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The Press May Destroy You: IMDY in the Media

Meredith Quill

By Meredith Quill
in I May Destroy You

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

(edited)

Vulture: Michaela the Destroyer - a long interview, but worth reading and this is pretty noteworthy:

Quote

When she first began pitching the concept for I May Destroy You in spring 2017, Netflix offered her $1 million upfront — $1 million! But when she learned they wouldn’t allow her to retain any percentage of the copyright, she said no. No amount was worth that. She fired CAA, her agency in the U.S., too, when it tried to push her to take the deal after she learned it would be making an undisclosed amount on the back end. Throughout the fallout with Netflix and CAA, Coel asked questions relentlessly. She is eager, almost giddy, to say she doesn’t know something (even if she may have an inkling) because of the way it forces someone else to explain it to her. She has discovered that the explanation is where people begin to falter and the fissures of conventional wisdom crack wider. It may be business as usual, but is it right? Is it good?

Coel recalls one clarifying moment when she spoke with a senior-level development executive at Netflix and asked if she could retain at least 5 percent of her rights. “There was just silence on the phone,” she says. “And she said, ‘It’s not how we do things here. Nobody does that, it’s not a big deal.’ I said, ‘If it’s not a big deal, then I’d really like to have 5 percent of my rights.’ ” Silence. She bargained down to 2 percent, one percent, and finally 0.5 percent. The woman said she’d have to run it up the chain. Then she paused and said, “Michaela? I just want you to know I’m really proud of you. You’re doing the right thing.” And she hung up.

“I remember thinking, I’ve been going down rabbit holes in my head, like people thinking I’m paranoid, I’m acting sketchy, I’m killing off all my agents,” Coel says. “And then she said those words to me, and I finally realized — I’m not crazy. This is crazy.”

In fall 2017, she pitched I May Destroy You to Wenger at the BBC, and he replied with an email the next day saying she would have everything she wanted: a seat at the table on the production side, full creative control, and the rights to the work. (HBO came on as a co-producer during development.) Coel was stunned. “I’d been so untrustworthy of the industry that I looked at the email and I thought, I need a day. I wasn’t happy,” she says. She took a beat. Then she went with it. “It’s an amazing email.”

 

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
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DanaK

DanaK

On 7/7/2020 at 4:38 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Vulture: Michaela the Destroyer - a long interview, but worth reading and this is pretty noteworthy:

 

This series is the first time I’ve seen Michaela act and to learn more about her. She seems like a rather intense person, both on screen and in the interview. Good on her for standing up for herself, especially in an industry that is only now learning to let People of Color and others have control

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

10 hours ago, scrb said:

The Economist podcast interviews Coel.

She apparently had a similar experience with a spiked drink.

Per several interviews she has done about this show, she was working on Chewing Gum when her drink was spiked. She based IMDY on what happened to her. 

9 hours ago, DanaK said:

This series is the first time I’ve seen Michaela act and to learn more about her. She seems like a rather intense person, both on screen and in the interview. Good on her for standing up for herself, especially in an industry that is only now learning to let People of Color and others have control

I definitely recommend watching Chewing Gum (which is on Netflix). It’s funny and insightful.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

(edited)

Hollywood Reporter interview: The British multihyphenate also discusses the response to her deeply personal BBC/HBO drama and why she was happy to make one (minor) edit for the U.S. version

Quote

There are several scenes in the show that are kind of out there — I've certainly not seen them on the BBC before. I understand that the BBC gave you full creative freedom, but when HBO got involved, did they have any input? Did you get any notes telling you to tone it down a little, or were you really allowed to push it as far as you liked?

There is one tiny shot in episode 12, and we have an HBO version and a BBC version. It's tiny. You know, it's kind of like for two and a half years you've been really just chilling whilst I presented you with content that's quite unusual for the BBC. So there was this one moment, and I thought, you know what, that's fair.

She doesn't reveal what the actual shot is so I'll be interested to hear what it was once the American finale airs!

And the other important tidbit from this interview:

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Do you have any plans to take I May Destroy You further, beyond this season?

I don't want to give anything away. But I think when you see the final episode, you'll know.

 

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
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Arcey

Arcey

On 7/23/2020 at 6:01 PM, FoundTime said:

Michaela on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, wherein Terry might have stumbled on who "I" is in the series title (at least to my satisfaction 🤔).

I listened to that interview, and don't remember any of the specifics. Can you let us know what you're referring to? Thanks.

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FoundTime

FoundTime

11 hours ago, Arcey said:

I listened to that interview, and don't remember any of the specifics. Can you let us know what you're referring to? Thanks.

I have changed my mind about this since my post because I think the series/title has proven itself more complex than a single interpretation. What I had thought originally was based on a comment Terry Gross made, where she basically said that social media had the power to destroy Arabella. There's no transcript posted or I could pull out the direct quote. 

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MeloraH

MeloraH

On 7/14/2020 at 2:55 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

She doesn't reveal what the actual shot is so I'll be interested to hear what it was once the American finale airs!

Has anyone figured out what the shot is? I did some googling and couldn't come up with anything.

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FoundTime

FoundTime

(edited)

I waited till the series was over to post this because it ranges over several episodes, including the finale. It's about the influences that Coel brings to specific eps. Very interesting. 

How Michaela Coel Shaped ‘I May Destroy You’

And here's another article from the New York Times:  ‘I May Destroy You’ Imagines a Path Back From Sexual Assault

Edited by FoundTime
Add link to another NYT piece
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Arcey

Arcey

Does anyone know where to watch "Chewing Gum"? I can't find anything online. Maybe it will come back to Netflix now that Michaela Coel has become so popular, or another streaming service.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Producers Guild of America nomination!

David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Limited Series Television

“I May Destroy You” (HBO)
Producers: eligibility determination pending

“Normal People” (Hulu)
Producers: Lenny Abrahamson, Sally Rooney, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Emma Norton, Anna Ferguson, Catherine Magee

“The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix)
Producers: William Horberg, Allan Scott, Scott Frank, Marcus Loges, Mick Aniceto

“The Undoing” (HBO)
Producers: Susanne Bier, David E. Kelley, Per Saari, Nicole Kidman, Bruna Papandrea, Stephen Garrett, Celia Costas, Deb Dyer

“Unorthodox” (Netflix)
Producers: Anna Winger, Henning Kamm, Alexa Karolinksi

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Costume Designers Guild Award nomination!

Excellence in Contemporary Television
Emily in Paris: "Faux Amis" – Patricia Field & Marilyn Fitoussi
Euphoria: "Part 1: Rue - Trouble Don’t Last Always" – Heidi Bivens
I May Destroy You: "Social Media is a Great Way to Connect" – Lynsey Moore
Schitt's Creek: "Happy Ending" – Debra Hanson
Unorthodox: "Part 2" – Justine Seymour

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