Editor’s note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
17.12.2022 - 03:29 / deadline.com
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
The battle to make the historical action film The Woman King started as early as 2015 when producer Cathy Schulman and actress-producer Maria Bello approached Viola Davis about starring in an all-Black female warrior tale. With Davis attached and Sony’s TriStar Pictures onboard, the team offered screenwriter Dana Stevens the chance of a lifetime she couldn’t refuse.
The Woman King, based on a real faction of Beninese female soldiers known as the Agoije, follows its leader Nanisca (Davis) and her fierce tribe of warriors as they defend the kingdom of Dahomey from a violent neighboring clan and Europeans capitalizing on the slave trade. The film also stars Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, John Boyega and Sheila Atim.
In creating the screenplay, Stevens and the rest of the crew had to dive into deep research to accurately adapt the world of the Agojie in the 1800s. Stevens worked closely with Princeton historian, economist and Benin scholar Leonard Wantchekon to help the script reflect West African culture, the complex affairs of the Dahomey empire, and the fierce resilience of the Agojie warriors.
“I was struck by the photos of the real warriors, the eye-witness descriptions of their skill,” Stevens said in a press interview. “This story is not well-known—there are so many cultures we have overlooked and not portrayed in films. Here was a chance to tell a true, epic tale about these exceptional women.”
The film premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and has since garnered awards for Movie of the Year and Best Picture from AFI and the African-American Film Critics
Editor’s note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
For director Gina Prince-Bythewood, making the historical epic The Woman King was a dream come true. Despite dealing with a seven-year-long development process, Prince-Bythewood was determined to prove that Hollywood stories centering on powerful Black women deserve to be seen. Based on a real all-female faction of West African soldiers known as the Agojie, the film follows its leader Nanisca (Viola Davis), and her fierce tribe of warriors as they defend the kingdom of Dahomey from a violent neighboring empire and Europeans capitalizing on the slave trade. Here, Prince-Bythewood talks about creating a sisterhood of warriors, world-building, and the importance of seeing yourself on screen.
Not holding back. Kim Kardashian broke down into tears while offering a rare glimpse into her coparenting dynamic with Kanye West.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will factor in this year’s movie awards races.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is the second Pinocchio movie of the year. But, while Robert Zemeckis and Disney remade its animated adaptation in live action, del Toro returned to the original Carlo Collodi book for a stop-motion take. It took him 14 years to bring it to life, but Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is now streaming on Netflix after it debuted December 9 and made it to the Top 10 in 79 countries.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has secured North American rights to the MPI Original Film Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game, starring BAFTA- and Tony Award-nominated West Side Story breakout Mike Faist and Teen Wolf‘s Crystal Reed, slating it for a day-and-date release on March 17, 2023.
AARP is out with the nominees for its 21st annual Movies for Grownups Awards for the best films, TV and filmmakers of 2022. Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans leads with the way with six noms, followed by fellow awards-season favorites Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Woman King are next with five each, and Tár and She Said with four apiece.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will factor in this year’s movie awards races.