Its dawn in Los Angeles, and Ava DuVernay is telling me what keeps her up at night.
Instagram, the director says solemnly.
The last thing she bought?
Photo: Getty Images
Shes like, Whenever you go traveling, you always want to go to museums and see ruins.
You just need to lay by a pool, with your chestout.
This thing came two weeks later and I literally looked at it like, Who sent me this?
DuVernay, in Prada, at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in September.
Why would someone send me this?
I had to dig through it before I realized I ordered it myself.
DuVernay, in Prada, at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in September.
Jon Bernthal and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor inOrigin.
Oh, wow…
That night, she witnessed it for herself.
Then, at one point in the screening, someone cried out loudlyit was like an involuntary wail.
It was deeply moving to see that swell of emotion.
DuVernay on the set ofOrigin.
Its been much the same since, as shes takenOriginto other regional showcases and private screenings.
This film is making people cry in my arms.
And theyre talking to me in a way that Ive never experienced with anything else Ive made.
DuVernay says she was recommended the book by friends.
She then pauses, smiles, and corrects herself.
Well, Oprah Winfrey is the friend.
Ultimately, its become something that is more inspired by her book than a direct adaptation of it.
Jon Bernthal and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor inOrigin.
I decided I didnothave that interest and that if this is news its not for me.
In typical DuVernay fashion, she excelled and left her agency at 27 to open her own PR firm.
Now, she marvels at her own scrappiness.
As a publicist, I sold all kinds of storiesnot just those with big stars or superheroes.
DuVernay on the set ofOrigin.
For the first time in our conversation, she seems stumped.
Ive never gotten that question, she says eventually.
I havent done a lot of looking back, but being asked that I feel the breadth of it.
In the past, I was afraid of the gap, she admits.
I was afraid that the door would close.
And as forOrigins awards chances?
And I have everything I need from it.
Its not something Im chasing.
Its about time she had a breather.
Oh, my favorite question, she deadpans when I raise the subjectbut shes more than game to answer.
So thats been my focus.
Its a choice Ive made and one Im very happy with.
And the people I make films with are my family.
So whats next for her as filmmaking, however briefly, takes a backseat?
I have lots of fun, she assures me.
DuVernay pauses for dramatic effect.
She gives… themost incrediblemassages.
But first, there is the matter of releasingOrigin.
Originis now in wide release.
