The Old Guard Taught Gina Prince-Bythewood a Vital Lesson for the Woman King

Some filmmakers hate rehearsals. They hope that spontaneity on the day of shooting will be their saving grace. There's a place for spontaneity if you're John Cassavetes doing "Husbands," but in a great action movie, you can't leave things to chance. the action sequences are incredibly complicated and can cause serious damage. Rehearsal and preparation are essential parts of these films, and unfortunately not everyone has the time and budget to use them properly.

But Gina Prince-Bythewood understood the importance of putting everyone on the same page for "The Woman King". Speaking to A.frame, she explained how working on 'The Old Guard' made her realize repetition was her friend:

"I learned what you need to do to prepare for stunts, how much you need to prepare actors, how to work with your stunt and fight coordinator... It also taught me what that it took to do a really good deed - how many takes can it be, that it has to be perfect on set or it won't be in your editing room. Even if you're on the take 22 and it's not quite right, you can't stop. You're exhausted. The actors are exhausted. But you learn that, if it's not on the set, it's not in the editing room, and you don't have the stage."

This preparation made every action sequence catchy, brutal, and absolutely thrilling. Each actor has total control over their body and you think they are real warriors. Without proper rehearsal, "The Woman King" might sound frantic and hollow, and it couldn't be further from those descriptors. Gina Prince-Bythewood has learned to be a great action filmmaker, and I want to see her canvases become even greater.