Director Gina Prince-Bythewood knows you can’t win an argument on Twitter. That’s why she stays off social media platforms and chooses not to engage with users who attack her, and her box office filmmakers hit ‘The Woman King’ for taking license in her representation of the West African Kingdom of Dahomey during the 17e at 19e centuries and its role in the slave trade. “There was an absolute assumption that we weren’t dealing with this,” Prince-Bythewood says. “Much of the argument is based on bad facts. So what the “Wikipedia historians” are repeating is history written from the wrong point of view.
Listen below:
In this episode of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit podcast, we sit down with acclaimed filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood to discuss her historical epic “The Woman King” from Sony Pictures. She discusses the challenges of filming and shutting down during COVID, as well as the possibility of seeing a reboot of the sitcom “A Different World” (1987-1993), in which she was one of the writers.
With “The Woman King”, she reached new heights. The Sony Pictures film has grossed $54 million domestically so far, with an additional $10 million coming in from other territories. It has received critical acclaim with outstanding ratings for its cast which includes Oscar winner Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu and Lashana Lynch. Prince-Bythewood herself is causing awards buzz, looking to land one of the coveted five Best Director spots. If she did, she would be the first black woman ever nominated in the category.
Prince-Bythewood’s filmography has produced some of the most culturally relevant and resourceful stories in the past 20 years. Beginning with her debut “Love & Basketball” (2000), which introduced the world to Sanaa Lathan, she went on to share her visionary talents in films such as “Beyond the Lights” (2014) with Gugu Mbatha-Raw and “The Old Guard” with Charlize Theron.
Later in this episode, we catch up with German actress Nina Hoss about her performance in Todd Field’s “Tár” opposite Cate Blanchett. She addresses some of the most elusive questions in film and how the stage prepared her for a career in film.
But first, the awards circuit roundtable is back to discuss films that premiered at fall festivals such as “The Fabelmans” and the year of populist films and box-hits- office as “Top Gun: Maverick” making a play for the top Oscars Category.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, who also co-hosts with Clayton Davis, is your one-stop-shop for lively conversations about the best in film and TV. Each week, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; And much more. Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you download podcasts. New episodes released every week.