Ava DuVernay is having a moment. An actual super-hot, super-defining cultural moment. But also a moment in the sense that my nana meant it. The director is sitting, eyes wet, in the white marble bar of a swanky London hotel. She’s just realised that this, right here, right now, is the end. The very end of the very long journey that has been the making of new Disney fantasy epic A Wrinkle In Time. Grazia is Ava’s final interview of the whole two-year process. The night before was the European premiere and her cast – including stars Storm Reid, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon and Oprah – have already left. She stayed on in London to speak to me and is reflecting on the still-raw goodbyes. ‘It was really emotional,’ she says, visibly moved. ‘I saw Reese on the red carpet and said, “This is it.” Her eyes immediately welled up with tears and she was like, “We can’t do this here!”’
We’re celebrating the end with a spread of deep- fried delights: chips, calamari and cheese fritters that jostle for space on the table with Ava’s Prada clutch. It was, is, a pretty big deal. Ava DuVernay has made history. Again. She was the first female African American film-maker to receive a Golden Globe nomination (for 2014’s civil rights drama Selma). She was the first with a film up for a Best Documentary Feature Academy Award (for 2016’s 13th, about racial inequality in America’s prison system). Now, with A Wrinkle In Time, she is the first to helm a live action film with a budget of over $100 million.
It was also the film that saw her call up a good friend. One who most people don’t have on speed dial. Oprah. Their relationship began after Oprah saw Ava’s 2012 film Middle Of Nowhere and tweeted her. ‘It was crazy, I dropped the phone,’ she says, eyes wide even now. ‘She said, “Good job, sister.”’ Their bond tied tight with a knot when Oprah invited Ava to brunch at her house. ‘I took her these flowers – I spent extra, went to the biggest place in Hollywood,’ she laughs. ‘I get there, look behind her and there’s like an acre of flowers. Mine look like dead tulips compared. She was very gracious, even though she was standing in a field of flowers; carefully cultivated from all over the world... Like the botanical frigging gardens!'
Ava’s accomplishments are all the more mind- bending when you consider that she didn’t even become a director until the age of 32. ‘Old in film-making years,’ she laughs, ‘very old.’ Ava, now 45, had been a publicist for 12 years, running her own agency for nine. ‘I was a film lover,’ she remembers. ‘But I never thought you could be a film-maker, that I could be a film-maker.’ The fire was lit when she worked on Collateral in 2004 and saw the director, Michael Mann, using a digital camera. ‘I was like, “I don’t know how to direct. I haven’t been trained in all of the 35mm camera work.” But there was something about seeing him take out that camera...’ All of a sudden, she felt comfortable with the idea that she could do it. ‘And then all these black people were on set. We were [ filming] in a place that’s close to where I’m from, in East LA. It all came together.’
Ava first came to mainstream attention 10 years later, with Selma and then 13th. Then the pivot that no one saw coming, including Ava herself: A Wrinkle In Time, an adaptation for Disney of a 1962 fantasy book she hadn’t read. Ava’s interest was piqued by African American studio executive Tendo Nagenda, ‘who said to me, “Think of all of the worlds you can build, imagine what you can do with them.”’ The deal was sealed when Disney confirmed she could make the main character – teenager Meg Murry, who is searching between worlds for her missing father – a girl of colour. Ava went home and read the book ‘with excitement and immediately connected to it. I was like, “I know this girl!”’
Ava truly did know this girl. In many respects, she was this girl. ‘I lived in a predominantly black area and brown area but I went to an all-girls’ Catholic school with mostly girls who were not of colour. I remember going back to my neighbourhood and trying not to be smart and take off my uniform really quickly. They knew I didn’t go to the public school so I was a little out of place there and definitely out of place in school.’
