- You're a Black man that killed a cop
and then took his gun.
- I'm not a criminal.
- You are now.
- Lena Waithe, I have a question.
What was it about this idea
that spoke to you and propelled you to make it your own?
- If a Black person kills a police officer in self-defense
I immediately wondered what will be people's reaction?
And I'm like, what would Black people think?
Would they think they were heroes?
Would they think they were vigilantes?
Would they think they were crazy?
- Mm-hmm.
- And I think that Black people would
think all of those things (laughs).
It's funny, when I wrote it a couple years ago,
things were turbulent
but now they're even more so.
I didn't realize how the movie
would become more and more relevant as time went by.
And I really do believe it's sort of
this weird open season on Black bodies.
And when we see the news
and you see the names come across the screen,
and these beautiful Black faces whose lives have been taken,
more often than not by police officers.
Then a week later, we watch the news
and we see that they've been, you know,
released back into the force.
It is traumatizing
and I think I needed to work through the trauma
and I did so in the script.
But ultimately,
- As a viewer, just watching the scene
where they're pulled over by the police officer
made my heart pound
even knowing that it was gonna end differently
than what we usually experience.
What difficulties did you battle just writing that?
- Melina and myself watched the Sandra Bland dash footage
again and again which was haunting.
- [Luria] Yeah.
- 'Cause there's a moment, to me,
I really found the scene in watching Sandra Bland's
the footage of her being pulled over
because there was a moment where he asked her
to put the cigarette out and she simply says,
which is a fact, "It is not illegal
"for me to be smoking in my own car,"
and, "Why do I have to put it out?"
And instantly he says, "Get out of the car.
"Get out of the car.
"Step out of the car."
And that's where everything changes.
And I found that moment in 'Queen & Slim,' as well.
And it can be life or death for us.
And that's what I really wanted to find was the humanity.
- I feel like you also did a great job of kind of
writing from the perspective of three different people
in that scene as well.
- Right.
- Absolutely, absolutely.
- Slim is more just trying to be very passive about it
just trying to get through it
and Queen's like these are my rights.
- Right, honkin' the horn.
- Exactly.
- Do you have a search warrant, all that kinda stuff.
They're both right.
They both are valid.
And then the police officer
who almost feels like he's in danger.
You know?
That was a big thing for me, I think,
in a conversation I had with Melina.
She's like, "You gotta remember,
"technically, he's outnumbered."
He's asked if he wants backup and he refuses.
- Mm-hmm, what do you believe is the benefit
of telling a story like this that isn't beholden
to the understanding of a white audience?
- I think it's what we deserve, you know?
We've been watching white cinema
since the beginning of time.
'Casablanca,' you know, 'All About Eve,'
you know, 'Wizard of Oz,' 'Gone with the Wind,'
all iconic movies.
The movies as we know it have been in their language
for as long as we can remember.
We've had to learn that language,
we've become fluent in their dialect
We also have a broken English.
I like to think it's a little bit of Southern,
with some city, and a dash of slavery.
We have a way of speaking
and I'm so grateful that we got final cut on this film
the white gaze doesn't touch it, it's ours.
And what's been exciting is the response
from Black people, people of color
because they can feel us.
Even thought we may look different,
we all come from different walks of life,
and different economic backgrounds, all that kind stuff,
different religions,
We really deserve to be woven into the fabric
of this country and to this industry
because we are a part of it.
We deserve to be here
and I think that's really what 'Queen & Slim' represents
is we're not gonna sugarcoat this,
we're not gonna make it feel comfortable
for white audiences.
We want you to come in and experience this movie.
And then when you leave, we hope that you'll talk about it.
- As a queer, Black woman in an industry
that's really struggling with inclusive representation
what is your advice to people that are fighting
to feel seen and feel heard?
- You know, I think the thing is
is you can't stop fighting.
You can't stop pushing.
Don't stop creating, don't stop writing.
And what I did was,
I just really committed myself to my craft.
That's what I care about most is being a master of my craft
and being really good at what I do.
Daniel and I had a beautiful conversation over lunch
and he was talking about his dad said that,
You know, it's not just enough to exist in it
but we feel like we have to bend the world.
And so those ideologies are always sort of
going back and forth
and so I want us all to be seen.
But I do think it's a greater fight to be seen
because people that run these studios and networks
often don't look like us.
But I'm grateful that with this script,
they saw some possibility and they were like,
"This could really be special."
And I'm grateful for that
but then I have to step up and say,
"I don't want you to touch it.
"I know, you know it can be special.
"I know it can be too but
- Well, thank you so much for your time.
- Thank you. - The movie's amazing.