Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu & Gina Prince-Bythewood Talk 'The Woman King', Redefining Femininity + More

those things I want to show other people what we are Yes, you know, I always say, "If I can sit with Robert De Niro in any Martin Scorsese movie, if I could sit for two." hours 40 minutes with meryl streep or julian moore or cape blanchett then could you sit with me could you sit with tuso could sit with lashana could you sit with sheila could you sit with us and understand that we are complicated we are women like black women not only are we strong and loving, I want I mean, I played a lot of strong, loving women, I was going to ask when will you guys get a chance to relax?

You know we saw them a couple of months ago with their book and they have TV shows and

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movies. I know that was a lot. They are

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of an opportunity to just relax and do. I mean, I really need a nap and I'm going to move on because after the old guard I went right into this, um, but I had, I was going to take a break after the old guard and then the script came, it was like, damn, I'm not going to have a break, but I'm loo

king

forward to that, but also my mind is always on the go.

I already know what I want to write next, so I'll take a little time, but then yeah, I love what we do. I still do and I never want to lose that, what about you Miss Davis? It seems like he wants a vacation for some money. Oh, I do and I go straight to the hunger games, I mean straight to the hunger games, which is awesome. Director Francis Lawrence. Awesome. role the role of the villain but you know what everyone always says you know you have to be ambitious sometimes you have to be ambitious about resting, nourishing your soul and your heart, you know they say that the only way to treat the feeling of overwhelmed is to do absolutely nothing is in those spaces where you simply find who you are even that you connect with your life and you don't feel guilty about it sometimes we feel that if you are not active and wor

king

it is a bad thing, but I need that to refresh you, It's based on trauma, you don't feel like you deserve to rest, but like I said, being busy is a response to trauma many times.

I was going to ask you about the book, also like you. You gave so much of yourself in your book, it was both exhausting and stimulating at the same time. Well, there were some things in that book that I really had a hard time writing, yes, I did and sharing it with people in the world that you don't know, but then something amazing happened and that's I don't care what you have to say about me, this is what that I am, the good and the bad, the disaster, the beauty, the joy and that is what I have always been ashamed of and now it is as if you know that it is like that to say that the privilege of your life is to be who you are and that was the genesis of the book, but it was difficult for me hmm when you say costume you mean personally or people in your family uh, it was difficult for me to just put it on paper, wow, it did it, to write about my mom, you know, to write about a very personal event, my abortion when I was 28, it was really real, the fact that I just said it now makes me want to just write about it, but write about it honestly and not from a political perspective but a person, a personal perspective mm-hmm, which is more of a paradox, yes, you help so many people, absolutely, we received so many calls, emails, comments with people that you opened. so much that they felt it was relatable, like they were going through it and they felt like someone else was on their side, someone else had been through it, it allowed them to have a little bit of freedom like we had, there were so many and the book feels . like you're opening the door to a therapy session like these are things you would say to your therapist and not share publicly, but it seems like we find it easy to attend a therapy session that in itself will make you feel vulnerable, Well, I think everyone has to find a home, they have to find a home, a home, that is, that place, that sacred space within you, where you find your peace, where you find your joy, that is totally separate from the world and that's what I've always been looking for and I realize it's because I have to own my story, you know, yeah, I know you guys are making a runner, you have to go, but I just wanted to know if there was any part of the movie that you guys had to put out because you know you could shoot 20 hours of movies, but you have to limit it.

That's a

gina

question, what was the best part that you wanted that you didn't want to get out, but you just had the beauty of? I can say this as if my director's cut was only eight minutes longer and that's how the movie should be on the screen. I've always said that as a director I have to believe everything that's up there, so if I'm fighting with the studio if they want me to cut something that I don't believe in, I'm going to fight, I can't not do that, so, yeah, The film on the screen is what I wanted to put, I mean the ori

gina

l.

