MINDS THAT MATTER
TEENS SET OUT ON A JOURNEY TO SAVE THEIR SOULS IN DYSTOPIAN FILM
The process for making an animated feature film is a lengthy and particular one. A script and storyboards inform vocal performances and they then inform the animation and effects.
It’s something Jennifer Yuh Nelson knows well. After cutting her teeth on HBO’s award-winning animated series Spawn, she was head of story for the global hit Kung Fu Panda and a story artist on Madagascar.
The talented filmmaker then made her feature film directorial debut with Kung Fu Panda 2 and went on to direct the franchise’s successful follow-up Kung Fu Panda 3 in 2016. She makes her live-action debut with The Darkest Minds, a sci-fi thriller based on Alexandra Bracken’s young adult novel of the same name.
Q: What was the appeal of this story?
A: Because I loved to draw as a child and later worked as a story artist, it was natural for me to direct animation originally, but I’ve always wanted to do live-action. So, after directing Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3, I was going through scripts to choose my first live-action movie. What really struck me about this particular script was that it had an amazing, gut-punching emotional core, even in the early draft, and the relationships were strong. You don’t see that in a lot of early scripts. I immediately read the first book from the Alexandra Bracken series, and it had such great characters and voice. I was very excited about the film. The thing I always gravitate towards is an emotional hook. If I don’t have that, then I don’t know what kind of movie I’m making.
Q: Can you discuss the film’s plot?
A: A mysterious disorder wipes out 98 per cent of kids in the United States. We don’t know what it is, it’s unexplained, but all of a sudden these kids are gone. The remaining children have strange powers and abilities, so the government, of course, considers them to be a danger. This is the story of Ruby, a young girl who has the ability to go into people’s minds and perhaps even erase herself. She can manipulate memories. She escapes from the government and finds kids similar to herself, and the story is about how she finds a sense of family and belonging. It is her journey going from that scared little girl into a powerful woman.
Q: Is it exciting we have more women like you at the helm of major films?
A: I think there is definitely a change in attitude and there’s a lot more support for women directors right now. But there still aren’t enough women doing this job. It really comes down to this: Is there support to give women these jobs? You can yell and scream until the cows come home, but you still have to be given a job. The more women are allowed to direct movies, the more normal it will become and then the more people won’t notice it and everyone can just focus on doing the work.
Q: What is it about Amandla that made her the perfect choice to play Ruby?
A: Shawn Levy (The Night at the Museum, Date Night) is the producer of this film. His daughter and Amandla went to the same school and they’re friends. Shawn has seen Amandla grow up and he knew even from her early work at school and her early career that she’s an amazing actress. When I met her I was so impressed. She’s so powerful, her presence is so strong and she is very wise. She is utterly genuine and that was something I definitely needed to see in Ruby. She needed to have power but also vulnerability; she needed to be genuine and real, rather than a ‘processed’ actor who is just being an actor all the time.
The Darkest Minds is in cinemas now.