Jeffrey Wright reveals “nobody wanted to finance” ‘American Fiction’
On February 25th, actor Jeffrey Wright was awarded ‘Best Lead Performance’ at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards for his role in Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction, and in his speech, Wright explained how the film was a struggle to finance.
Wright was presented the prize by fellow actor Colman Domingo and when accepting the trophy, he noted how proud he was to be handed it from the Rustin and Zola star.
“Wow, thank you, thank you,” Wright said on stage, “And to receive this from you, Colman, man … it’s just a beautiful gift.”
From there, Wright delivered an emotionally-charged speech. “It’s funny, you go to these awards shows, [and] you kind of grow tired of them, and then you get one and uh… kind of changes the vibe,” he began.
Wright added, “The first time I was here at the Independent Spirit Awards, I had the opportunity to meet, for the first time, Muhammad Ali, who was here with his film When We Were Kings and who was an absolute hero of mine and remains so to this day. So this adds to wonderful memories of this event.”
The actor then explained how producers had been wary of making American Fiction, which is why it was made as an independent film despite having an all-star cast.
“The reason that our film was independent at the start was because nobody wanted to finance it—except for Ram Bergman and Rian Johnson,” the actor said.
Wright signed off by thanking his “smart, scrappy crew who, one day, when we were filming on a beach, one of them raised a pirate flag above the grip truck.”
He added, “If that doesn’t tell you what independent filmmaking is, nothing will.”
In a four-and-a-half-star review of American Fiction, Far Out wrote: “As the situation grows increasingly complicated and in need of a resolution, the plot takes a series of unexpected and beautifully ironic twists, providing a creative and cheerfully mocking finale to one of the most enjoyable satirical films of the year.”
Watch the trailer for American Fiction below.
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