Zo? Kravitz is 'much closer' to Channing Tatum after directing 'Blink Twice'

Zo? Kravitz has what she calls her “director’s uniform.”

Shooting her new movie, “Blink Twice,” in the dead of summer in Mexico, the actress-turned-filmmaker made a priority of function over fashion: donning sneakers, ball caps and the occasional sports bra.

“I bought like 12 Patagonia shorts, all different colors. It was just so hot,” Kravitz recalls on a recent Zoom call. “I really enjoyed not being stressed out at all about what I look like as a director; it was so fun to just roll out of bed every day. As a woman, too, it was really liberating.”

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“Blink Twice” (in theaters Friday) marks the directorial debut of Kravitz, 35, who’s best known for her roles in “The Batman” and HBO’s “Big Little Lies.” The psychological thriller follows a cater waiter named Frida (Naomi Ackie) as she’s swept off her feet by disgraced billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), who jets her to a private island for a debaucherous getaway with a party of friends. But soon, the women in the group start blacking out and waking up with concerning injuries. Others disappear altogether, and Frida grows desperate to uncover what’s really going on.

Kravitz started co-writing the script seven years ago, inspired by the “rage and confusion” she was feeling in the wake of the Me Too movement. She wanted to explore power dynamics between genders, and the silent camaraderie that exists between women in male-dominated spaces.

“Women are expected to pretend like we're OK when we're not,” Kravitz says. “We are expected to smile, to make everybody else comfortable, and to forget. I was trying to find a way to highlight how bizarre that request is.”

Zo? Kravitz leaned on 'Big Little Lies' cast for support while making her 'Blink Twice' movie

Kravitz grew up between Los Angeles and Miami with her famous parents, musician Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet. As a teen, she loved Quentin Tarantino and Penny Marshall movies, and always saw herself directing one day, although “I didn’t really know how I’d take that leap,” she says.

Following a slew of supporting roles in “Mad Max: Fury Road” and "X-Men: First Class," she produced, starred in and wrote for the Hulu comedy “High Fidelity” in 2020. The series was short-lived, but gave her self-assurance as a storyteller.

“That was the first time I felt like I had any real power in a project,” Kravitz says. “Especially as a woman, you can find yourself saying, ‘Hey, I think it should be done like this.’ Sometimes, they make you feel like you should stay in your place. But you have to be confident and say, ‘No, no, no. I know what this needs.’”

After years spent writing “Blink Twice,” she couldn’t imagine somebody else directing. She initially envisioned playing Frida, but "directing is something I'm new at and is hard enough. Doing both just seemed like, ‘I don't know why I'd put myself in that situation.’”

Ackie calls Kravitz "a force to be reckoned with," setting a tone that was both easygoing yet intensely focused.

"She created this vibe, which was like, 'We work hard and we can also have a great time,'" says Ackie, who remembers music constantly playing on the set. "We were all hanging out, and at the same time, super-galvanized to work. That was down to her."

Throughout the writing and editing process, Kravitz sought out notes from her creative pals, including Ilana Glazer, Donald Glover and Natasha Lyonne. She also got support from “Big Little Lies” co-stars Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.

“As women and artists, just checking in on each other and saying, ‘How's it going? Are you OK? I'm proud of you. I can't wait to see it,’” Kravitz says. “Having your community means a lot.”

Zo? Kravitz recalls how fiancé Channing Tatum cared for her while playing Slater King

She also got encouragement from Tatum, 44, whom she started dating in 2021. (They announced their engagement last fall.) She says they grew as a couple in making the movie: learning when to offer constructive feedback, and when to simply give love and support.

“Chan’s instinct is to try and fix everything,” Kravitz says. “He wants to take care of me, so if I'm upset or freaking out, he would always want to fix it. Sometimes that would make me madder where I was like, ‘I just need someone to listen!’ But we got so good at asking, ‘What do you need right now?’ We’re so much closer because we had that experience.”

Kravitz is eager to write and direct again, although she’s waiting for inspiration to strike. “I’m excited, but you can’t force those things,” she says.

She’s feeling a flood of emotions as the release date nears: anxious, scared and “a little sad, just letting it go.” Kravitz and Tatum unveiled “Blink Twice” this month at the film’s Los Angeles premiere, where she cheekily thanked her fiancé for “trusting me to female direct you.” Going forward, it’s a phrase she hopes will get retired.

“It’s stupid, like calling a woman who’s a doctor a ‘female doctor,’” Kravitz says. “I like honoring women who take that leap, because it is more difficult for us to get into the director’s chair. But I would prefer if people would just call us directors – it feels superfluous.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How making 'Blink Twice' brought Channing Tatum, Zo? Kravitz closer