‘Birds Of Prey’ and ‘Batgirl’ Screenwriter Talks Appeal of the Characters

Christina Hodson is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about screenwriters in Hollywood, rising quickly through the ranks and penning some of the industry’s biggest upcoming blockbusters. In addition to writing the script for Bumblebee, the Transformers spinoff movie, Hodson has penned the screenplay for DC’s Birds of Prey and is currently working on the solo Batgirl movie.

That’s right, Hodson is putting together two of DC’s major future projects, and she couldn’t be more thrilled about the characters she’s getting to work with.

During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Hodson was asked what drew her to Harley Quinn and the other Birds of Prey characters.

“I just fell in love with Harley,” Hodson said of the character. “She makes me laugh, but she also makes me cry…. She’s got such emotional depth that is completely contrasted by this light, superficial, fun exterior. Even in the comics when she is at her best, she’s doing something bad — and when she’s at her worst she’s doing something good. And that makes her so interesting and so much more real, because that’s what people are like in real life. Very few people are just purely heroic or purely villainous, and she is this wonderful balance of everything.”

Another factor that makes Hodson’s time with Birds of Prey so enjoyable is the opportunity to work with star and producer Margot Robbie, who is reprising her role of Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad in the upcoming film.

“This, I can say: [Robbie] is an amazing producer,” Hodson continued. “She’s so dedicated, cares so much, she is in it and works so hard — looks through every choice, reads through every draft, and has super-smart notes. I am all about finding good people you believe in as human beings as well as being good creative partners and producers, because it’s an investment — writing these movies takes it out of you. I’m also just excited that [director Cathy Yan] is a woman and she’s Asian. That’s a big deal.”

As far as Batgirl goes, Hodson can’t say too much about the project. When asked what she was allowed to talk about, the writer didn’t offer any details, but was quick to mention how exciting the opportunity is.

“Basically nothing, other than I’m really excited — because she’s Batgirl! She’s all the things I love about Batman. I’ve always been more interested in humans than supernatural things and monsters. People are capable of profound good, but also profound evil. The things that people will do when you back them into a corner are amazing, terrifying, and wonderful at the same time, and it draws out these primal things in us — good and bad. And that, to me, is so fascinating.”

Birds of Prey will star Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, and Ewan McGregor, and is set to hit theaters on Februrary 7, 2020.