Ivory Aquino hopes to save Batgirl. Image Source: People
Ivory Aquino hopes to save Batgirl.
In a recent letter to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslov, actress Ivory Aquino—the first trans actor in a live-action DC picture who played Barbara Gordon's closest friend in "Batgirl"—begged him to reconsider his decision to kill off the project owing to financial constraints.
Ivory wrote on her social media, she writes that as one of the many individuals who gave the movie their all, and she begs the studio boss to reconsider before completely destroying the film's footage. She claimed that despite her best efforts over the previous three weeks to remain composed and, somehow, be okay with the announcement of their movie's refusal to be released in theaters for the public, she has instead found herself sobbing, for lack of a better word, from sadness. She urged the CEO to rethink the choice.
Even though Batgirl has been called a woke movie, Ivory claimed that it was merely the result of writing that reflected the times. She explained that the movie is about a father-daughter story which particularly is very meaningful to her because her father passed away a year ago, just before Ivory Aquino signed on to work on this project. Ivory expressed her hope that, like her, other children throughout the world who are grown or not-so-grown, who respect their fathers in the highest regard, and who would consider Batgirl as a narrative of that special tie, would connect with the movie's subject and father-daughter relationship. She added that her heart goes out to Leslie Grace, the beloved directors, cast and crew of the movie who had spent months on making the movie and had hoped that the audience would appreciate and love their work.
The actress admitted that the lead actress Leslie had checked in on her the day they learned about the shelving but had only words of support and comfort. She dared not inquire as to whether Leslie had since spent nights fighting back tears as she had because she had to be the face of the Batgirl family and had to put on a brave face as a way of taking care of everyone while gracefully directing their film.
Ivory adding that they had claimed that the head of a corporation is like one huge gear above decreasingly smaller cogs beneath, she wrote that she had finally gotten to chat with a great friend about these profound sentiments and that friend shared with her an incident that helped inspire her letter. For those little gears at the bottom, one seemingly insignificant movement by this giant cog may appear comparatively insignificant, but the consequences might be seismic.
Ivory further claimed that she cannot even begin to conceive how it would feel to be in his position or what he goes through with having such a tremendous obligation to attend and that she can only try to appreciate how one feels when entrusted with caring to the bottom line as they have. The actress continued by saying that she is pleading with him once more to salvage their heart and soul-driven film, "Batgirl," and that the minor players should not be dismissed as insignificant widgets. They are fellow humans and artists, according to Ivory, who, given the chance, can surpass the equation and exponentially increase the bottom line.
She urged the company to distribute "Batgirl" to the general public in addition to saving the movie, which has been in the news for weeks. She said that if there hadn't been a marketing budget for "Batgirl" a month ago, she would be a hazard to say it has been taken care of by the course of events these past few weeks. The trans actor claimed that they have been fortunate to have had such amazing fans from the beginning, both in Glasgow, where they filmed, and all around the world. Now that more people are aware of their passion project, they are eager to see the movie. She concluded by expressing her honest hope that the CEO will read this letter and consider releasing their film, noting that Batgirl has always been the underdog and has nowhere to go but up.
Ivory Aquino’s plea comes after the following news that Warner Bros. held a "funeral screening" for "Batgirl" before destroying the film's footage in an effort to convince the IRS that the project won't generate any revenue and, therefore, should be eligible for the full write-down, the CEO of Discovery David Zaslow has written to Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. said on August 2 that it will scrap its $90 million budgeted "Batgirl" film despite the DC movie being nearly done. The cancellation of "Batgirl," which won't be shown in theaters or on HBO Max, surprised the industry since studios seldom bury whole films. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who directed the film, also voiced their sorrow and grief at "Batgirl's" abrupt cancellation, saying they had worked on it with a lot of love and support and were eager for the public to see what they had produced, but unhappily not anymore. Tax incentives played a significant role in the decision to end the DC offshoot.
