HOLLYWOOD, CA – FEBRUARY 25: (L-R) Actors Levi Miller, Rowan Blanchard, Deric McCabe, Zach Galifianakis, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Director Ava DuVernay, actors Storm Reid, Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Screenwriter Jennifer Lee participate in the press conference for Disneys ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ in Hollywood, CA on March 25, 2018 (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** Levi Miller; Rowan Blanchard; Deric McCabe; Zach Galifianakis; Mindy Kaling; Reese Witherspoon; Oprah Winfrey; Ava DuVernay; Storm Reid; Chris Pine; Gugu Mbatha-Raw; Jennifer Lee
The List
Everyone has a list of famous people, noteworthy, important people they’d like to meet one day. My list is rather small and rather quaint in the larger scale of things. I don’t think I require too much, perhaps I could do without eye contact or even a conversation…all I want is to share air space with a few select people here on Earth. Luckily, just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the A Wrinkle In Time press conference and share air space with Oprah Winfrey. OPRAH WINFREY. She was definitely on the top of my list. And thanks to some delicate planning I even scored myself a front row seat in the press conference. So not only did I share air space with some of Hollywood’s elite, I even made eye contact with a few. I’m a lucky dog, all opinions are my own.
My Own Wrinkle In Time
It was as if I had entered a wrinkle in time myself as I entered the conference room of the W Hotel in Hollywood, California. The anticipation of the press conference had been jostling around in my head for weeks. It’s not every day that I have the opportunity to be in the presence of such important people. I knew that this press conference was going to be special, and I was right. The feeling in the air of the press conference room was palatable. There was a buzz about it, an excitement in the air that was electric. I’ve had the insane opportunity to attend a few press conferences in the past, however this A Wrinkle In Time press conference will go down as my favorite. Between being in the presence of the elite of the elite, to their very thoughtful and inspiring answers – I just couldn’t get enough. And now I’m so happy to finally tell you all about it.
Hollywood Elite in attendance of the A Wrinkle in Time Press Conference:
- Oprah Winfrey “Mrs. Which”
- Reese Witherspoon “Mrs. Whatsit”
- Mindy Kaling “Mrs. Who”
- Storm Reid “Meg Murry”
- Chris Pine “Dr. Alex Murry”
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw “Dr. Kate Murry”
- Zach Galifianakis “The Happy Medium”
- Rowan Blanchard “Veronica”
- Deric McCabe “Charles Wallace”
- Levi Miller “Calvin”
- Ava DuVernay (Director)
- Jennifer Lee (screenplay by)
For those out there who are Wrinkle in Time loyalists from the 1960s, what is the greatest shift that you made to adapt it to 2018?
Producer Jennifer Lee: “What makes Wrinkle so amazing and has resonated for decades and decades is because there is a timeless quality to the themes she (Director Ava Duvernay) is dealing with. But we did look a lot at what are those themes today, what do they mean today? And how do you stay true to that, but re-interpret them in a way that we all say this is our world?”
You’re like, hold tight. You have to get in line at the premiere, darling. Very much like that. Ava, you did it again, my dear. You did it again. Do you feel that?
AVA DUVERNAY: “No. I feel like I tried and gave everything I had to a film again. And so if that’s the it, then yes. There’s love in every frame of this movie and there’s love in every frame of everything that I do. I don’t have children. I won’t have children by choice. These films are my children, are what I leave behind. They have my name on them, have my blood in them. And so I feel I did that. And from there, you offer it up to the world and you hope that they can see our intention. But this was an extraordinary experience for me. It’s emotional to sit here with all of them because we really held hands on this and became a family, trying to just give a little bit of sweetness to the world in these dark times. It’s a tough time right now. And so this film really saved me in a lot of ways from kind of going down dark holes and kept me in a really light-filled place so I’m grateful for the past few years working on A Wrinkle in Time.”
A Wrinkle In Time…trying to just give a little bit of sweetness to the world in these dark times.-Ava Duvernay
You are sassy in this movie. Tell me about playing your character.
Reese Witherspoon: “And so I sat across from her, I was like, really you want me? And it was really, it’s very flattering to be chosen to be part of Ava’s movies because she doesn’t just make a movie, she makes an experience for everyone. She cares about what happens in front of the camera and she cares about what happens behind the camera. And everybody feels like they are important. Special. Honored. Valued for their contributions. And I feel like this was a masterclass in how to be a very thoughtful filmmaker. And a real visionary. In so many ways. So it was a privilege and an honor, and I got to be this amazing celestial person, who hangs out with Oprah and Mindy all day.”
A Conversation between Ava Duvernay and Zach Galifianakis
AVA DUVERNAY to ZACH GALIFIANKIS: “You had talked about what was so poignant to me when you first saw the film was about boys seeing the film and because we talk a lot about girls seeing the film but he was the first person who said, you know, this is something for boys too. Boys need to be able to see themselves be vulnerable and themselves be able to follow a girl and just not always have to be macho.”
ZACH GALIFIANAKIS back to AVA DUVERNAY: “Yeah. I think it’s good because it’s nice for young boys, young men even, to see that it is okay to have a sensitive side. I think when young boys in this climate, they are seen as sensitive. And they’re made fun of, but that doesn’t mean they’re are, it means they’re stronger to me. And I wish we would just kind of change that. We need balance. It’s time for balance. I think that’s what the happy medium is.”
I was so blown away by the overt friendliness and thoughtfulness of the actors and movie-makers in attendance, it actually made me love the film even more. I cannot wait for you all to see it. A Wrinkle In Time will be in theaters nationwide Friday March 9th.
