Ryan Coogler hopes Black Panther disproves myth that black films dont do well overseas

By: AP | Cannes | Updated: May 11, 2018 6:03:28 pm Ryan Cooglers Black Panther became one of the years most acclaimed films and grossed more than .3 billion worldwide. Related News

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At the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, filmmaker Ryan Coogler reflected on the historic sensation of Black Panther and the changes he hopes it might effect on the movie business.

Noting that Hollywood theories cant be challenged “if you dont have anything that disproves it,” Coogler said in a conversation on stage that he hopes Black Panther is the groundbreaking force many say it is, disproving the old myths that black films “dont travel overseas.”

“I just hope that changes. Its got to change,” said Coogler. “I hope that me and you can leave the business in a better place than where we found it.”

Coogler brought 60 film students, many of them African, to the event because Cannes had a significant influence on him when he came to the festival in 2013 with Fruitvale Station.

“It really did something to me as a filmmaker,” he said, adding that in his festival experience “sometimes it can be challenging when youre in a talk and you dont see faces that look like yours.”

In preparing the film, Coogler said he realized that the story of Black Panther” — about a young man ascending to a family throne — bore many similarities to The Godfather. He studied Francis Ford Coppolas masterpiece and even screened an early cut of Black Panther with Coppola.

But Coogler didnt want that to divulge that inspiration before the movie came out because he said he was worried that people would think he was “aiming too high” for a comic book film. Black Panther became one of the years most acclaimed films and grossed more than 1.3 billion dollars worldwide. About half of ticket sales were overseas. On Wednesday night, Black Panther was screened on the Cannes beach.

The first time he screened the film for an audience, Coogler said, was for a group including a few dozen family members, Ava DuVernay, Kendrick Lamar (who produced the soundtrack), Issa Rae and George Lucas. Coogler also cited the likes of Lamar, DuVernay and Donald Glovers “Atlanta” for pushing him, indirectly, on Black Panther.

“My mind is being stretched by what we as people can do,” he said. Black Panther has been hailed for its empowered and pivotal female characters, also a rarity in the superhero landscape. An interviewer also noted that Coogler had on his three films always worked with female cinematographers and editors.

The women of Wakanda, the imaginary land featured in the film, reminded Coogler of home. “In a macro sense, thats the black community,” he said. “You find these incredibly layered women (who are) smart, heads of household. Thats the world I come from. The women in my life are amazing and I want to make films that capture that.”

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