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Ava DuVernay continues to boss up with multi-million dollar Warner Bros. deal
Ava DuVernay continues to boss up. The pioneering filmmaker inked a multi-year and multi-million dollar deal with the television branch of the historic heavyweight Hollywood studio, Warner Bros.
According to the studio, the deal is set to span multiple genres from “drama and comedy series, documentaries, digital content, event projects, and longer form projects for broadcast and cable, premium cable, as well as streaming services and other platforms.”
Having already worked with DuVernay on Queen Sugar and the CBS drama series, The Red Line, Warner Bros. expressed their excitement in continuing their collaboration with DuVernay, declaring,
“Ava DuVernay is one of the leading lights in our industry, a brilliantly talented writer, producer, director and entrepreneur whose ability to inspire with her art is exceeded only by her ability to entertain.”
A major gain from DuVernay’s deal with Warner Bros. is that the filmmaker can sell her projects to other networks and not be restricted to a singular distribution platform. In broadening her distribution outlets, more and more people will have access to see her important, critical and formative work.
In the meantime, DuVernay has continued to expand her collaboration with Netflix since the streaming service released her first feature all the way back in 2010, with I Will Follow. Since then, she has debuted the documentary 13th and is directing and serving as executive producer to the scripted miniseries on the Central Park Jogger case, called Central Park Five which is set to be released next year.
Plus, last month it was announced that DuVernay will direct a Netflix documentary on the legendary artist and musical genius, Prince.
DuVernay’s career, however, is already a firm and emphatic demonstration that she isn’t in it exclusively for herself. She has been helping people all along the way, making sure everyone,and I mean, everyone gets their shine.
One only has to look at her female-led directors’ initiative — a kind of informal enacting of affirmative action by DuVernay for women to direct episodes of her series Queen Sugar.
In the short time DuVernay has been directing, she has been a major success.
Importantly, her success has also made serious ground for women and particularly women of color to take their spot at the directors’ chair as well as work behind the scenes.