Sure, more moviegoers in February 2020 went out to see Sonic the Hedgehog speed laps around Jim Carrey than witness the Birds of Prey come together in Warner Bros.’ latest comic book flick, but that doesn’t mean Harley Quinn's movie wasn’t still awesome. The DC movie was packed with fantabulous fight sequences we can’t get enough of. And director Cathy Yan has just revealed one badass detail.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead totally knocked down Birds of Prey’s director of photography during one scene and it totally made it to the final cut. Remember the funhouse moment when her Huntress wrestles one of Black Mask’s men down while they’re sliding down a tunnel? The actress and the stunt double actually ran into the cameraman there. Check out Cathy Yan’s reveal on Twitter:
Bad. Ass. As the director illustrates, Matty Libatique got “destroyed” by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and the stuntman in the sequence during this memorable shot during Birds of Prey’s finale. When the shot goes black there, that’s not editing… his camera is actually colliding with the action.
Cathy Yan’s reveal comes after a fan pointed out the technical brilliance of the sequence. It sounds like the director of photography wasn’t afraid to really get in there and get a gritty shot – even if a bruise or two came from it. Matthew Libatique has also been the DP on Venom, A Star Is Born, Iron Man 2 and so forth.
When the Birds of Prey cast sat down with CinemaBlend during the press day in London, Jurnee Smollett-Bell called the sequence “inhumane," remembering how she was downing high ball energy drinks to get through the funhouse sequence. Mary Elizabeth Winstead said they trained for months for the scene but not with the sets built yet. When they showed up on set, she was sliding down a tunnel and jumping on tongues for the first time. Check out the full interview below:
Birds of Prey really pushed the limits of a comic book team-up film. Along with allowing Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn to narrate the story in her own wacky way, the movie included some awesome choreographed fight sequences from John Wick’s Chad Stahelski and his stunt team at 87eleven. Plus, it’s unabashadley R-rated.
The DC film has performed below expectations with a $33 million domestic opening at the start of February, but it has racked up $155 million worldwide so far. It’s neither a huge hit nor a flop. Recently, fans of the film took to social media to get the film trending and talk through reasons it should be supported more by moviegoers.
You can check out this crazy tunnel shot in Birds of Prey in theaters now.
