{"id":131646,"date":"2019-04-11T10:25:13","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T14:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/?p=131646"},"modified":"2019-09-30T13:55:13","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T17:55:13","slug":"exclusive-director-tina-gordon-on-co-writing-directing-little","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/exclusive-director-tina-gordon-on-co-writing-directing-little\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Director Tina Gordon On Co-Writing & Directing ‘Little’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hitting theaters this week from Universal Pictures is producer\u00a0Will Packer<\/strong>\u2019s upcoming comedy Little, directed by Tina Gordon<\/strong> and starring Black-ish star\u00a0Marsai Martin, Issa Rae<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Regina Hall<\/strong>.\u00a0The movie is based on a pitch by Martin.<\/p>\n

Regina Hall<\/strong>\u00a0and Marsai Martin\u00a0<\/strong>both star as Jordan Sanders \u2014 Hall as the take-no-prisoners tech mogul adult version of Jordan and Martin as the 13-year-old version of her who wakes up in her adult self\u2019s penthouse just before a do-or-die .<\/p>\n

Insecure\u2019s Issa Rae plays Jordan\u2019s long-suffering assistant April, the only one in on the secret that her daily tormentor is now trapped in an awkward tween body just as everything is on the line. Little is an irreverent new comedy about the price of success, the power of sisterhood and having a second chance to grow up \u2014 and glow up \u2014 right.<\/p>\n

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For Gordon, it’s her first film back on the big screen since she made her directorial debut in 2013 with Peeples<\/strong> starring Kerry Washington<\/strong>. Prior to that, she worked as a screenwriter, notably on films such as Drumline<\/strong> and ATL<\/strong>. More recently, she wrote the screenplay for What Men Want<\/strong>, which starred Taraji P. Henson<\/strong>. Blackfilm.com’s Nicole Granston caught up with Gordon as she spoke about coming on as a writer initially and then directing the film.<\/p>\n

Nicole Granston: You\u2019ve worked with Will Packer before in \u2018What Men Want\u2019. How did you get involved with \u201cLittle\u201d?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Tina Gordon:<\/b> I first came on as a writer, working on the script, as it got ready for production. At that point he had not asked me to direct it. I really thought I was just working on the script as I had done for \u2018What Men Want\u2019. Then one day out of the blue, Will called and said let\u2019s meet for lunch. I met with him and his partner James Lopez and they asked me to direct the movie. At first I was a little nervous because he\u2019s definitely on a winning streak and I didn\u2019t want to break that, but I practice what I preach, win or lose, you have to move forward. So I signed on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NG: In the film, there are a few shots showing life size magazine covers for INC, WIRED, and Fast Company with Jordan Sanders prominently being featured. The spirit and feel of the movie is one of girl power, magic and empowerment. What message were you trying to send to young girls?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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TG:<\/b> It started with Marsai Martin. The fact that a 10-year-old could walk into Will Packer\u2019s office with an idea and a goal and then into the offices at Universal Studios to pitch the idea and act out scenes, that took so much courage. Off-handedly I would say, that was magic in and of itself, not even thinking about the fact that we were doing a movie about magic, and then ultimately #blackgirlmagic. Everybody, the producers, Issa, Regina, everybody lent their creativity and experiences to push Marsai into this moment that she dreamed for herself. I feel like the message of the movie amplifies what we were doing for Marsai. So, it was my intention to have the world set in tech, where we don\u2019t see much representation for black girls. It\u2019s meant to be a symbol of making space for yourself in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I pictured Jordan Sanders having to fail and win many times, to make that space for herself in tech as an entrepreneur. The art on the walls, the clothes the actors are wearing, there are so many black female crafts women doing the things you see in the movie. I wanted to support that idea.<\/span><\/p>\n