Director Nia DaCosta is being called out for missing a cast and crew screening of her film “The Mavels” to attend her own birthday party.
Nia DaCosta is being accused of showing a lack of interest and dedication to the “Marvels” film she directed. So missing a cast and crew screening to attend her own birthday party is only adding to the side eyes.
But DaCosta was free to attend as the film’s director and expected at the event since she attended the film’s Las Vegas premiere the night before. However, instead of attending the Los Angeles screening, the “Candyman” director was off celebrating her 34th birthday, staffers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe say.
“Marvels” executive producer Mary Livanos had to step in for DaCosta and introduce the film at the screening in the director’s absence. Now DaCosta is facing more criticism from Marvel insiders who feel she’s shown a complete disregard for the film and MCU.
A rep for DaCosta claims that “it would be quite disrespectful and upsetting to suggest Nia has anything other than adoration for her creative team.” In fact, they say she had no idea the screening was taking place and only learned about it when she invited members of the cast and crew to her birthday party.
“Nia would have been there,” the rep added. “She would do anything for her cast and crew.”
The latest incident comes after DaCosta called out critics of the “Marvels” film for being “virulent and violent and racist — and sexist and homophobic,” she told Variety.
All the while, DaCosta is proud of the glass ceiling she was able to break as the first Black woman to direct an MCU film.
“Most people seeing the movie aren’t going to know or care about that,” she said. “For other young Black women who want to be filmmakers, I think it’s important to be an example.”
DaCosta is currently in pre-production on her forthcoming film, “Hedda” starring Eve Hewson and Tessa Thompson.
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Source: Black Enterprise
