American Fiction is two films at once – a farcical comedy take-down of white gatekeepers who only want one type of Black storytelling and a beautifully tender drama that underlines the richness possible when filmmakers of colour are allowed to operate outside of the boxes they’re often put in. Written and directed by Cord Jefferson, whose past writing credits include work on Succession, The Good Place and Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen TV adaptation, the film tells the tale of Monk, a frustrated academic played by Jeffrey Wright, who becomes an accidental literary sensation when a manuscript he writes as a joke, perpetuating Black stereotypes, becomes a best-seller. There’s sensitivity beneath the scathing satire of that premise, however: American Fiction is a movie that reels you in with its funny premise, then moves you to tears with its elegant portrait of a family as they search for meaning in grief and growing older.
In this spoiler conversation, Cord tells Al what struck him about Erasure, the 2001 novel by Percival Everett that American Fiction is an adaptation of. We get into the personal experiences that helped him relate powerfully to Percival’s story – and what inspired the changes from page to screen, such as the omission of a storyline involving a murder by an abortion protestor. Listen out, also, for what Cord has to say about the film’s meta ending and the symbolism behind the enigmatic image that closes the film.
Script Apart is hosted by Al Horner and produced by Kamil Dymek. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, or email us on thescriptapartpodcast@gmail.com.
Support for this episode comes from ScreenCraft, Magic Mind, Final Draft and WeScreenplay.
To get ad-free episodes and exclusive content, join us on Patreon.
Support the Show.
Air with Alex Convery
The Blair Witch Project with Eduardo Sánchez
Stage Apart: The Hills of California with Jez Butterworth
Civil War with Alex Garland
Stage Apart: Stranger Things – The First Shadow with Kate Trefry
Script Club: Children of Men with Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body and Other Parties)
Expats with Lulu Wang
How To Have Sex with Molly Manning Walker
The Holdovers with David Hemingson
All Of Us Strangers with Andrew Haigh
Maestro with Josh Singer
Beau Is Afraid with Ari Aster
Poor Things with Tony McNamara
Society Of The Snow with J.A. Bayona
Toy Story 3 with Michael Arndt
A Murder At The End Of The World with Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij
Leave The World Behind with Sam Esmail
Eileen with Ottessa Moshfegh and Luke Goebel
May December with Samy Burch
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Sackhoff Show
Team Deakins
You Can’t Make This Up
The Official Rustin Podcast
Phase Zero