Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of Beyond The Lights

Beyond the Lights, writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s fourth feature film, was released in November 2014 to critical acclaim. About a young pop star in the midst of finding herself after a suicide attempt, the film touches on everything from the way women are oversexualized in the music industry, to overbearing stage moms, and the power of young love. And while the end result makes the entire process look simple, making Beyond the Lights was anything but. The film, in fact, almost didn’t get made. Studios weren’t interested in the material and often didn’t share Bythewood’s vision. But she made it happen, and the rest, as they say, is history. Here are some secrets behind the making of Beyond the Lights.

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Blackbird

Inspired by Nina Simone’s song of the same name, the original title of Beyond the Lights was Blackbird. But two other films that were scheduled to be released within the same year of Bythewood’s film shared the same title, so a change was necessary. The title was a part of the film’s DNA, according to Bythewood, so changing it was a tough blow.

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Image: Suzanne Tenner/Blackbird Productions

Macy Jean

Noni’s mother, Macy Jean, was initially not White. But Bythewood’s husband, Reggie, made the suggestion that she mirror her own life and be more truthful (Gina was adopted by a White father and half-German, half-El Salvadorian mother). When she made the change in the script, things opened up tremendously.

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Image: Brian To/WENN.com

There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Sell

Gina Prince-Bythewood thought that her feature film Beyond the Lights would be an easy sell, but that wasn’t the case at all. She pitched the project to numerous studios and only one said yes. But it wasn’t quite the yes she thought she’d get. Here’s what Bythewood told Flavorwire about the lengthy process: “I went out with it, and I got turned down by everybody but one studio — and that studio just optioned it. They didn’t even say they were going to make it, they just said, ‘We’ll pay you not to take it anywhere else, and we’ll see if we can find somebody to put in here that we’re excited about.'”

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Baby, She’s a Star

When Gugu Mbatha-Raw auditioned for the role of Noni, Gina Prince-Bythewood knew she found the one. But the studio didn’t back Bythewood’s choice. They thought Raw didn’t have star appeal, so Bythewood parted ways with the studio and spent another year shopping her project around to other studios.

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Can We Get a White Male, Please?

The studio was adamant about casting a White man to play the role of Kaz (White savior, anyone?), but the role went to Nate Parker.

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Image: FayesVision/WENN.com

Choreography

Noni being a pop singer whose star is on the rise, she of course had to know how to dance. Cue famed choreographer Laurieann Gibson. In six months’ time, she gave Raw a crash course in all things ratchet.

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Credit: Derrick Salters/WENN.com

Beyoncé and Rihanna

As part of her training, Raw went to see both Beyoncé and Rihanna in concert for inspiration. Seeing them perform live gave Raw a boost in confidence.

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Greystone Manor

A night out at an Los Angeles club called Greystone Manor inspired a scene in the movie. Raw and Gibson hit up the club together and found themselves surrounded by a bunch of Clippers players. That translated to the club scene in which Noni gives real-life Clippers player DeAndre Jordan a lap dance.

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Image: Suzanne Tenner/Blackbird Productions

Turn up the Ratchet

Bythewood described actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw as “very proper.” Needing her to be the opposite of that, Bythewood gave Raw CDs filled with “ignorant” hip-hop to ramp up the ratchetness her character would have to experience and exude.

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Image: WENN.com

Free Cameos

Bythewood and her team of producers managed to get free cameos from the likes of Chaka Khan, Gayle King, Machine Gun Kelly and even Don Lemon. Their presence added authenticity to the film. And considering that the movie’s budget was $7 million, free cameos helped to keep costs low.

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Image: WENN.com

The-Dream

Singer, songwriter and producer The-Dream wrote all of the songs that Noni sings in Beyond the Lights. He worked closely with Bythewood to develop the feel of the songs, and with Raw, who used her own voice to sing the songs.

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Image: Brian To/WENN.com

Gina’s Favorite Scene

The first scene that Bythewood wrote for Beyond the Lights was Noni and Kaz’s first kiss. Throughout the writing process, it was her favorite scene. But after having shot the movie, her favorite scene ended up being one that takes place in the kitchen towards the end of the film between Noni and her mother Macy Jean.

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Photo Credit: WENN

No Audition

Nate Parker did not audition for the film. He was chosen by Bythewood, who had previously worked with him on The Secret Life of Bees. But it was his performance in Arbitrage that sealed the deal for her in terms of his talent.

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Fear of Flying

Kaz’s fear of flying comes from Bythewood’s own fear. She thought it would be interesting to have a character who is used to being in control all of the time be in a situation they couldn’t control, physically or emotionally.

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Derrick Salters/WENN.com

Drunk in Love

Bythewood fell in love with Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love” the second it dropped, and knew she had to use it in her film. But she figured the song would eventually have to be replaced, considering the cost to license it. But during previews of the film, the reaction to the song was enormous so the studio paid (a hefty price) for its use.

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Secrets Behind The Making Of Beyond The Lights