Ivory Aquino, who worked on the shelved Batgirl project, has come forward to pen a thread addressed directly to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Aquino, an actress who was set to portray Alysia Yeoh in the film, penned the letter in an attempt to sway the CEO into releasing the film after so much work was put into it by the cast and crew.The decision to shelve Batgirl, which has been dominating entertainment news cycles in recent weeks due to its unprecedented nature, has been extremely controversial. The film was reportedly shelved for tax-cutting purposes. Despite costing $90 million and being nearly complete, Zaslav made the decision to cut the film from HBO Max's schedule and instead place the footage under 'lock and key'.In light of the decision to cut the film, Aquino has come forward to share an emotional plea with Zaslav, asking for the film to be released as originally planned. In her message, Aquino points out that the film has now had a groundswell of free advertising, which would cut the advertising budget down to negligible numbers. She also points out that the Batgirl cast and crew have been devastated by the news, writing, "As much as I’ve tried my best to be strong these past few weeks, I’d find myself crying, for lack of a better term, from grief."
She further praised Leslie Grace for putting on a "brave face" as the star of the film, citing her composure as a way to "take care" of the cast and crew. Aquino also noted that she had not asked the star if she was saddened by the news, instead preferring to allow her to process her emotions in private. In her thread, she equated the film industry to a machine running on cogs. Though the cog at the top, Zaslav in this case, may not move much, she says, it will have a greater impact on the cogs located beneath the main one.
Aquino's commitment to the film is touching. It's been easy to root for Batgirl in light of the callous way the film was shelved. Several Batgirl cast and crew members have expressed their disappointment at Zaslav's decision. The film was to feature several promising performances from actors such as Grace, Michael Keaton, and Brendan Fraser, which will now no longer be seen.
According to some reports, the film may even be deleted to ensure that it is never seen. This is because the IRS would likely take issue with Warner Bros. Discovery citing the film as a tax write-off, as it would run afoul of several of the organization's rules. However, if Zaslav does not end up using the film as a tax write-off and instead takes Aquino's, and several other notable supporters (including Marvel Studios' own Kevin Feige), words to heart, then perhaps it is still possible to release Batgirl.
Source: Ivory Aquino/Twitter