78. AMERICAN FICTION

Lit to Lens

The guys discuss the film AMERICAN FICTION, the Cord Jefferson adaptation from the Percival Everett novel ERASURE. AMERICAN FICTION, follows Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, a frustrated novelist of general fiction, who decides to write a “Black” book full of tired and offensive tropes to profit off the publishing industry’s possibly misguided demand for those stories. He uses a pen name to write an outlandish Black book of his own, which rockets up the bestseller list and into the madness of the book publishing world. At the same time, there is also a gripping family drama threatening to overwhelm the Ellison household. … The film adaptation stars Jeffrey Wright, Trace Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Adam Brody, and Keith David. The film was released on December 15, 2023 and was written and directed by Cord Jefferson in his debut film. … Topics of discussion include the origin of Monk’s pseudonym Stagg R. Leigh, the experimental structure of the novel with its embedded narratives, the unfortunate news of BARBIE getting moved into the Best Adapted Screenplay category for the Academy Awards, and whether or not Brad Pitt liked Adam Brody’s 2003 film, GRIND. … Listen to the episode to find out how the series stacks up to the book. … (0:00) From the book… (0:55) Fast facts, recap, trivia… (12:45) A word from our sponsor… (13:30) Studio pitch & novel breakdown… (32:36) Trailer (35:09) Learn you something, differences from the book… … Our next episode will be on the adaptation of the Matin Amis novel, THE ZONE OF INTEREST, which was directed by Jonathan Glazer and stars Christian Friedl and Sandra Hüller. The film’s wide release is set for January 19, 2024. … If you would like to get in contact with us about anything regarding the show, feel free to shoot us an e-mail: [e-mail] … Or reach out on social media: twitter.com/littolens instagram.com/littolens