- Can I help you? -
- Why yes. Yes you can. I'm here to report a terrible crime. -
- And what terrible crime is that? -
- This one. -
Congratulations on an absolutely eye-popping,
jaw-dropping, pop-up blast of an anti-hero movie. I loved it.
For those who are not in the know ,
can you please fill them in on exactly who Harley Quinn is and
what her emancipatory journey in Birds of Prey involved.
Sure. Well Harley Quinn is a comic book character
and she first appeared as Joker's girlfriend
in Batman the Animated Series, and she just took on a life of her own.
Even in the comics, she became a fan favorite
and I think partially it's because she is both
very vulnerable but also extremely powerful and funny and different than
anything else and she had a weird wicked sense of humour
and I think people really love her for that.
And so after she was introduced as Joker's girlfriend,
She went on and had her own series and became an antihero of sorts,
and out on her own without the Joker, and so that's what we do in this movie.
She breaks up with the Joker at the beginning of the movie
and then the rest of it is to her finding herself.
- Now that I cut ties with Mr. J, I'm about to learn that
a lot of people want me dead. -
- And at the top of that list, is this guy. -
Margot Robbie just a joyous, fierce energy and she's also the producer.
so can you tell me about working with her
and what she brings to the party.
I mean she brings it all.
She really does. She's incredibly committed. I think the most
committed actor I've ever worked with. And she's good at everything and so
which is super fun as a director because you're like
"oh, you are gonna do the Derby, and you are gonna skate on a moving carousel
and fight men at the same time."
and then on top of that we're gonna have a very emotional scene
between you and doc and you're going to wow us with that, and on top
of that she's an incredible producer. She really really knows her stuff
and she has muscled and fought for this movie for
many many years.
Yeah, she brings the real intelligence and integrity to the role
even though it's comic book.
Absolutely, yeah
Because one of the things I really loved about it was that I felt these women
transcended gender and I wondered if that was part of what you
wanted for the appeal to be way beyond just girls.
I think that was really important for all of us
because in our daily lives, I have a very supportive husband
and many guy friends and there is no reason that I think
a movie with predominantly women characters shouldn't be enjoyed by men
and Margot spoken about this too, of trying to create a
different world and aesthetic and energy to it so that it doesn't feel
necessarily like a chick flick, and the R-rating and the toughness of it.
I love what you said about transcending gender
and gender cliches on top of that.
Because these are just cool, interesting
strong characters whether they happen to be male or female.
- What? -
- You are so cool. -
The fight scenes! I mean, what incredible choreography.
I just loved every second of them. Tell me about your influences, and also Margot's input.
Sure. Well I wanted to make it feel grounded and real for the most part
and that was important to me, because I wanted to convey or show these women actually
being really powerful and strong and the physicality of these women, and so much
of the world was playing around with these two extremes of keeping it very
grounded and gritty, but at the same time having these pops of colour and
exuberance and fantastical elements.
That's what the world is, and that's what Harley is.
That's what her mind would be, and the Gotham that we created.
The choreography, you know, the practicality of it was something I've
always loved, and I spoke a lot about with Jonathan Eusebio, our stunt coordinator.
We were both big fans of early Hong Kong, like Jackie Chan movies
and the way that he would just do all his own stunts, and it was all
practical and that was a big
that was something I really wanted in the movie
was to keep it very practical.
- Psychologically speaking, vengeance rarely brings the catharsis we hope for. -
- Yeah. -
- Are we ready? -
How are you changed when you do a film like this both professionally and personally
when it's such a great opportunity to get your hands on a DC film.
and to work with such great writers, and great producers and women.
Tell me about your journey.
Absolutely, I definitely think that I felt very much
connected to the material, and to the story that they're trying to tell which is
like women alone, finding strength in each other
and then therefore in themselves.
I think that we all have so much self-doubt and as a
female director and a woman of color, I definitely had plenty of that and I went
from making a small Sundance movie to doing this and I think being able to do it at all
to be given the opportunity to do it, was huge and really a boost of
confidence and really a way to emancipate myself from some of the
self-doubt and this imposter syndrome that I think we are all privy to
that we all get and I think all the women in this movie emancipate
themselves from a little bit of that. Because sometimes where we're definitely
our own worst enemies, at least half the time, and if someone like
Black Canary spends most of the movie not being able to find that power and have
her voice and then suddenly she lets out this huge scream
and all of that, I think that's just a really great story to commiserate with.
Absolutely. What I felt when I left was just the surge of connection and power.
What do you hope people will take away when they've seen the film.
I mean I think that's really spot-on. I would love that.
I would love for people to have a good time
and then I think hopefully it's cathartic for some people as well.
Ultimately, I hope they fall in love with these characters.
Not because that they're particularly likeable, but because they're real
and they're engaging and they have something to say.
- Oh shit, is that a hyena in a bathtub? -
- Named him Bruce after that hunky Wayne guy. -
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