Cathy Yan, the director of Birds of Prey, says she sympathises with David Ayer over the troubled production of Suicide Squad.
With the news that Zack Snyder’s Justice League will be made public, other directors in the comic book movie sphere have discussed their own troubled productions. One of these is Suicide Squad director David Ayer, whose film was changed quite dramatically it seems by WB via reshoots.
On Twitter, Ayer discussed how his film’s tone was changed completely: “This was reshot because the tone was ‘too dark’ – My first act was a normally constructed film. I took my inspiration from Nolan. There were real scenes with incredible acting between Jared and Margot. Joker was terrifying. Harley was complex.”
In response to this, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipatoin of One Harley Quinn) director Cathy Yan showed some solidarity with Ayer, stating: “I’m so sorry this happened to you, David. I know the pain.”
I’m so sorry this happened to you, David. I know the pain. https://t.co/UOQdHcOmeN
— Cathy Yan (@CathyYan) May 31, 2020
Birds of Prey had its own issues too, even after release, with the name of the film being changed to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey in an effort to help sell more tickets. Hopefully, all this talk by frustrated directors leads to studios putting more trust in those they have decided to hire, although of course, with Snyder, the situation was far more complicated with the director stepping away after a personal tragedy.
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is directed by Cathy Yan and sees Margot Robbie reprising her Suicide Squad role as Harley Quinn alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Fargo) as The Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Underground) as Black Canary, Rosie Perez (Fearless) as Renee Montoya, Ella Jay Basco (Grey’s Anatomy) as Cassandra Cain, Ewan McGregor (Christopher Robin) as Black Mask, Chris Messina (Sharp Objects) as Victor Zsasz, Ali Wong (Black Box), Robert Catrini (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back), Steven Williams (The Chi), Dana Lee (Dr. Ken), Francois Chau (The Expanse) and Matthew Willig (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs).
