Hollywood’s buzzy horror hit ‘M3GAN’ written by Black screenwriter, Akela Cooper
The killer-doll film, which is in theaters now, has become a viral sensation online.
“M3GAN” is here. After a viral marketing campaign and endless social media reactions, the horror movie from Universal Pictures is finally in theaters and is charming both audiences and critics alike. While the film stars “Get Out” actress Allison Williams and is produced by esteemed horror filmmaker James Wan, the project was written by Akela Cooper, a Black female screenwriter in Hollywood.
As rave reviews poured in from critics throughout the release week of “M3GAN,” fans immediately began to shout out Cooper on Twitter, with many reminding people that what seems to be one of the first big cinematic hits of the year was penned by a Black woman. This, however, is not Cooper’s first project or even horror entry, as she wrote 2021’s “Malignant,” a horror flick that also received positive reviews. Before then, Cooper worked her way through Hollywood, on shows such as “Luke Cage,” “Grimm” and more.
In a recent profile with the Los Angeles Times, Cooper opened up about how “M3GAN” came to be, revealing that once James Wan and Atomic Monster executives Michael Clear and Judson Scott came to her with an idea for a new “killer-doll” movie, the ideas began to flow.
“The first thing that came to me was her name. I knew she needed to be ‘M3GAN’ and the acronym would come later,” she told the outlet. “And I knew that the opening was going to revolve around a child who’d been orphaned and had to come live with her aunt because years ago, when I moved [to L.A.], my sister talked to me about her children: ‘If anything happens to me and my husband … I want the kids to go to you.’ And I’m like, you want me to take care of two small children? What?!”
The film is set up with this exact premise, with Gemma (Williams) unexpectedly gaining custody of her niece Cady at the top of the film. Using her skills as a roboticist, Gemma creates a toy to help Cady with her grief. Eventually, this toy, the now-viral figure M3GAN, proves to be a horrifying and dangerous presence in their lives.
She also broke down how she’s taken in the massive positive reactions to her projects. “I love the response to ‘Malignant’ and I’m loving the response to ‘M3GAN,'” she said. “But I have to be honest. It’s not like I sit down and say, ‘I’m going to write the craziest s— and it’s going to be so campy!’ I start with character and story and making them real.”
“M3GAN” is in theaters now.
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