Lupita Nyong’o On Her ‘12 Years A Slave’ Oscar Win & Marvel Execs “Shaking In Their Boots” During Production Of ‘Black Panther’ — London Film Festival

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Ryan Coogler’s first Black Panther picked up 7 Oscars noms and took over $1 billion at the box office but the fim’s production, lead actor Lupita Nyong’o explained this afternoon during a London Film Screen talk, wasn’t smooth sailing.  “There was a lot of fear from the executives,” Nyong’o told the crowd in London. “Marvel was shaking in their boots and we were too because we knew we only had once chance and we had to do it right.”  Nyong’o added that she and her Black Panther co-stars knew there was “something different” about the project so they all assumed a great deal of ownership over their performances and the wider production.  “We knew we had a lot to prove,” she said adding that she was proud of the film’s legacy and the effect it had on audience.  “People really saw themselves in the film and it totally shattered the myth that Black films don’t sell,” Nyong’o added. “We told a good story and the world responded.”  Elsewhere during the session Nyong’o discussed her performance in Steve McQueen’s seminal feature 12 Years A Slave.

The film was Nyong’o first onscreen performance and it won her the Best Actress Oscar. The onstage moderator in London noted that Nyong’o is currently one of only 10 Black performance in Academy history to win an Oscar.

But Nyong’o told the audience that the Oscars was never really a goal of hers.  “Before I went to drama school I’d honestly never watched the Oscars,” she joked. “So I didn’t grow up with that as a destination.”  Nyong’o described her first awards experience as “surreal”, particularly surrounding the historical significance of the success 12 Years A Slave had that night in the Dolby Theatre. “Learning about that history of Hattie McDaniel and how she had to sneak