On Tuesday, writer-directorCord Jeffersonreceived his first Oscar nomination forAmerican Fictionin Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
A lot of distributors passed on this film.
CORD JEFFERSON:Im so proud of them.
Writer-director Cord Jefferson on the set of ‘American Fiction’Orion Pictures/MRC
Im so happy for them.
Its the biggest honor.
DEADLINE: For you to go from reporter to screenwriter to Oscar nominee is quite the wild ride.
What went through your mind this morning as the nominations rolled in?
Did you watch the live broadcast?
And so, I stayed up as late as possible last night.
And so, I wasnt well rested.
And so, I felt like, OK, something good has happened, or something awful has happened.
So, fortunately, it was good.
JEFFERSON:I think the difference in the film is that Monk hates what hes made.
I will say that I am extraordinarily proud of our film.
Im extraordinarily proud of everybody who worked on it.
I do not think that my pride ever allowed me to dream of being nominated forOscars.
I think that this was a year.
And so dont be surprised if we dont get in because its very competitive.
I didnt allow myself to dream any bigger than that.
It was just getting it into a film festival and having a film festival audience screen it.
That was, to me, the biggest dream come true.
And so, the fact that were here right now its truly beyond my wildest dreams.
It really, really is.
We didnt have a huge marketing budget.
We shot the film in 26 days.
This is something that many people were passionate about, and many put their heart into it.
And you hope people like it, but you never know.
And so, this is just…
I think Im still trying to wrap my head around it to some extent.
JEFFERSON:What people are responding to is not my place.
I think that once you put the movie into the world, its for everybody.
But I would say that something that Ive heard from people is that the movie is different.
We just made something that feels different.
And I think that it feels different in tone.
I think that it feels different in the ideas being presented.
I think that it feels a little different than what people are used to seeing.
This is the kind of movie that a lot of people told me wouldnt work.
A lot of distributors passed on this film.
And so that, to me, has been the thing that I feel really proud of.
The 96th Academy Awards are set to take place at the Dolby Theatre on March 10.
