Christopher Priest talks about Black Panther

Newsarama has had a 3 part interview with Marvel Knight's Black Panther writer and on the 3rd part he talks about the movie.

Quote:

Nrama: The Black Panther’s due to get major exposure with the upcoming movie, and I was curious as to your thoughts on that film, and Chadwick Boseman’s casting as T’Challa. Priest: I saw Get On Up about a dozen times. I went every day. Every single day, I was standing outside when the movie theatre opened and bought my ticket. The theatre was usually empty. I live in a town that wasn’t eager or very interested in a James Brown biopic, but I couldn’t stop watching Boseman. I’m old enough to remember seeing James Brown live. Other than Boseman being too tall and skinnier than the real thing, his performance was utterly mesmerizing--and just as likely ignored because, honestly, James Brown never crossed over the way Ray Charles did, so Get On Up worked a more narrow vein of the American public than did Jamie Foxx’s brilliant Ray. I’m less concerned about Boseman’s acting ability than I am about Marvel’s understanding of the African American public and just how important a film this will be to us. In conversations with the Black Panther movie folk (and, it’s worth noting the exec in charge of the Panther film is African American), I was left somewhat less at ease with their general approach that Panther will be essentially just another super-hero movie. They know how to do these things, now, and nobody does super-hero films better, but I’m worried about a certain level of hubris accompanying their approach to Panther. I hope Marvel understands this: all of black America is watching you. We are hopeful, we are excited. Don’t screw this up. Talk to some actual black people; it’s not enough to “know” Panther; you’ve got to know Panther’s audience. It is also a mistake to not intrinsically understand how strong this racism thing is and how racism will--I assure you--impact this film’s reception. The problem with most liberals--myself included--is we tend to think we’re post-racial, that we’ve got a handle on things because we’re not racists. Which is what makes liberals perhaps some of the most pernicious racists of all, because we are in denial of it. Make a good movie, and people will come see it. Well, Get On Up was an extremely entertaining film with an amazing, practically one-man performance by Chadwick Boseman. But I was sitting in the theatre alone. Memo to Marvel: Hubris and arrogance re: Panther will kill you. This is not like any other movie you’ve ever done. If done correctly, this can not only be a great super-hero movie, but it could be an important film. I’m not on the inside, so I can just pray they’re not just trying to make a good movie but that they are trying to develop some sensitivity to the unique challenges their marketing will face. If they are tone deaf to those issues, it won’t matter how good the film is; there will remain a thread of resistance on the part of general audiences to seeing any film with a black actor at the center.

I thought it was interesting enough to be shared, I didn't see any general discussion topic so thought i'd just make a thread for it.

I do hope Black Panther alongside Aquaman will be different superhero movies where we see them as foreign nation leaders, suspicious of America and making hard decisions for the benefit of their nations.