Back in October, Quvenzhané Wallis received the New Hollywood Award at the Hollywood Film Awards, joining the ranks of previous recipients like Robert Pattinson, Jennifer Lawrence, Gabourey Sidibe and Felicity Jones. Her acceptance speech from the night was recently released on YouTube and we can not stop smiling. From a sassy six year old from Houma, Louisiana to a confident and grounded young girl on the Hollywood stage, we are so proud of our Hushpuppy!
Beasts on Demand!
Beasts of the Southern Wild is coming soon to a TV (or computer) near you! Beasts will be available on a variety of Video on Demand platforms beginning Thursday, Nov 22nd for a limited time. If you missed us in theaters, or have been eager to share the film with friends, this would be a good time to do that in the comfort of your own home!
We'll have more information for you soon, but in the meantime, let us know if you want to host a watch party. We'll send you some special ways to prepare, and info on participating in a Google hangout with the filmmakers after you watch!
Quvenzhané Wallis on the cover of Los Angeles Times' The Envelope
Quvenzhané Wallis is featured on the cover of today's Los Angeles Times' Award Season Preview issue of The Envelope! Journalist John Horn sat down with Quvenhzané, director Benh Zeitlin and her high school teacher mother Qulyndreia Wallis to discuss Quvenzhané's first Beasts audition, mastering a New York accent for the upcoming Steve McQueen film, Twelve Years a Slave, and how she's handling the award season buzz.
"Look, you got another nomination, but it doesn't mean you won," Qulyndreia said after daughter was shortlisted for the Gotham award. "We're taking this one day at a time and see what happens."
Read the full article below or here.
Hurricane Sandy
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the stories of homes and lives lost to the storm weigh heavily on our hearts.
After a screening and Q&A in Queens, New York this past weekend, The Wall Street Journal asked Benh Zeitlin (a native New Yorker) about the hurricane and its timely connection to Beasts.
WSJ: Hurricane Sandy left many communities around here devastated. In “Beasts,” a woman from the Bathtub warns young kids about the future of our planet.
BZ: For me, this film wasn’t about the past, it was about the future. When I was writing the film it was in 2008 when we had Gustav and Ike, really bad hurricanes not in New Orleans but in the South where we shot the film. It was inspired by a moment of just realizing that storms used to come every 100 years, then they came every 50 years, now it’s like every three years. It was really about a future where storms are a perpetual threat.
I do feel South Louisiana is the first place to deal with this, but that’s what it is, the first. The world is changing, the planet is changing, and this is something that’s going to become a big part of everybody’s lives. It’s crazy to come up here and see the same thing happen in a place where no one was prepared for it or expecting it.
WSJ: Have people mentioned to you that “Beasts” resonates even more now, post-Sandy?
BZ: Somebody just came in a second ago, he was out in Rockaway today. I was down in Red Hook today helping people clean up. I think it’s going to change the conversation about the film. In Louisiana, people have internalized that this is happening and that they have to survive. Now that’s going to be here too, and it’s not the last story. Part of the reason we made the film as a fable and not as a documentary is that we wanted it to be a story that could travel and be universal and apply to people who live in all kinds of different places because it’s something everyone’s going to have to deal with. -- BZ
What do you think? Share your comments below.
And, if you are interested in helping the relief effort through donating goods, volunteering or providing financial aid, we've found these resources, here, here and here, to be helpful.
(Image via Tim Larsen/New Jersey Governor's Office)
Beast the Vote!
We did it! We just learned the film is a finalist for the Gotham Audience Award.
Thanks to you, Beasts is one of the top five films out of 31 audience festival favorites!
Now we need your help to bring it home. Audience award winning films from the Top 50 US and Canadian film festivals were eligible. They've now been narrowed down to 5 finalists.
Log in and cast your vote for the final round! Polls open today and will close on Sunday, Nov 18th, 11:59pm.
If you are so inclined, please take a moment to fill out this very brief form and cast your vote for Beasts of the Southern Wild. And please spread the word to the other Beasters you know.
Thanks, Beasts!