Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan recently appeared at the U.S.-China Entertainment Summit where she discussed how she landed the job as director as well as what the film’s rating will be.
Yan explained she was able to land the job because, “I did my homework.” She elaborated, “I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it was relatively painless and straightforward. I immediately loved the script and it felt like something I could really do, and it felt very much like my own voice.”
Yan continues:
“I could not put the script down, it had so much dark humor to it which a lot of my work does, and there are themes of female empowerment which are so strong and relateable. So I went in with, not with confidence, but at least a sense that I belonged in the room, that somehow magically in terms of timing and luck that this opportunity was open to me and I was definitely going to make the best of it.”
Yan then went into detail about her pitch for Birds of Prey to Warner Bros.:
“It came out of me. I have never done any of these things and I asked my agents for examples to get a better sense: I put together a pitch deck and also assembled a sizzle reel. But I would say it wasn’t like a lot of other sizzle reels which reference other films that remotely feel like your film. I find those to be rather pointless. But I created my own version that thematically and tonally conveyed what you would feel (in my movie).”
She then began to discuss the tone of the film and also addressed whether the film would have Eastern elements:
“Yes and no. The tone of the film is similar to that in my films. There is a half-Asian character and our screenwriter (Christina Hodson) is half Chinese and she’s sneaking little bits in.”
Cathy Yan would also reveal that the film would have an R rating. Birds of Prey will star Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. She will be joined by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, and Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya.
The film is expected to hit theaters on February 7, 2020.