Regina King made headlines during her acceptance speech at the Golden Globe award for her role in “If Beale Street Could Talk” in 2019 when she made the following promise:
“In the next two years, everything that I produce — I am making a vow and it’s going to be tough — to make sure that everything I produce is 50% women,” King said.
But the actress has reevaluated her pledge, choosing to make a significant amendment.
“No, we weren’t able to accomplish it,” King told Insider regarding the promise, “but we definitely tried.” “What we were able to accomplish was that well over 50% of our crew were people that did not identify as cis white male[s],” she insisted. “From the moment of me making that proclamation, if you will, to us actually shooting [‘One Night in Miami’] it’s not respectful to regard everything as male or female,” she said. “So moving forward, as I do still feel having more women in positions behind the camera is important, I have to go beyond that.”
The One Night In Miami director also shared that she has no problem with British actors playing iconic U.S. characters, a topic that has raised more than a few eyebrows over recent years.
In her directorial debut, British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, who portrays Malcolm X and Canadian actor Eli Goree portrays a young Muhammad Ali.
“If I was moved by a performance, I really don’t care where a person’s from,” she said during a BAFTA masterclass. “As an audience member, to me they truly understood what they were doing, what they were embodying. After Kingsley’s first audition, I wanted to give him some notes. I wanted to just talk to him and get to know him and get to know what his relationship was to Malcolm. He said all the things that I needed to hear him say and I think it’s unfortunate that this is where we are.”