Meg being African American allowed Ava to tackle some contemporary, real-world issues that young girls deal with around identity. ‘With something as specific as hair,’ she says. ‘When you have an African American girl’s hair issues, [with] Europeanised standards of beauty, it becomes an interesting place to talk about things that resonate with girls of colour.’ There is a significant moment in the film when a white school friend tells Meg that he likes her hair natural, just as it is. Was Ava worried that this could be interpreted as her needing his validation? ‘No,’ she says. ‘What that symbolised to me was a person of privilege, a Caucasian boy, looking upon something that usually we’ve been told – to t into society at large, where the dominant gaze is the Caucasian gaze – that you have to look a certain way. So, for someone of that dominant gaze to look upon someone who’s been marginalised and say, “I like you that way”... at moment was less for a girl of colour than to speak to Caucasian boys about their own privilege, and their own sense of what has value.’
On the larger issue of representation in the movie industry, particularly around race, Ava is positive but prudent, calling for sustained change rather than one-off cork-popping celebrations that are hailed as breakthroughs. ‘Things are changing but they haven’t changed. Change is progressive. It involves dismantling systems. There are some amazing landmarks and milestones that are happening – but if they’re all separate, and not connected by a path for other people to get from landmark to landmark, it becomes something purely cosmetic and singular and only benefits the individual. This industry is built on brilliant people, so this is something that could be figured out if people really paid attention and cared about it.’
Ava’s strength and determination, you sense, comes from her close relationships with her mum, grandmother, auntie and two sisters. ‘They were very independent and that taught me a lot. I feel like there’s nothing that I can’t figure out. People are like, “There’s nothing you can’t do!” I’m like, “ There’s a lot I can’t do... but I’m gonna figure it out!” I know how it feels to have women around you who really lift you up and you lift them up. I wish that for every woman and know not every woman experiences that. I’m lucky.’
Lucky’ is not the word I’d choose to describe Ava DuVernay. Lucky women don’t make history. And that’s what Ava DuVernay is doing. One moment at a time.
*‘A Wrinkle In Time’ is in cinemas from Friday *
NOW READ: The Films You Can't Miss In 2018
Best films 2018 grazia SLIDER
1 of 21Ocean's 8
The prospect of a gender-flipped re-boot doesn't always fill us with anticipation, but that's not the case with Ocean's 8, which has managed to cast - deep breath - Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, rapper and comedian Awkwafina and Rihanna as a gang of con artists orchestrating a jewel heist at the Met Gala (Anne Hathaway plays their target). Given the star power involved, here's hoping they pull it off…Summer
2 of 21On Chesil Beach
Having earned her first Oscar nomination (aged just 13) for Atonement a decade ago, Saoirse Ronan returns for another Ian McEwan book-to-film adaptation (this one with a script by McEwan himself). Based on the Booker-nominated novella and set in 1962 (the year before sex 'began,' as Philip Larkin would put it in Annus Mirabilis) On Chesil Beach follows a newly married couple on their honeymoon, tentatively preparing to navigate the physical and emotional awkwardness of their first night together. Billy Howle stars opposite Ronan, alongside Emily Watson and Anne-Marie Duff.15th June
3 of 21Thoroughbreds
Playing out like a millennial Cruel Intentions with darker laughs and an even darker ending, Thoroughbreds is as poised and fast-paced as its title would suggest. Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke make a compellingly twisted duo as Lily and Amanda, two privileged Connecticut teens who'd drifted apart until the latter's mum bribes the former to assist her daughter with SAT prep. Type-A Lily soon becomes fascinated by Amanda – and by whispered rumours about her pet horse's grim fate, too – and recruits her into an increasingly sinister campaign against her hateful stepfather.9th March
4 of 21Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!
