Encountering Percival EverettsErasurewas serendipitous forCord Jefferson, as he saw many similarities between himself and the character of Monk.
I didnt readInterior Chinatown, but I went and boughtErasureand fell in love with it almost instantly.
It felt almost serendipitous.
Writer-director Cord Jefferson on the set of ‘American Fiction’Orion Pictures/MRC
Sometimes theres been ups and sometimes theres been downs.
Like the book, I have this overbearing father figure.
Pretty soon into reading it, I knew that I wanted to write the screenplay.
Jeffrey Wright as Monk inAmerican Fiction.MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection
A little after that, I knew that I wanted to write and direct it.
The vision for it started taking shape pretty quickly.
DEADLINE: Where did the titleAmerican Fictioncome from?
JEFFERSON: The title was originallyF*ckwhen I sent out the script.
It was byF*ckby Cord Jefferson, based onErasureby Percival Everett.
It was just like this is a way to get them to initiate the script right away.
But, as youve seen the film, theres a method to the madness.
It was this hill to die on where I was like, No, its good.
The MPA wont rate the movie.
Nobodys going to find the film.
That was actually a pretty practical concern that I understood.
We batted around, I think, probably 20 to 30 different titles.
People came in with options, and I didnt like them.
I would come in with options, other people wouldnt like them.
What is the title going to be?
So, one night, I was like, Tonights the night, man.
Were going to do it.
And I went home and I smoked a joint and I started reading poetry.
Race is this fictional thing.
Race is both real and not real.
We believe in this thing that is fictional, so its both real and not real.
It felt like the inherent absurdity there is one of the things that the movie takes aim at.
And soAmerican Fictionjust felt more layered than you might think just looking at it and its also easily Googleable.
It hadnt been used before.
Sometimes you just got to get stoned and read poetry.
Thats the moral of the story.
DEADLINE: At least you got Monk to name the bookF*ck.
Those actors are so, so, so good, and theyre great improvisers.
But it just didnt work with the rest of the film.
It got too silly.
It became a little too broad and farcical, but, my God, its so funny.
I hope we can release it somehow someday.
How did you do that?
JEFFERSON: I said at the outset that I wanted to make a satire that didnt ever become farcical.
I never wanted to do that.
That was my goal from the outset.
That being said, once we were on set, sometimes we didnt hit that goal.
This is a little too big.
I cant imagine a better actor to play that character.
How did he get involved?
JEFFERSON: He was the first person that we went to when the script was done.
I was like, Jeffrey or nothing.
What other actors are you thinking of?
What about this scene?
What interested you about this project?
I was semi-worried that hes Jeffrey Wright.
Hes been inAngels in America.
Hes on Wes Andersons speed dial.
Hes literally in the biggest movies and TV shows in the world.
That is his pedigree.
But once Jeffrey signed on, it legitimized the film in a lot of peoples eyes.
The financiers were willing to come up with more money.
DEADLINE: Lets talk about his character, Monk.
Can you talk about the dichotomy of that character?
This is the lesson youre supposed to take away.
Its not a persuasive essay.
Unlike me however, Monk is very didactic.
At the beginning of the story, Monk is arguing with everybody.
Another thing that we didnt want to do in the film was police Blackness or police art.
Thats the farthest thing from what we wanted to accomplish.
Monk, on the other hand, does feel like he knows the best way for everybody to live.
Monk has a few bits of growth by the end of the film.
Hes just trying to be an actor.
Were fighting the same fight, and good luck in that.
That, to me, is what he eventually learns and what he takes away from it.
But youre right, the movie intentionally avoids doing that, because I never wanted to do that.
I never wanted the movie to be about policing Blackness.
DEADLINE: I also feel like that experience is universal for a lot of different groups of people.
Like, come on man.
DEADLINE: What were some of the biggest challenges for you making this?
JEFFERSON: To be honest, just getting people on board.
Oh, my God, you got Jeffrey Wright.
Oh, were so excited.
Two people made an offer.
So really just one place made a real offer out of 14 or 15 places.
I really wish I worked at a place where we could make this movie.
We just cant make it.
And the places that are telling me this are regularly making $200 million movies.
Multiple times a year, theyre making movies that cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
They can make the movie, they just dont have the will to make the movie.
They dont have the courage to make the movie because they dont want to risk anything.
Either the material is risky or they think me being a first-time director is risky.
And so, its basically thanks to three people that this movie exists.
