Jeffrey Wright plays a writer and professor of English literature in the film American Fiction, first directorial effort by Cord Jefferson, who wrote the screenplay based on Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure.
Jefferson says: “I have been a journalist for years, and they always asked me if I wanted to write articles about the murder of Trayvon Martin or other unarmed teenagers killed by the police. And when I started working in television and film, I was thrilled, because I thought that I could spread my wings and write about the condition of Blacks in other situations, for example, in space or riding flying dragons, that is, explore the depth, the diversity and the complexity of black life. Instead, I was offered to write films about a crack dealer or a blind slave who, thanks to a rich white benefactor, becomes a famous pianist prodigy.”
Thanks to the producer Alana Mayo of Orion studio, and the participation of Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction investigates precisely this issue, with a sense of satirical humor, of how black authors are relegated to dealing only with stereotyped subjects.
Wright is Thelonious Ellison, nicknamed “Monk” from the famous jazz musician, Tracee Ellis Ross is the elder sister, a doctor who works for Planned Parenthood, Sterling Brown is the homosexual younger brother, Issa Rae is the author of a successful novel.
Jefferson had admired Jeffrey Wright since he saw him play the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in Julian Schnabel’s 1996 film: “He is a very talented actor, like Robert De Niro, who after dramatic gangster roles moves to comedy and makes everyone laugh with Meet the Parents and Analyze This, or Gene Hackman in Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks.”
Wright, a father of two, explains why he accepted the role: “I appreciate the way Cord explores the context and history of racism, how in today’s society there is a hypersensitivity on these issues. I like his sense of irony, but it’s mostly the family portrayed in the film that means the most to me.”
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