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!
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)
The Girl from the Southern Wild
Elle magazine recently interviewed Beasts of The Southern Wild co-writer Lucy Alibar on her trials as a starving artist in New York City, her inspiration for writing Juicy and Delicious (the one-act play that was the springboard for Beasts), and how she managed to raise $650 dollars for a trip to Cannes. Hint: her going rate for hugs is $10.
"It was about a boy named Hushpuppy confronting the illness and death of his father, a man capable of enormous love but apparently incapable of putting that love into words.
She made Hushpuppy a boy instead of a girl because her feelings about the play’s subject were so raw. She conjured a place where ancient beasts were rampant, lemons flew through the air, and feral children ate cat food.
And then her old pal Zeitlin saw the play and told her he wanted to turn it into a film. And then they got support from Sundance. The 11-year-old boy became a six-year-old girl (played by the incandescent Quvenzhané Wallis), Hushpuppy and her father became black, the ancient beasts became the movie’s signature fantastical “aurochs,” and Georgia turned into an impoverished Mississippi River Delta community in Louisiana."
See the full interview at Elle.com.
Bem vindos à Banheira, Rio!
Our newest bi-lingual Beast, Delila Fernandez, introduces herself with a guest post in Portuguese, English and images...
Acima, o Pantanal e Manguezais do Brasil. Esses são dois lugares que Beasts me faz lembrar, em particular. O Pantanal, no Mato Grosso, é a maior região inundada do mundo. Os Manguezais são ecossistemas de transição entre o ambiente marinho e terrestre, onde se realiza a pesca de caranguejos.
Olá meus conterrâneos e conterrâneas do Brasil!
Me chamo Dalila, sou mineira , apaixonada por cinema e, entre minhas andanças pelo mundo, acabei parando aqui nos Estados Unidos, onde pude assistir de antemão Beasts of the Southern Wild. Maravilhada pelo filme, e sem palavras exatas para descrevê-lo, gosto de pensar na obra como uma poesia que não pode ser escrita. Me emocionei tanto que a primeira coisa que fiz foi buscar tudo o que podia sobre o filme na internet. Acabei descobrindo que Beasts buscava aficionados que quisessem ajudar a correr a voz sobre o longa em outros países, e enviei um email na mesma hora, sem hesitar! Foi assim que me juntei à equipe de comunicação de Beasts of the Southern Wild, preparada para espalhar aos quatro ventos sobre esta linda obra de arte, que, por sinal, está chegando ao Brasil!
A primeira aparição do filme em terras brasileiras será no Festival do Rio 2012. O Festival já acontece desde 27 de Setembro, e Beasts (ou Indomável Sonhadora, em sua tradução em português) será exibido nos dias 29 de Setembro, 3, 5 e 9 de Outubro. Mais informações sobre o evento e programação aqui.
É muito bacana ver a expectativa pelo filme já tomando forma no Brasil. Entre vários artigos e resenhas que já estão na mídia, gosto especialmente da cobertura de Pedro Andrade no Manhattan Connection. Fica a dica para aqueles que não podem esperar para ver o filme e estão curiosos para saber mais!
Agora, se você já é apaixonado por Beasts como eu, e também quer fazer parte do nosso grupo ajudando a divulgar o filme, conheça a página Be a Beast! Além disso, estou a disposição para quem quiser se envolver enviando ideias e sugestões para o meu email: dalila@beastsofthesouthernwild.com.
Não vejo a hora para Indomável Sonhadora estrear oficialmente em todo o Brasil. Já deixei amigos e família avisados: não podem perder!
Um grande abraço!
Dalila
--------------
Above, Panatal and Manguezais in Brazil. These are two particular places that Beasts reminds me of. Pantanal is a tropical wetland in Mato Grosso, and the world's largest flooded area; Manguezal is a flooded coastal area where people can catch crabs.
Hello my fellow Brazilians!
My name is Dalila, I’m from Minas Gerais, and I’ve been passionate about cinema all my life. After traveling around the world, I came to live in the States some months ago and had the opportunity to watch Beasts Of The Southern Wild. Amazed by the film, I found it hard to choose the exact words to describe it. I like to think of it as poetry that cannot be written. It moved me so much that the first thing I did was to look up everything I could about the movie on the internet. I soon discovered that Beasts were looking for people willing to help spread the word about the movie in foreign countries, and I sent them an email right away! That was how I joined the Beasts of The Southern Wild team as an Outreach Coordinator, prepared to spread the word about this beautiful masterpiece which, by the way, is coming to Brazil!
The first screening in Brazil will be at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. The event started on September 27th and Beasts (or Indomável Sonhadora, in its Portuguese translation) will be playing on September 29th, October 3rd, 5th and 9th. You can find more information about the event and schedule here.
It’s great to see all the hype for Beasts that is already happening in Brazil. Among several articles and reviews in the Brazilian press, I especially like Pedro Andrade’s article for Manhattan Connection.
There’s a hint for those who can’t wait to see the movie and want to know more about it!
If you too are already in love with Beasts like I am and also want to help spread the word, head over to our Be a Beast page! Additionally, I am available for anyone who wants to get involved at: dalila@beastsofthesouthernwild.com. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any question or want to send ideas and suggestions.
I cannot wait for Beasts of The Southern Wild to officially debut in Brazil. My friends and family have been warned: they cannot miss it!
Sincerely yours, Dalila Fernandes
