Regina King admits her directorial debut could either “open doors or close doors for more Black female directors.”
The 49-year-old star has opened up on how the response to her new project, One Night in Miami, can have a wider impact, and she is hoping to succeed to give more people of color the chance to create their art on a bigger scale.
Speaking to reporters during a virtual press conference for the movie at the Venice Film Festival, she said: “Unfortunately, across the world, that’s how things seem to work.
“One woman gets a shot and if she does not succeed, it shuts thing down for years until someone else gets a shot…
“I am so grateful for our film to be a part of the festival but I really, really want it to perform well.
“There’s so much talent out there — so many talented directors — so if One Night in Miami gets it done here, you’ll get to see a lot more of us.”
The movie is based on journalist Kemp Powers’ fictionalized account of a real 1964 meeting between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali — who was still Cassius Clay at the time — singer Sam Cooke and NFL player Jim Brown.
The movie started shooting in November last year and was picked up by Amazon in late July, and the movie was initially delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, King explained: “We thought we’d push it back because we didn’t know what the climate of going to theatres would be like.
“And then a couple of months after the pandemic hit, [George Floyd died in police custody], and for all the producers and everyone involved, we were like, ‘This needs to come out now.’
“I feel like fate always had it planned out this way, but maybe we’re lucky and we’re going to have the opportunity to be a piece of art out there that moves the needle in a conversation about transformative change.”
