The Secret Life Of Bees...

Gina Prince Bythewood is the bomb. Really. And her resume is sweet.
Her movies "Love And Basketball" & "Disappearing Acts" are succulent.
And this week she's releasing her latest work, The Secret Life Of Bees.
Set in the early sixties, this is a story of a girl on a
quest for love and family.
Even though Gina is ridiculously busy promoting this film,
she made time to give me some inside scoop on the movie.
The making of this project sounds like a true love affair.
The bees are buzzing...Oscar.


How did you come to direct this movie?

it was sent to me as a manuscript before it was released as a book, but i was burnt out from doing back to back films and just tossed it into my closet without reading it. through the years i kept hearing what a great book it was. then, about two years ago an actress friend of mine told me she was going in to audition for this movie, "the secret life of bees" and i got incredibly jealous. i felt like it was my movie, even though i still had not even read the book. so i went home that night and read it, and was so blown away by the story, by lily's journey and by the boatwright sisters -- black women who crushed every stereotype. i realized i had made a huge mistake and was just pissed off for the next couple weeks. then by some miracle, the project fell apart and i got a call asking me if i would be interested in writing and directing it. this time i jumped at the opportunity and thankfully got the gig.

What inspired you to do this particular film? What about the movie spoke to you?

it all starts with the story, and i thought it was a beautiful story that moved me. lily's journey was very similar to what i went through growing up, being adopted and searching for the truth about my birth mother, and why i was given up, and most importantly, was i loved. i identified with her. and then, the chance to bring the boatwright sisters to life. here were three black women in the 1960's who were self-sufficient, educated, cultured and just fascinating characters. it is so rare to have one black female character in a film like that, and here were three.

What makes this film special?

there are so many beautiful themes within this film, and all of them are universal. they cross race, gender, religious lines and that is rare. and we as black women rarely get to see ourselves portrayed honestly on film. that does not mean saintly, or all good, which is just boring, but honestly and beautifully.



How does this film fit into your body of work?

it is a universal story that is told with black characters.

You have an incredible all star cast. What was the best thing about working with these women?

seriously, i was amazed every day. i was a fan of every actor in this film, and i got to go to war with them, and they looked to me to guide them. it was exciting. and then to hear latifah, jennifer and alicia sing on set in between takes, i mean come on. like my own private concert. crazy.


Secret Life is set in the early sixties… What were some of the things that you did to bring the women into that time and space?

i gave every actor a huge amount of research -- the documentaries "eyes on the prize,""four little girls," and books like "coming of age in mississippi," and "freedom summer." also a ton of music. five cds worth of 60's joints. and then we did some fun improvs.

Any funny and/or interesting behind the scene stories from the set that you'd like to share?

i can tell you first hand that kneeling on grits hurts like hell, and dakota wanted to do it for real, even in her closeup. that tells you what kind of actor she is. tristan and latifah are really acting with live bees, without gloves. there is no trick there. they both went to bee school to get comfortable, but it was still very scary. during all of filming, with thousands of live bees, only tristan got stung twice, the beekeeper and one camera man. so lucky. and this film not only has dakota's first real kiss on screen but also alicia's.

What do you want the audience to come away with?

you as an audience are trusting me with two hours of your life and i take that as a great responsibility. i want to move you, and inspire you. one of my favorite themes of this film is that optimism is courageous and i hope that everyone takes that away, as this is an important moment in history and optimism and courage are sorely needed.

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES IS IN THEATRE'S FRIDAY OCTOBER 17th.
DON'T WALK...RUN! GO SEE IT! AND TAKE A FRIEND!