A Closer Look with President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige and Communications and Media Expert, Nana Adwoa Frimpong at IMAX Headquarters
Marvel Studios are responsible for some of the biggest and highest earning films in the world. The company is notorious for their NDAs required of all involved parties, including the globally famous actors who appear in them. Marvel cares immensely about how their productions and their brand is presented to the public. When President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige recently spoke at a Q&A for an exclusive screening of Black Widow at IMAX Headquarters in LA, Nana Adwoa Frimpong was the one entrusted to host and moderate this event. Nana has moderated a number of events featuring such industry professionals as BAFTA Award–winning director and screenwriter Amma Asante, Primetime Emmy–nominee Lisa Joy (EP of HBO’s Westworld), and others. Ms. Frimpong’s reputation and prior work afforded her free reign to direct the conversation about this major Marvel film which features arguably the franchise’s most popular and powerful female character.
While Mr. Feige’s work and insight was essential, every facet of this event spoke to Marvel’s recognition of the immensely talented women involved in the making of Black Widow. As someone recognized as an expert communicator and strong advocate of women’s stories, Ms. Frimpong was a natural choice to moderate & host this event. With complete creative control, Nana explored the story behind the film as well as the narrative of Black Widow itself. In addition to being the star of this film, two-time Oscar Award–nominee Scarlett Johansson was the Executive Producer who advocated staunchly for Australian director Cate Shortland (Australian Director’s Guild and Writer’s Guild Award winner) as director. This production is the 2nd of all the Marvel films to have a female director (2019’s Ms. Marvel was co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck). The vast majority of the cast in this high energy action feature film are women, notably including Oscar nominated actress Florence Pugh and Oscar Award–winner Rachel Weisz. There is a thinly veiled subtext to the plot of Black Widow which depicts how women are controlled by those in power and the struggle to overcome this. Marvel often includes a message within the superhero format and this film’s statement, thanks to the talent both in front of and behind the camera, resonates with authenticity. Nana remarks, “I do believe that superhero films can make a social statement. I became a filmmaker because I believed in the medium’s power to translate that which has been underrepresented, misrepresented, and not had the opportunity to be represented at all. I think the fact that Scarlett Johansson served as an executive producer on the film, further putting her mark on the project is a testament to the necessity of being at the table and making one’s voice known. I think the opportunity to unlock a new way of seeing and having in depth conversations about topics that really matter are essential to all forms of media today. Of course, we need fun content for joy’s sake. Not everything has to be serious. I think Marvel films strike this unique balance of understanding how to access fun and mission focused narratives well.”
Following the screening, the Q&A allotted an hour for the nearly one hundred attendees to pose questions to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. As a producer, Mr. Feige has been the force behind many of Marvel’s biggest films including Avengers: Endgame, the second highest grossing film in history. As expected, the mixture of Marvel fans, filmmakers, and executives in attendance were enthusiastic about the Marvel universe as well as this new direction that Black Widow championed. The popularity of these films should not overshadow their potential to communicate important ideas. Ms. Frimpong states, “The thing I took away from Kevin Feige was the importance of fostering the voices of diverse talent and expanding the roster of who gets to tell stories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This was Cate Shortland’s first Marvel film and they were encouraged to pursue her for this role because of the other short films that she had done, in addition to the creative and sensitive ways she approached stories about women. Kevin and his team prioritize new voices and make an effort to diversify their pool of talent so that the people being represented in the film are also present behind the camera too.”