If I put everything into it it was three and a half hours um and only I had that copy um but it wasn't like that, you know, sometimes less is more and when you start to shape and shape the themes, the characters just stand out more. and so on, but it takes me a minute to get there, I have 10 weeks where the director made the cut and for the first five weeks I'm not going to cut anything and then you become less precious and less precious and again less is more, what is the best for the movie, how crazy is that fight, right, because you are the director, you have a vision, it's your vision, it's what you want and then the man calls and says the white man, don't say the man, okay, we want you to do this. so we want you to do that but it's not your vision this is my vision this is my that's how difficult it is that's exactly how I sound in the room and it's uh that's the thing like I walked in with the vision everyone knew what the vision was coming in um and it happens every time and then slowly but surely people try and chip away at your vision and that's where the fight comes in and I feel like a lot of young filmmakers come in and think they have to give in, but for me and all that to choose your battles, but with vision you can't choose your battles in every battle you have to win or you will look on the screen and see something you don't recognize, that's right and after all that we went.

Through the beauty of it was when I was fighting to protect and save scenes, I knew they were behind me, I knew they would be in the fight with me and that's an incredible gift, but at the end of the day in this movie I'll say um, the studio boss told me you know they have the final cut, um, but listen to our notes, just take them, don't throw them away, but take them, um, but other than that. we will give you your part this will be your movie and that doesn't always happen I only have two more questions I only had one but you made me think about something when you make these movies what is more important the vision or the intention vision the vision drives everything, every decision, now Whether it's the wardrobe, who I hire, who I choose, where we shoot, every decision starts with that vision and I also have a question.

I only wanted to ask. Part of the story is also the help of Africans. in the slave trade it was more difficult to fill those roles because no one wants to play that role, I think unless some people like to be a villain, it was about us being honest with the story and each role is necessary and brave to taking on a role like that and support for the hero finds Tiffin, who played oh, he was about to ruin the movie. Wow, there were a couple of roles, but it's important because it's important to tell the story and we need, we need, uh.

Those people, but we were going to come in and tell the truth. I think that will be new for a lot of people, especially a younger generation. You will be like a really African assistant in the slave trade. Yes, I mean things like that on a global level in all civilizations. participated in some way, you know, but for us it was having our women, our goji women and then this guy, she represents those within the kingdom that are pushing for change, um and that's what they ultimately did, so my Final question for all three. What do you most want?

What do you want people to take away from the

woman

king? So you want to get started. So what it did for me was give me a stronger voice because and I've said this before I did that. projects that I didn't realize I lived my life apologizing for existing and through this partnering with

viola

and gina and telling the story and my character who is so assertive so energetic determined you know who knows who she is and what she wants um , I found My voice, but also the whole process of doing this project, made me realize that you know we have desires, we have dreams, we know what we want, but there will be a fight as if a fight is guaranteed and our thing is to move forward , so whatever it is. it's that you feel like your purpose of doing the resistance doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, you just need to fight through it, there will be scars but it's part of the journey, for me it's really three things.

I want you to leave enlightened because you're learning about yourself, you're learning about these women, inspired by these incredible women and the history of this environment, and then empowered to take and see yourself reflected heroically, knowing that we all have this innate warrior. within us that is often suffocated when you are a

woman

and you go out and fight with Miss Davis. I never want to tell the audience what to take away from them, who knows how it's going to go down with them. I have no idea, but I know I have a 12 year old daughter who saw the movie and cried profusely.

She wow, she's fine, and then she said she was so proud of me and then I got all the text messages from her on her phone. She showed me a text message saying she was coming back. and then with a friend who had also seen the movie and they were like oh wasn't that great, it wasn't that great, it wasn't lashawna, oh my god, it was literally art and then she's like and I'm not just saying that. because it's my mom, so she showed me the text message and I said thank you so much, I texted her back because I'm traveling and I said thank you so much, my baby, and then I wrote in all caps with a exclamation and then I waited I waited waiting I got a buzz on my phone and the answer was husu and I thought it was amazing to inject my daughter with what I didn't have that kind of warrior spirit it's like whatever you dream whatever you dream is beyond fear, yeah, you know, and that's all that made me cry, hey man, go support the woman king this weekend, everyone, it's in theaters now,

davis

, thank you all so much for joining us, absolutely, what?

Do you ever have to support your child? every once in a while, like I think mommy lost and like you know, give me this basketball, I gotta back this little kid from the band, you know, the last time I played, he was 14 and he legitimately beat me. and I was like. that's all good morning you