Uh-huh.
Oops, silly facts get in the way:
io9: Nia DaCosta Explains Why She Finished The Marvels Remotely
But after the aside drew a wave of backlash condemning Variety’s framing of the decision—on what is not exactly an unusual move for a director committed to multiple projects—DaCosta herself has now clarified why she ended up finishing The Marvels’ production remotely.
“It was literally just that they moved the date of the film four different times,” the director explained at a press junket for The Marvels this past weekend to Jake’s Takes. “So instead of it being a two year process, which I was deeply committed to, it became a three and a half year process.”
DaCosta noted that she had already committed to production on Hedda—an adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play about a woman trapped in a loveless marriage—and that Marvel were aware of that commitment as The Marvels repeatedly shifted dates. “I pushed [Hedda], and then I pushed it again, and then I pushed it again, and then eventually, we all knew ‘Okay, if this pushes again I’m not gonna able to be in L.A. to do the rest of [The Marvels] in person.’”
“We figured out a way to do it remote,” the director continued, saying that she and Marvel “figured out the best process” for her to finish The Marvels remotely in the UK—and that really, at the point she had to leave the film was already so far along that the director and her crew were already aligned on the choices she wanted to make for the film.
“Everyone was so clear about what the film was, what we wanted, everyone knew what I wanted,” DaCosta concluded. “So it really wasn’t the dramatic thing that I think people are sort of feeling it is.”
io9 recently sat down with
The Marvels director
Nia DaCosta (2021's
Candyman) to talk about bringing Carol into the fold with Kamala and Monica, whose similarly sourced superpowers bring them together in this film’s Marvel spectacle.
For DaCosta, it was something she and star Brie Larson were looking forward to tapping into. “Brie was so excited and a real advocate for bringing the two other women into the movie. And part of what I think works so well about it is that she has a foil. She finally has people who are, you know, heroes as well, and also having their own issues and issues with her or or a specific relationship with her that she has to sort out,” DaCosta said, noting importance of demystifying Carol by having her face her legacy with a new hero like Kamala, as well as her past with Monica.
“We talked a lot about that dynamic, but also who she was when she’s not punching Thanos and running off,” DaCosta laughed, pointing out that at this point it’s a well-known fact that Carol keeps showing up, then blasting back off to her pad in space awaiting bigger galactic threats in order to stop them from reaching Earth. The film addresses that, the director explained. “The conversations are really just like, ‘Okay, who is she? How can her struggle holding the universe on her shoulders be something that can feel universal?’ For me, I think that a lot of women feel like they’re holding the world, their family, their job, everything on their shoulders. The thing that I come back to is how important family is to helping them get through that kind of burden. And so that’s the big theme in the movie. That’s something that Brie and I talked about as well.”
Basically, this is a conglomeration of bad luck for the Marvels. We have the Actors Strike, which does
not allow any of the actors to say anything...but through some weird clause, the Hunger Games prequel actors
will be able to promote, and their movie premieres the very next week.
Therefore, the director is really the
main person who can actually promote the movie. It wouldn't be a big deal if the actors were out there...but now that
both can't do it... it really hurts.In addition, i didn't realize that tickets were for sale for The Marvels until it was mentioned in TrekBBS' Marvel thread.
Also, GMA3 had Nia DeCosta as well, but only in literally the last 5 minutes of the show, which i would think doesnt help the PR a lot either., as they are rishing to end.
I will need to buy my tickets today.
On a side note, the article referenced "Jakes Takes"... an celebrity interview segment by FOx 32 Chicago's entertainment reporter Jake Hamilton. I am curious if people outside of Chicago have seen his segments. He actually does some phenomenal interviews that
ought to be syndicated.
