panel, “We are looking for warriors to bring hope back!”
Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time will be released on March 9, 2018!