‘It’s a needed voice in the world’: Halle Berry on her directorial debut

Published

3 years ago

November 17, 2021

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Halle Berry’s directorial debut may include some of the movie tropes we’re familiar with.

A fighter who’s been written off returning to the ring, a parent trying to turn things around when an estranged child comes back in to their life and a woman manipulated by the man who supposedly loves her.

But Berry’s gritty drama Bruised sees the themes reframed and told from the perspective of a black woman – which isn’t something audiences will be so familiar with.

The star – who made history when she became the first and only African-American woman to win the best actress Oscar in 2002 – says now she’s made the movie she appreciates the value of telling the story from her point of view.

“I think now having had this opportunity to tell the story from my gaze – a black female – I think I realise even more having done it, how important it is, how important it is to get a diverse story out in the world,” Berry told Sky News.

“And as I’ve been talking to people about it and having them say it was hard hitting and it was, ‘wow, that was harsh’, and I’m thinking, ‘well, yeah, imagine living it, you know, it’s hard for you to watch it, imagine if that’s your reality’.”

“And the truth is, this is the reality of so many people, and so bringing some light to this subject really is important, and it takes people who’ve lived it, who understand it from this point of view, meaning black females, to tell these stories, and I think it’s a needed voice in the world.”

In the film Berry plays aging MMA fighter Jackie Justice, who accepts an offer to get back in the ring while also dealing with the unexpected return of her 6-year-old son.

The character is fighting on all fronts – fellow women in the ring and various demons and issues outside the sport.

Ultimately the film is about the power of women – a subject Berry wants to see more of on screen.

“As women we’ve been marginalised, you know, and especially as black women, we’ve been severely marginalised,” she said.

“So this is a way of not only getting our power back, but it’s also putting our stories out there and acknowledging that our stories have value, our lives are valuable, our experiences are valuable, our points of view are valuable.

“And this is one way for us to sort of get that out into the world through art in this way.”

It’s almost two decades since Berry’s historic Oscar win, and since then there’s been pressure on Hollywood to be more inclusive, with the MeToo movement and open conversations about how to address a lack of diversity in the industry.

The 55-year-old says she’s certainly seen things change during her career.

“I mean, look around – when I started 30 years ago, there were very few women of colour doing the things that we’re doing today, I look around, they’re everywhere today, and that’s true, they are.

“We’re living a new reality than we were when I started – I was making a way very much out of no way, I was the only one, I was one of the few, and now there’s many of us out here living our dreams, you know, telling stories, having great roles to play.

“So yeah, I do think things are changing – more female directors than ever before, producers… Is change slow? Most change is, but I see great strides and I see how we’re growing and the growth is really real.”

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Despite her years of experience on sets, Berry said taking on the role of director has given her a fresh perspective on the way that films are made.

She says it will definitely change how she sees things as an actress in the future.

“Once you wear this skin and you actually are in charge of an entire production, you realise now why certain decisions were made,” she explained.

“I mean, when I was just an actor, I used to always wonder ‘now why would they schedule the scenes like this? This makes no sense, this is making our job as actors indelibly harder’ – now having been on the other side, I do understand now there’s a reason that has nothing to do with you, actor.

“There’s a bigger thing at play here, there’s other departments, other elements that go into putting a day together and budgeting a film and boarding a film – it’s not always about what’s going to be best for the actors to perform their roles.

“So I now will never ask a director again ‘and why did you schedule this like this? This makes no sense’. Never again.

Bruised is available to stream on Netflix.

Entertainment

Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to ‘dear friend’ Val Kilmer

Published

8 hours ago

April 3, 2025

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Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to 'dear friend' Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.

Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.

Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.

His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.

“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.

“I wish you well on the next journey.”

The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.

He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.

Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.

In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.

The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.

Entertainment

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven ‘lost’ albums

Published

14 hours ago

April 3, 2025

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Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven 'lost' albums

Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.

The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.

The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.

Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.

Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.

Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.

The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.

Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.

The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.

Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.

The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.

The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.

Entertainment

Stalker who believed Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas was his aunt avoids jail

Published

3 days ago

April 1, 2025

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Stalker who believed Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas was his aunt avoids jail

A man who stalked Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas for six years has avoided jail.

Kyle Shaw, 37, got a 20-month suspended sentence and a lifetime restraining order on contacting Ballas, her mother, niece, and former partner.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that he thought Ballas was his aunt and “began a persistent campaign of contact”.

“He believed, and it’s evident from what he was told by his mother, that her late brother was his father,” said prosecutor Nicola Daley.

The court heard there was no evidence he was wrong, and “limited evidence” he was correct.

Ms Daley said Shaw’s messages had accused Ballas of being to blame for the death of her brother, who took his own life in 2003 aged 44.

He also set up social media accounts in his name.

Shaw had pleaded guilty to stalking the former dancer between August 2017 and November 2023 at a hearing in February.

Incidents included following Ballas’s 86-year-old mother, Audrey Rich, while she was shopping and telling her she was his grandmother.

The court heard in messages to Mrs Rich, Shaw had asked: “Where’s my dad?”

Ballas was so worried for her mother’s safety that she moved her from Merseyside to London.

In October 2020, Ballas called police after Shaw messaged her and said: “Do you want me to kill myself, Shirley?”

Posts on X included one alongside an image of her home address that warned: “You ruined my life, I’ll ruin yours and everyone’s around you.”

Another referenced a book signing and said: “I can’t wait to meet you for the first time Aunty Shirley. Hopefully I can get an autograph.”

The court was told Ballas’s niece Mary Assall, former partner Daniel Taylor and colleagues from Strictly Come Dancing and ITV’s Loose Women were also sent messages.

‘I know where you live’

On one occasion in late 2023, Shaw called Mr Taylor and told him he knew where the couple lived and described Ballas’s movements.

The court heard the 64-year-old TV star become wary of socialising and stopped using public transport.

Prosecutor Ms Daley said: “She described having sleepless nights worrying about herself and her family’s safety and being particularly distressed when suggestions were made to her that she and her mother were responsible for her brother taking his own life.”

Shaw cried and wiped away tears as he was sentenced on Tuesday.

The judge said the stalking stemmed from his mother telling him Ballas’s brother, David Rich, was his biological father.

“I’m satisfied that your motive for this offending was a desire to seek contact with people you genuinely believed were your family,” he said.

“Whether in fact there’s any truth in that belief is difficult, if not impossible, to determine.”

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Defence lawyer John Weate said Shaw had been told the story by his mother “in his mid to late teens” and had suffered “complex mental health issues” since he was a child.

He added: “He now accepts that Miss Ballas and her family don’t wish to have any contact with him and, importantly, he volunteered the information that he has no intention of contacting them again.”

Shaw, of Whetstone Lane in Birkenhead, also admitted possessing cannabis and was ordered to undertake a rehab programme.