Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan reveals her initial sizzle reel for Warner Bros. included Trump and The Bachelor. Birds of Prey is the latest DCEU film to arrive in theaters, having made its debut last month. Starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, the film brought DC Comics group the Birds of Prey to life as they worked to protect young Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) from the twisted Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor). It also starred Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, and Chris Messina.

Upon its release, Birds of Prey struggled at the box office. It opened to a lower-than-expected $33 million and has since reached only $79 million domestically. To help combat its box office woes, Warner Bros. re-branded the film on ticket buying websites. Whereas before the film was listed as Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), it has since been listed as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey in an attempt to draw in fans who are more familiar with Robbie's Harley, who previously appeared in 2016's Suicide Squad. Despite its box office issues, however, Birds of Prey has been well-received by audiences, and especially by women.

Related: Why Birds Of Prey Reviews Are So Positive

That largely seems to be due to Yan's influence and the vision she brought to the film. While speaking to The New Yorker, Yan explained how, after getting a meeting with Warner Bros. about potentially directing Birds of Prey, she put together a sizzle reel that was set to a homemade remix of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and "embodied the worst of modern womanhood." According to Yan, the sizzle reel went like this:

Like, scenes from ‘Bachelor’ proposals, the De Beers diamond commercial, Kim Kardashian’s vampire facial, Fox anchors talking about women, Trump saying ‘Grab ’em by the pussy’. After I showed the video, there was just silence.

Birds of Prey Set Photo Director Cathy Yan

These clips were chosen because they "might make a girl want to smash the patriarchy." Anyone who has seen Birds of Prey can tell that feeling definitely made its way into the movie, as the plot follows Harley and the other women fighting back against the dangerous men who control Gotham City. Plus, a large portion of Harley's story focuses on her "emancipation" from the Joker, whom she has just broken up with. Harley and Joker's relationship has always been toxic, and seeing her step away from that to find her own happiness was one of the biggest joys of the film.

Yan has the distinction of being one of the rare female filmmakers to direct a superhero film, and having her on board definitely paid off for Birds of Prey. As the first R-rated DCEU flick, Birds of Prey stands out among other superhero films and offers a fresh take on what is considered good female representation. This is a case of the director being allowed to do exactly what they want with a film, and regardless of what's happened at the box office, it's been refreshing to see.

More: Birds Of Prey: Harley Quinn Movie Is The Best DCEU Film So Far

Source: The New Yorker

Key Release Dates