And now,Angela Bassettmay add to the list of royals with awards bling.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: We get our first taste of Queen Ramonda at the U.N., with that speech.
Do you have a different approach as opposed to a simpler, more intimate scene?
Angela Bassett in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.Marvel Studios
ANGELA BASSETT:Well, yeah, it’s a big room.
It’s a huge room.
It was the first day of filming for the movie.
Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.ELI ADÉ/MARVEL STUDIOS
This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and we’re talking about superheroes, people who have incredible powers.
With Shuri, Queen Ramonda is mother, and that’s her main goal and focus with Shuri.
Ramonda, mother, is very mindful of that.
Danai Gurira and Angela Bassett in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.Eli Adé/Marvel Studios
It’s up to her.
Who will I be?
Who will I become?
But Shuri’s not a vengeful, hateful person.
She’s a brilliant young woman who has everything ahead of her.
So which path are you going to take?
David Byrne.Shervin Lainez
What do I want to be?
What have they taught me?”
So I felt very blessed to have them in my life.
‘David Byrne’s American Utopia’.David Lee/HBO
Let’s talk about the funeral scenes in this movie, the first being for T’Challa.
It was heartbreaking but beautiful all in the same way.
What do you remember most about those days of filming?
Everything Everywhere All at Once.Allyson Riggs/A24
The intimate one with just the family, that was one day.
It was hot, it was muggy, there were mosquitoes everywhere.
But it was beautiful out in the forest, in the woods with the trees and the mossy ground.
Austin Butler in ‘Elvis’.Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
And with the libations being poured.
Because then the heavens just opened up and it just rained.
They said, “Oh well, we didn’t get it.
Todd Field’s ‘TÁR’.Focus Features
We’re gonna have to come back.”
And for Leticia as Shuri, she was just…
I don’t know if it was acting or not because you could really feel and sense her heartbreak.
‘Fire of Love’.Sundance Institute
There haven’t been many, have there?
That’s all that I recall.
So let’s compare the two experiences.
‘Fire of Love’ director Sara Dosa at the 75th Directors Guild of America Awards in Feb. 2023.Monica Schipper/Getty Images
I didn’t like reading either.
[Laughs] I didn’t like turning the page…
I’m enjoying my script, I can’t wait to get to work.
And then turn the page, and voila.
Did you know what was coming in either case?
No heads up, no warning.
Trying to save her, and then I’m getting CPR and I don’t make it.
Oh, oh, I was distraught.
[Laughs]
As were we watching.
I mean, maybe that was the point.
So filming that: Was that you on the ground or did you ask for a dummy?
No, no, that was me.
I said, “Come on, Okoye (Danai Gurira), really save me.”
[Laughs] “Really put your strength into it.”
But at that point, eyes closed, not reacting, hearing everyone around you.
How do you even describe that sequence of events?
I think maybe I had made peace with it, you know?
And so it becomes like any other day you want to do good work that day.
And after you finish, it’s not the last day.
You still have more to do.
I prefer to be completely submerged in the water than just wet and laying on the ground.
[Laughs] This is the first time I’ve heard it.
Veteran, seasoned, legendary, those are words used when describing you.
What does this role, this movie, mean to you at this point in your life and career?
It means absolutely everything.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you come into the Daniels' world?
Was it viaSon Lux, the post-rock trio who penned the score?
DAVID BYRNE:It was.
I knew Son Lux and their manager, Michael, through an artist called Sufjan Stevens.
And I said yes immediately.
I just thought, Oh, my God, this is really insane.
Do you still have distinct memories of that ceremony?
Even for an established rock star, it must have been pretty wild.
Oh, yes, I’d never been to anything like that before.
[Laughs]So that was another world for me.
But it was a lot of fun.
It could be, you never know.
I was kind of surprised aboutLast Emperor.
I thought, ‘Well, people really like it, but look at this competition.
Look at the other movies that are out there!
Is it really gonna take all that?"
And in a way, I feel the same [now].
Look at these other songs that have been nominated.
It seems like an outside chance, but who knows?
And I thought, okay, this is not a world that she’s comfortable dealing with.
But Stephanie and I had a little vocal rehearsal just sitting in a room singing this song yesterday.
So that’s going to be fun.
I’m picturing something closer to what you did withAmerican Utopia, but with a Daniels twist.
In a certain way, yes.
We do realize it’s very, very different than a concert or just a regular performance.
Have you done your due diligence in terms of watching the other nominated films this year?
I’ve been trying!
I haven’t seen them all.
The world is opening up.
I know you’veguested onThe Simpsonsand done some other TV work.
But in a perfect world, how would you like to get your Emmy?
I think it’s a really long shot.
But I am pitching a couple of television shows, so who knows?
Well either way, no one can take away that EGOT O from you.
Where does your 1988 Oscar live now?
Is that anOscar?"
“And can I borrow your sandwich spread?”
[Laughs] Yes.
So who will actually win on March 12?
Here’s how I see things right now.
Best Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
All that suspense I was just talking about?
So it’s possible for you to takeEEAAOto the bank.
And I still think he has a slight shot at an upset victory.
But my head is telling me this is now a race between BAFTA winnerAustin Butlerand SAG winnerBrendan Fraser.
And yes,Cate Blanchettalready has two Oscars while Yeoh has none.
But I just don’t see how the Academy can ignore Blanchett’sspectacular achievementinTAR.
I’m going with Blanchett by the slimmest of margins.
The Oscar-nominated Dosa recently won the Best Documentary prize from the Directors Guild of America.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you come into contact with the story of the Kraffts?
That follows the story of an Icelandic woman who’s in communication with spirits of nature.
We were just so struck by the power of their imagery.
Mythic and almost elemental, like something from the earth.
Elemental is a perfect word for it.
Did you resonate with the fact that a woman had shot so much of this footage?
But the fact that she could also be celebrated for her art is so meaningful.
Her compositions behind the camera are so artfully done.
They communicate such a feeling of interconnectivity between all things.
And she thought very philosophically about her camera work.
It wasn’t just depicting an image, it was really a marker of time.
An existential quality and then, obviously, a fatalistic one, too.
Oh, yeah, all the time.
We were constantly baffled.
Like: Are you stupid?
[Laughs] I don’t think we ever said, “Are you stupid?”
But we definitely were just continually shocked and awed by the lengths that they went for their work.
It was a conduit to living out their philosophy.
That was the moment for me, too.
But there he is, and I feel like I can almost intuit the giant smile on his face.
you’re able to’t see it from that shot, but it’s there.
There aren’t enough words for me to ever declare my utmost admiration for Miranda.
And for Katia and Maurice, their story is so unimaginable to many people.
How could people live like that?
There’s a yearning and a warmth that you’re free to feel in her delivery.
What was she like to direct?
Oh, it was unlike any experience I’ve ever had.
It didn’t feel like directing, honestly.
It felt like having interesting conversations.
Yeah, I can’t quite describe it.
It almost feels like I want to do some sort of bodily expression.
I felt like there was just a connection there.
It was just a very easy, intuitive, very natural and organic process of collaboration.
I love your musical soundtrack, the sonic landscape that you create apart from Miranda’s voice.
What was your aesthetic in determining that?
And we started listening to Nicolas Godin, his solo work.
And so he had just that instant connection.
He brought that sense of romance and whimsy and play and style into the film.
The music definitely connotes a sort of dorky, cute laboratory kind of vibe.
I love that about it.
What would you say to young women who hope to make films?
First, just thank you.
I’m really touched by that comment and question.
They’re so pernicious.
Those are the little tricks that so many women have been developing for years.
This is not a new thing by any means.
And knowing that it is possible.
