by Colleen McCreanor
Catherine Hand held onto A Wrinkle in Time for nearly 40 years before finding the home she knew it deserved. On February 13th, she spoke to WIFV members and film lovers about what that home was.
A Wrinkle in Time has taken on many forms in Hand’s life. As the author Madeleine L’Engle once said, the novel means “different things to different people at different parts of their lives.” The story of this young heroine has lasting power, and it has always been powerful to Hand. She advises everyone to read the book before they see the movie, even though not everything from the page is translated onto the screen. Hand fought to make the movie accurate to the beloved book, but knew it was most important to capture the essence of what Wrinkle is. Hand credits fellow producer Jim Whitaker, screenwriter Jennifer Lee, and director Ava DuVernay with being the people who could do just that.
Many times throughout the night, Hand suggested that though her quest to make the Wrinkle movie she wanted took a while, it all happened at the right time. Over the course of almost four decades, pieces fell into place dispersedly, with the final piece being the director, Ava DuVernay. Hand said that DuVernay had never read the book but when she was approached with the screenplay, her initial response was that it needed a diverse cast. And from that, the 2018 version of A Wrinkle in Time was set in motion.
Hand knew from DuVernay’s previous films that she had a talent for making big ideas intimate, like with her 2014 film Selma. She also knew that with the re-telling meant that some of what she had grown up loving would have to change. Even though she tried to keep parts of the film more similar to the book, she was pulled into the 21st century by DuVernay. Hand praised that new voices arise new issues and without DuVernay’s direction, the film would not have that perspective that makes it all the more magical.
“We dream, we have passion, we have ideas, but you have to be with someone who knows how to get it done,” Hand said at one point. She reiterated how special it is to share this story in 2018, the right time. Being so close to the Wrinkle book allows her to meet others who also love the story. With the film she will continue to meet those who are inspired by Wrinkle’s story, by DuVernay’s story (the first African American female to direct a film with a budget over $100 million), and by her own story. Success breeds success, so make sure to be in a theatre on March 9th to be a part of the inevitable success that will follow the imaginative new film, A Wrinkle in Time.
Colleen McCreanor is one of WIFV’s 2018 Spring interns. She is a film major at American University and is originally from Atlanta, Georgia.
