‘American Fiction’ Writer-Director Cord Jefferson On Oscar Noms And Pushing Boundaries Beyond Black Cinema: “Hopefully It Cracks The Door Open For More Filmmakers Behind Us”

Writer-director Cord Jefferson on the set of ‘American Fiction’ On Tuesday, writer-director Cord Jefferson received his first Oscar nomination for American Fiction in Writing (Adapted Screenplay). Based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett, American Fiction straddles the line between drama and satire to depict social commentary on microaggression and pigeonholing of Black creatives in the publishing and film industry. To tell this story, the film centers on Thelonious “Monk” Ellison ( Jeffrey Wright ), an intelligent and jaded author frustrated by the high-profit margins on Black entertainment that relies on discriminatory behaviors and tropes. But, in wanting to challenge the construct and prove his point about the bias for Black narratives that are more palatable for white consumers, he uses an alias to create a widely stereotypical book that accidentally gains him critical acclaim and notoriety. Related Stories Sterling K. Brown Sterling K. Brown’s ‘This Is Us’ Family React To Oscar Nomination: “You Deserve It All” Ryan Gosling On Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie ‘Barbie’ Oscars Snubs: “To Say I’m Disappointed Would Be An Understatement” “This is the kind of movie that a lot of people told me wouldn’t work,” Jefferson told Deadline. “A lot of distributors passed on this film. And I think that when you have a film that’s about this kind of material and that stars are predominantly Black cast, think that on paper, a lot of people will say, ‘Well, that’s not a movie that’s going to be a success.’” Luckily, the voters of the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences thought the film had legs, as it garnered four other nominations for Amazon MGM Studios for Laura Karpman in Music (Original Score), Sterling K. Brown for Actor in a Supporting Role, Wright for Actor in a Leading Role and Best Picture. Here, Jefferson discusses his first-ever Oscar nomination and hoping that future filmmakers can continue to persevere through perceptions of race and identity to push the boundaries of cinema. DEADLINE: Not only did you get nominated for your first Oscar for your feature film debut, but American Fiction garnered Jeffrey Wright’s and Sterling K. […]

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