Late last month I had the great pleasure of speaking to Nicole Perlman about her directorial debut The Slows, which recently screened at Fantastic Fest and the New York Film Festival.
Perlman explained to me that she sees “The Slows” as the first step to directign her first feature film, which is exciting for cinephiles not just because of the quality of the short film, but also because she has already shown her adeptness at writing for mainstream cinema by co-scribing “Guardians Of The Galaxy.”
Perlman returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe early next year with “Captain Marvel,” as she was one of 7 co-writers on the blockbuster with Meg LeFauve, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Liz Flahive, Carly Mensch, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
Towards the end of my expansive conversation with Perlman on “The Slows” and what she has brought from the studio system to the world of short film, I decided to quickly ask her about “Captain Marvel,” specifically what will make it unique in comparison to the other 20 installments in the MCU.
“I mean, it’s the first female led Marvel titular character,” was Perlman’s first point.
“She is just incredibly strong, sassy and smart, everything that Kelly Sue DeConnick did in her ‘Captain Marvel’ series. I think fans will be really pleased with how Carol Danvers is brought to screen. I can’t say too much about it because I will violate all kinds of MDAs if I do.”
“I think people will be very happy. The goal is that both boys and girls will watch the movie and be empowered to be true to themselves and be empowered to do good work in the future. That’s the best we can hope for with a Marvel film.”
“Of course there is always the feeling and the pressure to make a film as good as you can make it. But I think the team behind ‘Captain Marvel’ are all top notch.”
“From the directors to the other writers, they’re all wonderful people and wonderful artists. But the responsibility and the way we made sure of doing a good job is that she’s not just a woman and it’s not just that she’s strong.”
“She is not strong in spite of being a woman or that her strength comes from her being a woman. I feel like this is a great superhero and an incredibly inspiration person.”
“We want to inspire people to be as true to themselves and not be afraid to speak truth to power. All of the things we really need right now for young girls and young boys.”
“There was a very heavy feeling of responsibility in that regard. Just in terms of being light and fun movie, but also carrying an emotionally impact.”
“Captain Marvel” will be released on March 8, 2019.
