The Cold Pitch That Took Her From UNKNOWN To Hollywood | Ava DuVernay

About this episode

Ava DuVernay shares her journey from being an unknown publicist to a celebrated filmmaker, highlighting the pivotal moment when Roger Ebert supported her debut film.

Before Ava DuVernay became an Oscar-nominated director and groundbreaking force in Hollywood, she was a 32 year old publicist with a $50,000 film, no film school degree, and a dream she wasn't sure anyone would take seriously. Then Roger Ebert said yes. In this deeply personal conversation, the visionary filmmaker sits down with David Begnaud to share the story of the legendary film critic who believed in her when the world had no idea who she was. Ava opens up about the moment she cold-pitched Roger Ebert to review her debut film I Will Follow, a meditation on grief inspired by her aunt Denise. She had worked with him before as a publicist, always transactional, always professional. But this time it was different. This was her movie. She didn't tell him that at first. She just sent the pitch like she always did. He said yes. And then he wrote a review that changed everything. Ava talks about growing up in Compton with her aunt Denise, standing outside the Oscars as a little girl getting a thumbs up from Roger Ebert himself, and never imagining she'd one day be the filmmaker he championed. She shares what it felt like to be taken seriously by the critic of a generation, how his…

People in this episode

Host: David Begnaud

Guest: Ava DuVernay

Topics covered

• filmmaking
• personal journey
• Hollywood
• inspiration
• criticism

Keywords

• Ava DuVernay
• Roger Ebert
• I Will Follow
• Hollywood
• filmmaking
• inspiration
• publicist

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: I Will Follow

Places: Compton

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