2016, for all its ups and downs, has brought us some major milestone achievements, especially for women.
In the wake of Hillary Clinton becoming the first woman presidential candidate of a major political party, director Ava DuVernay ("Selma") became the first woman of color to helm a movie with a budget of over $100 million.
DuVernay recognizes this is a huge milestone for women, but has been incredibly humble about being the pioneer for an important reason — there are many other women who deserve recognition alongside her.
Needless to say, shattering this particular glass ceiling in film was long overdue.
Duvernay isn't the only powerhouse woman working on the project either. The film is an adaptation of the beloved YA novel "A Wrinkle in Time" which was written by another woman: award-winning writer, Madeleine L'Engle. The book itself won a Newbery Medal — one of the two most prestigious awards a children's novel can receive.
The film is being adapted for the screen by Jennifer Lee, who you might know as the writer and director of the Academy Award-winning film "Frozen," which was lauded for being one of the first "princess films" to feature two women who were saved by each other rather than by a man.
"A Wrinkle in Time" will also star a woman who's basically a professional at breaking through man-made barriers.
That's right, folks, I'm talking about Oprah (Opraaaaahhhhh!).
Oprah, just being Oprah. Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images.
Oprah is set to play the story's ethereal character, Mrs. Which. For those who aren't familiar with "A Wrinkle in Time," Mrs. Which is the leader of the three supernatural "witches" who lead the children in through time and space. In the novel, she only ever appears as a magical ball of light, which seems apropos, considering Oprah's exuberance and superstardom.
Obviously DuVernay will be in very good company on set, surrounding herself and her cast with some serious wave-makers to bring the film to life.
With "A Wrinkle in Time," Duvernay is joining a rather small pool of women working at the top of the film budget chain.
Kathryn Bigelow was the first to make it past the $100 million line in 2002 for her movie “K-19: The Widowmaker." And Patty Jenkins will soon join them with her adaptation of "Wonder Woman," which will hit theaters in 2017.
Bigelow with her well-deserved Oscar for "The Hurt Locker." Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images.
If one is groundbreaking, two is a coincidence, and three is a pattern, let's hope this pattern means we'll see this club of three keep growing — especially now that women have proven many times over, they can catapult a movie into blockbuster territory just as well as the next guy.
