Skip to main content

Selma director to helm fashion film for HBO

Director Ava DuVernay standing in front of a banner for "Selma."
Ovidiu Hrubaru/Shutterstock
As a woman of color, director Ava DuVernay is a rare bird in Hollywood, where women and minorities are both chronically underrepresented. That said, lots of folks have taken an active interest in the trajectory of her career.

Last month, we found out that the Selma director and Black Panther almost-director would be taking on the A Wrinkle in Time adaptation for Disney, and yesterday brought more news for DuVernay watchers.

Recommended Videos

According to Deadline, DuVernay has been tapped by HBO to direct and executive produce its upcoming film The Battle of Versailles, which tells the story of an epic fashion face-off in France that brought recognition for both American designers and black models.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The film is an adaptation of Robin Givhan’s 2015 book about the 1973 Palace of Versailles fashion show which saw five top French designers (Hubert de Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Marc Bohan, and Emanuel Ungaro) pitted against five up-and-coming Americans (Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Halston, Stephen Burrow, and Anne Klein with her assistant Donna Karan in tow). Despite being massive underdogs, the Americans trumped the French team’s over-the-top presentation with a simple, soul-music backed show that featured 30 models, 10 of whom were African American. At the time, the United States was less than 10 years removed from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the show was a big step toward equality in the industry and in the country generally.

HBO has a history of producing socially conscious films and shows, while DuVernay has a history of handling the issue of race powerfully and tactfully. As a result, this feels like a pretty natural fit.

DuVernay will also co-write the project with Michael Starrbury (The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete). We don’t yet know when production will begin or when the film will debut, but we’ll keep you updated as information becomes available.

Adam Poltrack
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Adam is an A/V News Writer for Digital Trends, and is responsible for bringing you the latest advances in A/V…
The Penguin, Dune: Prophecy will be rebranded as HBO Originals
Colin Farrell looks behind him and stares.

The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy are moving to HBO. Originally announced as Max Originals, the two series will become HBO Originals.

According to Variety, The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy were sold to international outlets as Max Originals. Rebranding the shows as HBO Originals would have involved some "crafty negotiating" to adjust the deals. With today's decision, HBO and Max Content CEO Casey Bloys found a way to move both shows under the HBO Originals umbrella.

Read more
5 great Oscar-winning movies to watch on HBO Max
Kim Ki-taek with his family gathered together on the floor.

We've reached the end of awards season, which means only one ceremony remains: the Oscars. As the most prestigious awards ceremony in film, the Oscars will hand out over 20 awards in above-the-line (picture, acting, directing, and screenwriting) and below-the-line (editing, visual effects, and technical crafts) categories.

While the top prize remains Best Picture, winning in any category makes the film an Oscar winner. Max, formerly HBO Max, hosts a wide selection of Oscar-winning movies. Here are a few Academy Award winners to stream, including a phenomenal sequel and a groundbreaking international thriller.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Read more
3 great movies you need to watch on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Selma

Three-day weekends are great, but Martin Luther King Jr. Day is foremost an important time to reflect on the legacy of the man the day is named after, and also on the complicated way the country related to him while he was alive. While several movies have been made about King's life over the years, those movies are not uniformly excellent.

The movies on this list are among the best dramas and documentaries about King from recent years, and they're also remarkably honest about the political climate that King was operating within. These are three movies that are perfect for MLK Day viewing.
Selma (2014)
Selma Official Trailer #1 (2015) - Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding Jr. Movie HD

Read more