Everyone's favourite guilty pleasure musical (OK, my favourite guilty pleasure musical) is back for a sequel that's also a prequel: Lily James plays the twenty-something iteration of Meryl Streep's Donna, who's torn between younger versions of the three love interests we met in the first film. As the story jumps from past to present, the old gang of Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth et al is back, but a question mark hangs over Donna's fate – luckily, Cher has been drafted in for a cameo to distract from her absence. The question that no one's asking, though, is how have the producers eked out a sequel when the first film tore through almost every song on ABBA: Gold? 20th July
5 of 21Mary Poppins Returns
53 years after Mary Poppins floated into the London sky, umbrella in hand, Emily Blunt will take on Julie Andrews' iconic role in an all-singing, all-dancing sequel – and as far as re-castings go, this one appears to be practically perfect in every way. Set in 1930s London, Mary Poppins Returns picks up with Jane and Michael Banks (played by Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw) as adults with children of their own. Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, Julie Walters and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (who's also worked on the musical numbers) round out an all-star cast.25th December
6 of 21First Man
Ryan Gosling re-teams with La La Land director Damien Chazelle for a new biopic that's stratospheres away from his love letter to old Hollywood musicals. First Man follows Neil Armstrong (Gosling) as he prepares to make the first landing on the Moon. The Crown's Claire Foy joins him as Janet, Armstrong's wife, in what will doubtless be her most awards-friendly role since taking on Queen Elizabeth II. Chazelle's film, which he's previously described as 'a mission movie' over a straightforward biopic, has been in development since 2014, and features a script by Josh Singer, who wrote 2016's Best Picture winner Spotlight.
7 of 21The Post
Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and the Pentagon Papers leak: everything about The Post implies guaranteed success come awards season. Its subject matter, too, couldn't feel more timely. Streep plays Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham, the lone woman in the editorial boys' club, as she grapples with the ethical implications of her paper publishing (or not publishing) a classified report which reveals how successive US governments had stepped up the conflict in Vietnam. In other words, it's about holding those in power to account. A must-watch.19th January
8 of 21Black Panther
It doesn't arrive in cinemas until next month, but Black Panther – the first standalone movie in Marvel's extensive stable to be fronted by a black superhero – is already setting records, beating Captain America: Civil War to become the studio's most pre-ordered film in the 24 hours after tickets became available. As T'Challa, the hero of the title, Chadwick Boseman heads up a cast that features Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan and Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya. Here's to a future where Marvel movies don't exclusively star white guys named Chris…12th February
9 of 21Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald
After 2016's inaugural Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them comes the second in a planned five-part series, bearing the ever-so-slightly cumbersome title The Crimes of Grindelwald. Plot details have, of course, been kept largely under wraps, but we can expect to see Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander teaming up with Jude Law's Young Dumbledore to take down the dark wizard of the title. Johnny Depp's casting has (rightly) proved controversial: can the producers' decision to stand by the star in the wake of domestic abuse allegations stand up in the Times Up era?16th November
10 of 21A Wrinkle In Time
Madeleine L'Engle's fantasy epic isn't widely read this side of the Atlantic, but it's a beloved childhood favourite for many US readers. Now, the novel is getting the Disney blockbuster treatment with Ava DuVernay, the woman behind Selma and last year's The 13th, on directing duties. Joining her to tell the story of Meg (played by 14-year-old Storm Reid), a young girl who travels through space and time in search of her missing scientist father are Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling and Chris Pine.9th March
11 of 21Solo: A Star Wars Story
Fashioning a back story for one of the most iconic screen characters of all time is no small task, and for a moment, it seemed like the latest addition to the Star Wars spin-off universe would end up trapped in development hell: the film's two directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller parted with Disney due to the classic 'creative differences' halfway through production, with Ron Howard drafted in at last minute to wrap things up. All this behind-the-scenes drama only serves to make Solo: A Star Wars Story the more intriguing. Set to mark a tonal shift from past installments (it's been billed as having a comedy-meets-western feel, whatever that means), it'll see Alden Ehrenreich stepping into Harrison Ford's shoes, with Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in as-yet-undisclosed roles.25th May
12 of 21Isle Of Dogs
Wes Anderson's follow-up to The Grand Budapest Hotel__ was this doggie treat. A stop-motion animation in the vein of his Fantastic Mr Fox, Isle of Dogs is set in a dystopian Japan in which dogs have been confined to a garbage-strewn island after an outbreak of canine flu. This being an Anderson movie, the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston and Jeff Goldblum are among those voicing the menagerie of canine characters.
