After establishing itself as a probable awards contender at TIFF, where it won the People’s Choice Award, the publishing world satire American Fiction, marking the first feature from writer-director Cord Jefferson, has unveiled its first trailer. An adaptation of Percival Everett’s novel Erasure that stars Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Wright (Asteroid City), the film is slated for release in select theaters by Orion Pictures (via Amazon MGM Studios) on December 15th, and will expand on December 22nd.
In the film from Orion, MRC, T-Street, Almost Infinite, and 3 Arts, Wright plays Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain, as it becomes a bestseller and spurs a film adaptation.
Also featuring in the A-list ensemble are Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Keith David, Issa Rae, and Sterling K. Brown. Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Jefferson, and Jermaine Johnson produced alongside EPs Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, Everett, and Michael Bowes.
In her review of the film out of TIFF, Deadline’s Valerie Complex called the pic “a hard-hitting commentary on identity, storytelling and the microaggressive terrains of the publishing industry.”
Continued Complex, “Perhaps the most impactful message American Fiction delivers is about personal agency in a world that often seeks to define the stories of others. The media’s myopic view of Black lives might never shift, but individuals have the power to set their own narratives and boundaries. This film challenges viewers to reflect, question, and possibly reevaluate their perceptions on Blackness.”
Check out the trailer above and the new poster below.
