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Things We Saw Today: Ava DuVernay Brings up a Good Point About How We Cover Artists

By Sep 19th, 2019, 6:06 pm

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Talking about the story being told in a movie is almost second nature at this point. We focus on the characters and their journey, and we rarely look at the craft behind bringing that story to life. Promoting her interview with Matt Zoller Seitz, acclaimed director Ava DuVernay pointed out that she is rarely asked about certain choices she makes, but rather why she wanted to tell the story at all. These are extremely different thought processes.

This struck a chord with me because the actual creative process is always something I’m interested in. I love the creation of entertainment. Seeing the story being formed, decisions made on shots, scripts, costumes, cinematography, editing, and how everything comes together is thrilling. But we live in a world where people are more interested in hearing why this story needed to be told in the first place (not that that is always a bad thing). We should be able to multi-task the kinds of questions we ask, especially to female creators, who often get grilled on the whys.

Ava DuVernay pointing out that she’s rarely asked about her artistic process is food for thought. We ask actors how they prepared, the same does not often hold for the creators and directors bringing the stories to life through their lens. So, thank you, Ava. This is a message that I think many people (journalists included) should take into consideration while covering movies, television shows, and beyond.

(image: Jerod Harris/Getty Images)

Here are some other stories we saw:

  • The judge has sided with the Michael Jackson Estate over the Leaving Neverland dispute. (via Variety)
  • A new study shows that we have lost 1 in 4 birds in North America. (via Audubon)

  • Finally some answers about those weird Lily’s Garden ads. (via NYMag)
  • Lilly Singh teaches a wage-gap inspired workout class. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Anything we missed out there, Mary Suevians? Let us know what you saw in the comments below!

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Rachel Leishman - Assistant Editor

She/Her. A writer who loves all things movies, TV, and classic rock. Resident Spider-Man expert, official Leslie Knope, actually Yelena Belova. Wanda Maximoff has never done anything wrong in her life. Star Wars makes her very happy. New York writer with a passion for all things nerdy. Yes, she has a Pedro Pascal podcast. And also a Harrison Ford one.