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Ryan Coogler, director of the movie “Black Panther”, issued a statement today mourning the death of star Chadwick Boseman, who died last Friday (28) of colon cancer. In a moving statement released by People, Coogler reflected on his time with the actor on the set of the Marvel movie and also pointed to the legacy Boseman left behind.
The two met in 2016, when Coogler was working on “Creed: Born to Fight,” starring Michael B. Jordan. The director had already confirmed that he was about to make a sequel to the Wakanda story and reflected on the leadership stance Boseman demonstrated during the shootings, even while battling cancer in private.
Before sharing my thoughts on the passing of the great Chadwick Boseman, I first offer my condolences to his family, who meant so much to him. For his wife, Simone, especially, ”the director began.
“I inherited the casting choice from Marvel and the Russian brothers to T’Challa. This is something I’ll be eternally grateful for. The first time I saw Chad acting as T’Challa, it was in an unfinished version of ‘Captain America.’ .: Civil War ‘I was deciding whether directing Black Panther was the right choice for me or not. I will never forget it, sitting in an editing room on Disney Lot and watching their scenes. First with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, then with South African movie titan John Kani as T’Challa’s father, King T’Chaka. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to make this movie. “
After the Scarlett character left them, Chad and John began to speak in a language they had never heard before. It seemed familiar, full of the same clicks and pops that black kids would do in America. The same outbursts for which we were often scolded. for being disrespectful or inappropriate. But it had a musicality that seemed old, powerful and African. “
“At my meeting after watching the film, I asked Nate Moore, one of the producers, about the language. ‘Did you make it up?’ Nate replied, ‘This is Xhosa. John Kani’s native language. He and Chad decided to do the scene like this on set, and we shot it like this. “
Coogler writes that he wondered how the actor had managed to memorize lines in a new language in just one day. “Even though he didn’t know Chad, he was already in awe of his acting ability.”
The director also said that the decision to have Xhosa as Wakanda’s official language was toughened by Chadwick, who was from North Carolina. “Because he was able to learn his lines in Xhosa, right there. He also advocated that his character speak with an African accent, so that he could introduce T’Challa to the public as an African king, whose dialect had not been conquered by the West.”
Coogler recalled meeting Chadwick in 2016, when he had already signed on to lead the show.
“He passed the journalists who were gathering for a press conference he was doing for ‘Creed: Born to Fight’ and he met me in the green room. We talked about our lives, the time I spent playing football in college. and his time at Howard studying to be a director, on our collective vision of T’Challa and Wakanda. “
“We talked about the irony of how his former Howard classmate, Ta-Nehisi Coates, was writing the current T’Challa arc with Marvel Comics. And how Chad met Howard’s student, Prince Jones, whose murder by an El Police inspired memories of Coates, ‘Between the World and Me’ “.
The director claimed that at that point he realized that Chadwick was an anomaly. “He was calm. Sure. He was constantly studying. But also gentle, welcoming, he had the warmest laugh in the world and eyes that seemed far beyond his age, but could still shine like a child seeing something for the first time.”
Coogler said it would have been the “first of many conversations” he had with the actor. “We used to talk about ancestry and what it meant to be African. As he prepared for the movie, he reflected on every decision, every choice, not just how it would reflect on himself, but how those choices might resonate.”
The director said he had no idea if the movie he was working on would work. “I wasn’t sure I knew what he was doing. But I look back and realize that Chad knew something that all of us didn’t. He was planning a long game.” All this while you work. And it did the job. “
“He came to auditions for supporting roles, which is not common for leading actors in big budget movies. He was there for the various auditions for M’Baku. Auditions for supporting roles, which is not common for leading actors in Big budget movies. He was there for several auditions for M’Baku. At Winston Duke’s, he turned a chemistry reading into a wrestling match, “he said.
“While filming the movie, we met in the office or my rented house in Atlanta to discuss lines and different ways to add depth to each scene. We talked about fantasies, military practices. He said to me, ‘The people of Wakanda have to dance. during coronations. If they stand still with spears, what separates them from the Romans? “In the first sketches of the script. Eric Killmonger’s character asked T’Challa to be buried in Wakanda. Chad challenged him and asked, ‘What if Killmonger asked to be buried somewhere else? ‘”
Coogler She also stressed that the movie star deeply valued her privacy and was unaware of the details of her illness. “After his family released the statement, I realized that he was living with the disease the entire time I knew him. As a caregiver, leader, and man of faith, dignity, and pride, he protected his employees from their suffering. He lived a beautiful life. And he made great art. “
“Day after day, year after year. He was like that. It was an epic fireworks show. I’ll tell stories about being present in some of his bright sparks until the end of my days. What an incredible mark he left on us.”
“I hadn’t suffered such an acute loss before. I spent the past year preparing, imagining, and writing words for him to say, that we weren’t meant to see. It leaves me heartbroken, knowing that I won’t be able to see another close-up of him in the monitor or approach him and ask for another exit. “
“It hurts even more to know that we can’t have another conversation, a video call or a text message exchange. He would send vegetarian recipes and diets for my family and I to follow during the pandemic. He would ask about me and about people. which I love, even while dealing with the scourge of cancer. “
“In African cultures, we often refer to loved ones who have died as ancestors. Sometimes one is genetically related. Sometimes one is not. I had the privilege of directing scenes of Chad’s character, T’Challa, communicating with Wakanda’s ancestors. We were in Atlanta, in an abandoned warehouse, with blue screens and huge movie theater lights, but Chad’s performance made it all feel real. “
“I think it was because, from the moment I met him, the ancestors spoke through him. Now it’s no secret to me how he was able to skillfully portray some of our most notable characters. I had no doubt that he would live and he would continue to bless us with more. But it is with a heavy heart and a feeling of deep gratitude to be in his presence that I must acknowledge the fact that Chad is an ancestor now. And I know he will take care of us, until we meet again. . “
