American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson is officially an Oscar winner — and he’s pleading with Hollywood studios to give more up and coming creatives a shot at their own golden statuette.
While accepting the award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 96th Academy Awards, Jefferson used his speech to acknowledge how many people had passed on his film about a frustrated novelist who struggles to reconcile with the establishments that profit off of Black entertainment relying on offensive tropes to do so.
But eventually, someone said yes, and it led him to his first Oscar. He called this moment “a plea to acknowledge and recognize that there are so many people out there who want the opportunity that I was given.” “I understand that this is a risk averse industry.
I get it. But $200 million movies are also a risk, and it doesn’t always work out, but you take the risk anyway. And instead of making one $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies,” he continued.
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