Earlier today, a story surfaced at TheWrap which said Warner Bros. was considering a digital release of Wonder Woman 1984, the next major blockbuster still on the release schedule. With Marvel recently pulling Black Widow from its May slot, this didn’t seem all that far-fetched and may have even made sense with theaters closed for the long haul. Perhaps a day-and-date release, similar to what’s happening with Trolls World Tour, would be the path taken on the year’s biggest superhero film?
Despite the story spreading like wildfire through the Internet, with numerous sites penning thinkpieces on what a mistake skipping theatrical would be, there appears to be no factual basis to any of it. IndieWire spoke with Warner Bros. reps who state they will be “sticking with its original plan to release the film nationwide,” and Wonder Woman 1984 will receive a “full theatrical run” on June 5th, as intended.
The funny thing about this, and why we didn’t post anything on it sooner, is the original source story was full of on-the-record quotes from WB execs dismissing the idea of going straight to digital. Anyone who had read the piece would’ve seen quotes like this…
“We’re looking to release the movie theatrically, that’s our plan,” said Warner President of Domestic Distribution Jeff Goldstein.
Or this from producer Charles Roven, “It’s ludicrous if you consider how big a movie this is. Everybody recognizes that, as interesting as streaming might be, if you want a huge, global worldwide box office, you’ve got to release it in a movie theater.”
So why did the story catch fire the way it did? Because the headline is the only thing that matters anymore, and a headline that suggests Wonder Woman 1984 is going straight to VOD is very clickable.
Here’s the deal: For now, Wonder Woman 1984 is set for June 5th, but the way things are going it may not be up to Warner Bros. whether they can release it then. They might have to move it back a few months, but at least for now we can expect to see Diana’s next adventure on the big screen.
Shortly after Emancipation, many blacks are moving from the South in search of opportunities, and young clothes washer Sarah (Octavia Spencer) who has lost her hair due to stress of a former husband, befriends local hair care entrepreneur Addie Malone (Carmen Ejogo) and discovers the wonder of her hair growth formula. At that point, a bright light goes off for Sara and she decides to get into the hair care business. Partnering with her new husband Charles James (Blair Underwood), her daughter Lelia (Tiffany Haddish), her right-hand-man Ransom (Kevin Carroll) and countless others, they set out to get into the hair care business. At first, it’s trying to sell door to door, then setting up a warehouse/beauty school in her home, and then blossom it into an empire. But it’s not without hardships for Sarah in her journey to Madame CJ. For one, here and Addie had a rivalry for the ages with plenty of backstabbing and one-upping each other to become the top boss in the haircare business. To quote rapper Xzibit: “Sometimes the business end of this shit will turn your friends (or in this case family) against you.”
While the story of Madame CJ Walker is one that needs to be told, the presentation sometimes doesn’t work. For some reason, we have the mindset that all black movies have to incorporate hip hop into it. This is a film based in the 1900s with stellar production design, yet at least twice an episode we have to hear some variation of mumble rap that drastically throws things off. There’s talk of juke joints, why not have some culturally relevant music of the times? Self Made also engages in some surrealism that feels out of place. Whether its showing Madame CJ Walker in a boxing match against Addie to give a visual display of their rivalry and going head to head against each other, or Walkers dream of opening her warehouse complete with a musical number and dancers. Sure, it’s visually interesting, but it doesn’t really add anything to the story. Just the drama of the back and forth between Walker and Addie works better with their words and actions. An interesting choice, but just feels weird in the rest of the serious moments of the show.
However, Self Made works well by offering a glimpse of black life in a post-slavery world. Most people think there’s slavery, emancipation, and then civil rights based on our education. In fact, there was a period in time when there were black congressmen and many black businesses that thrived before Jim Crow came in effect. In fact, Walker gives her investment pitches to a room full of black businessmen and not white banks. Having Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois appears to show a world of black intellectuals that is also a wonderful thing to display. Existing in this time period also shows the colorism and sexism that existed within black spaces as well. Much of CJ Walker and Addie Malone’s rivalry stems from Malone’s refusal to work with her because she wasn’t light-skinned enough. Walker also had her share of sexism from black men as well, who laughed her off because she was a woman and beauty products “don’t sell.” It shows how life was, good and bad for a young black woman to make and achieve her dream, which leads to satisfying storytelling. At 4 episodes, Self Made manages to keep you engaged with the fascinating story of a fascinating individual who doesn’t get as much credit as she should.
