Hollywood is stepping up where the NFL dropped the ball. Ava DuVernay has rallied behind former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, teaming up with the activist to produce a sitcom loosely based on his high school experiences, according to Vanity Fair.
The award-winning filmmaker has spoken highly of Kaepernick in the past, praising the athlete after he received criticism from President Donald Trump for kneeling during the national anthem.
“When you ask if he’s inspired me and motivated me, to be able to sit with that brother on this particular day, on the day between really two historic cultural moments that swirled around him … was shapeshifting for me,” DuVernay told GQ. “Being able to observe that and witness his stillness, and wisdom, and interrogation of that moment up close and personal. I’m just really honored to know him.”
“I think his actions have been inspiring to so many people,” she continued. “I see what he’s done as art. I believe that art is seeing the world that doesn’t exist. You know a lot of people excel at creativity—making TV, movies, painting, writing books—but you can be an artist in your own life. Civil-rights activists are artists. Athletes are artists. People who imagine something that is not there.”
