Write On: 'American Fiction' Writer/Director Cord Jefferson

“I think that approaching the grand things through the smallest
entryways possible is the best way to go about taking on these
massive issues… So yes, this movie is about race and racism and
art and who's allowed to make certain kinds of art - these are
really big, unwieldy issues. But the reason that I think people
can relate to them –and it doesn't feel so top heavy or clumsy –
is because you see it through a character that was deeply
personal to me,” says Cord Jefferson, writer/director of American
Fiction. 


Based on the book Erasure by Percival Everett, American Fiction
is a powerful and often poignantly funny exploration of race in
literature, film, family and the marketplace. It toes the line
between being relatable and absurd. 


“I wanted to make a movie that felt satirical but never farcical.
I wanted the movie to feel like life and life is neither one
thing or another, it’s neither comedy nor tragedy,” says
Jefferson who made the decision to use humor in the film but he
never let the comedy get too broad. 


Jefferson also talks about his journey from journalist – an
editor at Gawker – to writing for TV shows like The Watchmenand
Succession. 


“If you can write an interesting article, you can probably write
a novel. If you can write a novel, you can write a screenplay. I
think that it's the same basic idea, which is you need to keep
somebody interested in what you're saying from the beginning to
the end and what is the best way to keep somebody interested in
what you're saying for this long?” says Jefferson.


Take a listen to the podcast for a deep dive into the screenplay
for American Fiction.