A PERFECT STORM IN ‘WRINKLE’
14-year-old is heroine of much-anticipated ‘A Wrinkle in Time’
S TORM Reid is taking the world, well, by storm.
The 14-year-old star of Disney’s new movie, “A Wrinkle in Time,” which opens Friday, plays Meg Murry, a bullied, insecure biracial teen who travels across dimensions to rescue her scientist father. She’s guided by a trio of guardian angels (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling), called “the Mrs.”
The movie is based on Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel of the same name. The book, which was rejected more than 40 times by publishers, won a Newberry Prize in 1963.
Like the book, the movie is about finding light in times of darkness, practicing self-love and following the heart, all messages that Storm hopes young
audiences will absorb.
“You are unique and beautiful. You don’t have to change for anybody,” she told students from Peck Elementary and the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, both a part of Houston Independent School District, at a recent breakfast at City Hall. “You are perfect just the way you are. And like Meg, you can save the world in your way.”
The students also were treated to a free screening of the movie.
“Our kids need to see more role models who look like them, like Storm,” said Carlotta Outley Brown, principal of Peck Elementary, which has a mostly black and Hispanic enrollment. “Storm is not only inspiring but she also gives them hope. ‘Wrinkle in Time’ deals with so many important issues, like bullying and STEM. It teaches children that whatever they going though, they can meet their dreams.”
To that point, Storm is one of a few AfricanAmerican actors to land the lead role in a sciencefiction film. She also joins a diverse cast of A-list actresses and director Ava DuVernay (“Selma”), who is the first AfricanAmerican woman to direct a live-action movie with a budget over $100 million.
Storm said she’s known since age 3, when she had her first acting gig, that she wanted to be a star.
“I know there aren’t a lot of 3-year-olds who know what they want to do with their lives, so I think it was my destiny or calling,” she said.
A native of Atlanta who lives in Los Angeles with her family, Reid had a number of small TV roles, then in 2013, she landed her first major part as a slave girl in the Academy Award-winning Best Picture, “12 Years A Slave.”
Storm said working alongside Winfrey, and the entire cast of “A Wrinkle in Time,” gave her a needed confidence boost.
“I was very nervous because it was my first lead role in a film, but with playing Meg and seeing what she went through, I think I became more confident. I became more focused on the light within myself,” she said.
Winfrey also gave the young star a few words of advice: “Ms. Oprah said that even with everything that is happening in my career right now, I wasn’t going to change as a person. That was important for me to hear.”
“A Wrinkle in Time” took six months to film, and most of its spectacular outdoor scenes were shot in the mountains of New Zealand and the sequoia forest in Northern California.
Storm, who read “A Wrinkle in Time” on her own a few years ago, said it was the best six months of her life.
“I had to pinch myself and ask, ‘Am I dreaming? Like what’s happening?’ Ms. Oprah, Ms. Reese, Ms. Ava and Ms. Mindy were are all so amazing, grounded and humble.”
The family oriented film also incorporates strong messages about bullying and its impact on girls. Storm, who travels with a tutor, said she’s knows a little about what it feels like to be bullied.
“I did experience kids picking on me for I don’t know what reason,” she said. “So I could relate, but I think Meg in the movie deals with it so well. I feel like when she starts loving herself, she doesn’t really care what the bullies are saying.”
Storm also is being hailed as the film’s breakout star. The praise comes on the heels of the monster hit, “Black Panther,” the superhero film with a nearly allblack cast.
“We are breaking barriers, which is so amazing. I feel like they are two different films, but they are able to connect with people and are so monumental in their impact,” she said.
As she travels across the globe to promote the film, she is like a regular teen. She can’t wait to spend time at home in Los Angeles with her three dogs — Bella, a pit bull; Prime, a boxer; and Cayenne, a red toy poodle.
She also hopes to attend regular high school, so she can have more real-world experiences. It’ll help sharpen her acting, she said.
At City Hall, Storm wrapped up the breakfast event by answering students’ questions that covered everything from her love of science to advice for young girls.
“I want them to know they are essentially goddesses and queens,” she said. “I feel like if this generation knows that, it would be amazing.”
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