Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar—on the strength of Mudbound in 2018–brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening.
This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion.
The Fire Inside–which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival–tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat–with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)–only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide–as well as to the community of Flint. She’s also an ambassador for Up2Us Sports, a national nonprofit group which helps support underserved youngsters by providing them with coaches trained in positive youth development.
Morrison and Destiny reflected on The Fire Inside during an AFI panel discussion moderated by writer-director Ryan Coogler, for whom Morrison lensed such lauded films as Fruitvale Station and Black Panther. Morrison said that she learned a lot from observing Coogler and other directors she shot for over the years, the experience translating into a master class in directing. Among the lessons she gained first hand from Coogler was seeing him “always on set” and being “so present in the performances” of actors, not spending an inordinate amount of time looking at monitors.
On The Fire Inside, Morrison said she witnessed tour de force performances by Destiny and Henry, seeing a rapport build between the two actors and their characters–akin to the real-life bond between Shields and Crutchfield. Morrison said she felt a sense of purpose when taking on The Fire Inside, explaining that Shields’ story deserved to be told. “I believed in it,” affirmed Morrison, noting that she felt some personal parallels to the narrative. As a female cinematographer, Morrison had experienced the uphill climb in a field where women were scarce and not given their due–like Shields encountered in her pursuit of excellence in the boxing ring.
Morrison credited the work of Barry Jenkins who wrote the screenplay and served as producer. Jenkins, director of Best Picture Oscar winner Moonlight, for which he also won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, did justice to Shields’ life while also giving viewers a sense of Flint, a beleaguered yet resilient community,
Indeed out of adversity can come triumph. And in a sense that was true relative to the production of The Fire Inside. After extensive pre-pro and just two days of shooting, the COVID pandemic hit, shutting down the film–with the distinct possibility that it wouldn’t be resurrected. Initially Morrison and Destiny found the news devastating but in retrospect there were some advantages that sprung out of the situation, paradoxically helping them to bring more to the project than if it had proceeded as originally scheduled.
Morrison noted that during the interim–when Universal bowed out of The Fire Inside–she benefited from invaluable directing experience on such series as The Mandalorian and The Morning Show. Morrison said she gained more know-how and confidence. Whereas she was a bit apprehensive going into her initial directing turn on The Fire Inside, she came back the second time around with a stronger belief in herself. Meanwhile, Destiny used the additional time for more intensive physical training in preparation for the rigorous boxing role. Her and Morrison’s commitment to the film intensified and they both became better equipped to take on its challenges.
Among those challenges were budgetary concerns. Inflation took hold during those couple of interim years which meant, said Morrison, that they’d have to accomplish what they set out to do with buying power that in some instances declined as much as 20 percent compared to what they had originally. The onus was on Morrison to help squeeze everything she could out of the budget.
Morrison added that Destiny as an actress squeezed every bit she could out of herself. On that score, the director noted in awe that Destiny performed every single one of her stunts in the movie.
And underscoring her transition from cinematographer to director for The Fire Inside, Morrison developed a collaborative bond with DP Rina Yang on the film. They share a Golden Frog nomination for their work as The Fire Inside will screen in competition at Camerimage later this month.
William Goldenberg
After winning the editing Oscar for Argo in 2013, Goldenberg began to think seriously about diversifying into directing. That aspiration didn’t get fulfilled until Unstoppable, which, like The Fire Inside, recently made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Unstoppable introduces us to wrestler Anthony Robles (played by Jharrel Jerome), who was born with one leg and ultimately won a national championship in 2011 while competing at Arizona State University. Raised in a volatile household–with a violent stepfather but a loving, devoted mother, Judy (Jennifer Lopez)–Robles holds on tight to his dream of earning a place on a U.S. Division 1 college wrestling team.
That quest, though, is just part of the film as Robles and his mom form an unbreakable bond, which yields an unstoppable person and athlete–despite varied setbacks. Both mother and son come of age in their own way in this combined sports drama and family story that has plenty of heart. The cast also includes Michael Peña and Don Cheadle, as a high school and college coach, respectively–both sources of inspiration for Robles.
Goldenberg shed light on Unstoppable during an AFI panel discussion which also included Jerome, Lopez, the real-life Robles and his mom. Moderator was Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter.
Goldenberg recalled first coming across Robles’ book, “Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion,” some seven years ago. The aspiring director loved the story and sought out Robles, eventually visiting him in Arizona. Goldenberg spent four days with Robles and based on that experience, the filmmaker knew this was a project he had to help bring to fruition. Goldenberg felt the need to do justice to not only Robles’ story but also the world of wrestling. Goldenberg wasn’t familiar with wrestling but once he delved into it, he found it to be an extraordinary sport with team members providing support and having deep respect for one another.
Jerome was drawn to Robles for his “duality”–on one hand a nice, gentle, respectful person, and on the other, an intense competitor dedicated to slamming down an opponent. Jerome bonded with Robles who served as both a body double and stunt double.
In portraying Robles’ mother, Lopez said her process was the same that she embraced when playing a real person in the past–perhaps most notably music star Selena Quintanilla in the biopic Selena back in 1997. Lopez said she inundates herself with information about the character, gaining as much insight as possible into that person’s life. For Unstoppable, Lopez noted that Judy was gracious and generous when it came to opening up and sharing details about her life. Lopez found that in many respects Robles and his mom “raised each other.”
Goldenberg said it was important to him that Robles and his mom “felt good about this film” as an authentic depiction of their lives. Part of that authenticity, added Goldberg, was casting real wrestlers, sports announcers and referees, among others, for the film.
Unstoppable also faced the challenge of having to gear back up after the writers’ strike shut down the film just 11 days into the shoot. As a director, Goldenberg had to help bring the production, cast and crew all back up to speed.
Proving invaluable on that front was the experience gained and the lessons learned by Goldenberg from observing the directors he edited for over the years. For example, his Academy Award-nominated turns as an editor have been for directors Ben Affleck on Argo, Morten Tyldum on The Imitation Game, Kathryn Bigelow on Zero Dark Thirty, Gary Ross on Seabiscuit, and Michael Mann on The Insider (the Oscar nod shared with editors Paul Rubell and David Rosenbloom).
While Unstoppable has whetted Goldenberg’s appetite to direct again, he too wants to continue to edit for other directors. That’s because he loves both roles, adding that he’s not prepared to let go of collaborative relationships with directors who have been near and dear to him over the years. Goldenberg affirmed that he loves being left solo in a darkened room to edit as much as being on a set as a director interacting with many people. The latter is rooted in the “it takes a village” philosophy as folks need to come together as a family of sorts to realize the vision for a project. Goldenberg gains gratification from the creative dynamics behind editing and directing and he affirmed that his plan is simply “to go back and forth” between the two in earnest.
This is the first installment of our weekly 16-part The Road To Oscar Series of feature stories. Nominations for the 97th Academy Awards will be announced on Friday, January 17, 2025. The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