13 of 21Phantom Thread
Daniel Day Lewis' last role (or so he says – the three-time Oscar winner has a habit of announcing a career break then making a suitably dramatic return) sees him play a twisted 1950s couturier in Phantom Thread. So far, the film, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, has garnered five star reviews across the board and a clutch of awards nominations, too, while the dreamy New Look-style ball gowns are worthy of a real-life runway.2nd February
14 of 21I, Tonya
They say the truth is stranger than fiction: that seems, at least, to be entirely correct when it comes to the curious case of Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding, who fell from grace when she became implicated in a brutal attack on Nancy Kerrigan, her team mate and rival. To play Tonya (and to play against her superlative looks), Margot Robbie was transformed with layer upon layer of prosthetics. A classic awards tactic, yes, but one that's apparently paid off: her performance has so far earned nominations from both the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs.16th February
15 of 21Red Sparrow
Jennifer Lawrence goes full femme fatale in Red Sparrow, playing a Russian ballerina who's forcibly recruited by the secret service. Once she has been trained up as a super-spy, she begins to question her loyalties when she embarks upon a relationship with a CIA agent. Based on that synopsis, we're expecting glossy, high octane thrills, with J. Law back in quasi-superheroine mode after a post-*Hunger Games *and X-Men lull. Charlotte Rampling, Joel Edgerton and Matthias Schoenaerts also star. 2nd March
16 of 21The Shape Of Water
If you were enchanted by the dark dreamscape of Pan's Labryinth, Guillermo del Toro's fantastical Spanish Civil War allegory, prepare to get excited for The Shape of Water, a 60s-set love story that's also a B-movie thriller. Sally Hawkins is expected to pick up an Oscar nomination for her performance as a mute cleaning lady who's captivated by a fish-man hybrid held in the high-security lab where she works. A touching romance that's far from the Hollywood norm unfolds, and like many of this year's awards hopefuls, it's not hard to read between the lines to infer a timely message, one of tolerance and acceptance.14th February
17 of 21Molly's Game
If you haven't already caught Molly's Game, the directorial debut from West Wing screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, may we kindly recommend that you do so, ASAP? Flawlessly delivering Sorkin's trademark mile-a-minute dialogue, Jessica Chastain gives an electrifying, can't-take-your-eyes-off-the-screen performance as Molly Bloom, the former Olympic skier who became the host of an underground Hollywood poker game which eventually counted A-listers and billionaires among its players. Out now
18 of 21Mary, Queen of Scots
Saoirse Ronan stars as the ill-fated Mary Stuart, the Scottish queen who became embroiled in intrigue when she made a play for the British throne, in this first screen effort from Josie Rourke, the departing Donmar Warehouse creative director. It also marks Margot Robbie's second film make-under of the year, decked out in ashy white make-up and a flaming red wig to play Elizabeth I, Mary's cousin and rival. The likes of David Tennant, Guy Pearce and Joe Alwyn also star.November
19 of 21Annihilation
From the director of Ex Machina, Alex Garland, comes Annihilation, a sci-fi-horror-thriller mash-up that promises to be just as cerebral and troubling as its predecessor. Based on the novel by US writer Jeff VanderMeer, it'll star Natalie Portman as a biologist who joins an all-female expeditionary group (featuring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson) venturing into an environmental disaster zone. If new reports prove correct, it's set to sidestep a cinema release in the UK, instead dropping onto our Netflix dashboards this spring. Spring
20 of 21Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
A pitch-black tragicomedy from the writer of In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri sees Frances McDormand as a grieving mother burning with righteous anger: after local police are no closer to catching her daughter's killer one year on from the murder, she rents a trio of billboards in an attempt to shame them out of their stupor. While the film has already proved critically divisive (with its problems centring around the racist cop played by Sam Rockwell), McDormand's blistering foul-mouthed performance is certainly worth your attention.Out now
21 of 21Lady Bird
As far as concepts go, Greta Gerwig directing Saoirse Ronan in a coming-of-age story set in early Noughties California might sound too good to be true, but that's Lady Bird's exact premise. Having already proved a major hit with US cinemagoers and critics (landing – for a time – the coveted 100 percent rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes), it'll finally arrive on UK screens in the thick of awards season in February. Manchester By The Sea's Lucas Hedges and Call Me By Your Name's Timothée Chalamet pop up as the self-nicknamed 'Lady Bird's love interests, while Laurie Metcalf is generating Oscar buzz with her nuanced performance as the title character's mother.16th February