Despite what many would consider notable success in Hollywood, Cord Jefferson says he began to believe his dream simply wasn’t going to come true. Jefferson has an Emmy Award for writing an episode of “Watchmen” and two WGA Awards for that miniseries and “Succession” under his belt, but those were honors for contributing to other people’s shows. When he proposed his own projects, he found himself failing time and time again to get support from streamers or networks.
He began to wonder if he would end up as a co-executive producer on other showrunners’ series and that would be that. Life took an incredible turn when he met with T-Street, the production entity of Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman, to present the feature film “American Fiction.”
“When they told me they were going to greenlight the movie, I started crying,” Jefferson says. “I felt so overwhelmed. I really thought maybe I would never get to do something he wanted to do.”
Jefferson had fallen in love with “Erasure,” Percival Everett’s 2001 novel that criticized the publishing industry’s attitudes toward black literature, after reading it in December 2020. With Everett giving his blessing, Jefferson spent four months during the pandemic adapting it to a script. The movie hit theaters almost exactly three years after he read the book, a rare quick turnaround in the movie business, let alone for someone’s directorial debut.
Erika Alexander and Jeffrey Wright star in “American Fiction.”
(Claire Folger/Associated Press)
The social satire centers on Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), a professor of English literature at a respected West Coast university. After finding himself at odds with his students and classmates, Monk takes a leave of absence to return to Boston and help his mother, Agnes (Leslie Uggams), who suffers from dementia. While dealing with a troubled relationship with his brother (Sterling K. Brown) and his sister (Tracee Ellis Ross), he becomes increasingly frustrated that his latest novel cannot find a legitimate publisher.
Angered by the success of a competing author whose work he finds pandering, he decides to write a stereotypical novel about the black experience as a way to vent his anger. Written under a pseudonym and filled with inner-city clichés, he insists that his agent submit “My Pafology” to major book publishers. When he receives a huge financial offer that could help take care of his mother, he is forced to accept her posting.
“For me, it was very, very important to have those family moments and those more grounded, moving moments to ensure that the movie didn’t collapse under the weight of the comedy and the satire,” Jefferson says. “I never wanted it to seem silly. “That was deeply important to me.”
Despite the advances made in the 20 years since “Erasure” was first published, the material remains highly relevant. Jefferson notes that this fact is “a little heartbreaking,” but even more so when you consider its “spiritual predecessor” to “Fiction,” Robert Townsend’s “Hollywood Shuffle,” released in 1987. “It was kind of a real epiphany for me. because it was one of the first movies I saw where I thought, ‘Oh, okay, this is a serious problem.’ This guy talks about race and racism and these painful topics for him, but he’s very, very funny,’” he says.
In that context, the audition process for the role of Agnes provided one of the most “rewarding” moments for Jefferson while making the film. Jefferson recalls: “One of these actors [auditioning was asked], ‘Do you have any questions for Cord before we begin?’ And she said, ‘No, but I just want to say that I can’t believe they let you make this movie.’ She’s a black woman in her 70s, and she said, ‘I’ve been doing this for half a century, and you’re talking about things that we’ve been talking about for half a century, but they’ve never left us.’ say. I just can’t believe they let you make this movie. I’m very happy that this is happening in the world.’”
After initially being excited to have his film accepted into the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, Jefferson saw the Amazon MGM Studios release receive a bump in awards season by winning the festival’s prestigious People’s Choice Award, an honor that has often led to him winning an Oscar for best picture. nomination.
Awards often attract more attention, and Jefferson hopes that any continued success “American Fiction” finds will allow someone else to make a movie that “right now people think is crazy and outlandish” in the future.
“Hopefully, what this movie can do is open the door so that in 2033 or 2043, someone who has seen this movie can do something that people today consider absurd. “I’m here because of the legacy of those kinds of people.”
