JEFFREY WRIGHT, WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I'M SO PLEASED TO BE HERE.

>> WE'RE VERY PLEASED TO HAVE YOU.

THIS IS THE BREAKOUT FILM OF THE MOMENT.

AND I KNOW YOU'RE HERE PROMOTING IT FOR THE UK RELEASE.

>> YEAH.

>> WHICH IS THIS WEEKEND.

DID YOU ENJOY PLAYING THIS ROLE, THELONIUS MONK.

>> I HAD THE BEST TIME WORKING ON A FILM SIMPLY BECAUSE WE MADE THIS WITH SUCH PASSION.

WE ALL FELT VERY CLOSELY RELATED TO THE ISSUES OF THE STORY.

WE ALSO FELT THIS IS A STORY THAT WANTED TO BE TOLD, THAT WAS A STORY FOR THE TIMES.

AND SO WE DOVE INTO THIS.

IT WAS SMALL FILM.

WE SHOT IN 26 DAYS.

>> THAT I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHEN I READ THAT.

>> BUT WE INVESTED A LOT OF OURSELVES IN IT.

>> GIVEN THAT YOU ALL LOVED IT SO MUCH AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE ISSUES AND THE STORY FOR OUR TIME.

JUST IN YOUR WORDS, DESCRIBE IT.

GIVE ME A SYNOPSIS.

WE'VE BEEN SAYING SATIRICAL, THIS AMAZING SORT OF SATIRE ON THE STEREOTYPES OF RACE.

>> IT IS THAT.

IT'S SATIRICAL SOCIAL COMMENTARY, A LOT OF LAUGHS.

BUT THERE IS A THROUGH-LINE OF EMOTION THAT I THINK IS SURPRISING FOR AUDIENCES.

IT'S A FILM ABOUT A MAN WHO IS A WRITER, ALSO A PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH.

BUT HE TENDS TO WRITE FROM A PERSPECTIVE THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY MARKETABLE, AT LEAST IN HIS CASE.

HE WRITES BOOKS THAT ARE A BIT ESOTERIC, YOU KNOW, REWORKINGS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY AND THINGS LIKE THIS.

AND THE PUBLISHING WORLD SAYS TO HIM THAT'S NOT QUITE BLACK ENOUGH.

WHY ARE YOU WRITING ABOUT THIS?

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BLACK EXPERIENCE.

SO OUT OF FRUSTRATION HE WRITES A NOVEL THAT HE THINKS WILL MEET THEIR SATISFACTION.

>> I WANT TO JUST TAKE THIS MOMENT TO EXPRESS YOUR FRUSTRATION AS THE CHARACTER WHEN YOU GO TO A BOOKSTORE.

>> SURE.

>> AND YOU SEE WHERE YOUR BOOK HAS BEEN STACKED IN THE BOOKSTORE.

>> SURE.

>> HERE WE GO.

>> YEAH.

WAIT A MINUTE, WHY ARE THESE BOOKS HERE?

>> I'M NOT SURE.

I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THIS AUTHOR ELLISON IS BLACK.

>> THAT'S ME.

ELLISON.

>> YEAH.

>> HE IS ME, AND HE AND I ARE BLACK.

>> OH, BINGO.

>> NO BINGO, NED.

THESE BOOKS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES.

THEY'RE JUST LITERATURE.

THE BLACKEST THING ABOUT THIS ONE IS THE INK.

>> I DON'T DECIDE WHICH SECTIONS THE BOOKS GO IN.

NO ONE HERE DOES.

THAT'S HOW CHAIN STORES WORK.

>> RIGHT.

>> SO IT'S CONSTANTLY THIS, RIGHT?

IT'S NOT MY FAULT, IT'S NOT MY FAULT.

BUT THERE YOU ARE, AND THIS IS THE FIRST STEREOTYPE YOU'RE CONFRONTING IN THIS FILM.

>> YES, YES.

AND OUT OF FRUSTRATION, HE DECIDES TO WRITE A BOOK THAT HE THINKS WILL APPEAL TO THE PUBLISHERS' TASTES, A BOOK FOR THE MASSES.

HE WRITES UNDER AN ASSUMED NAME, THIS CARICATURE THAT HE CREATES IN HIS HEAD, AND HE IS FORCED NOW TO LEAD A DUAL LIFE BECAUSE THAT BOOK BECOMES THE BEST-SELLING OF HIS CAREER.

>> LET'S GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING.

BECAUSE YOUR FRUSTRATION START, MONK'S FRUSTRATION STARTS WITH AN INCIDENT IN THE ENGLISH LITERATURE CLASS.

I THINK IT'S AN ENGLISH LITERATURE CLASS YOU'RE TEACHING.

>> YES.

>> AND A WHITE STUDENT GETS ALL BENT OUT OF SHAPE.

>> YES.

A SOUTHERN LITERATURE CLASS.

AND THERE IS A WORD ON THE BLACKBOARD BEHIND HIM THAT THIS YOUNG WOMAN FINDS TO BE OFFENSIVE.

SHE IS A BIT OVERLY SENSITIVE.

>> I CAN'T REMEMBER THE WORD.

CAN WE SAY IT?

OH, IT'S THE N-WORD.

OH, YEAH.

>> IT'S FROM A BOOK CALLED "THE ARTIFICIAL [ BLEEP ]" BY FLANNERY O'CONNER.

>> WE'RE GOING HAVE TO BLEEP YOU.

>> BUT THAT'S THE NAME OF THE BOOK.

IT'S AMERICAN SOUTHERN GOTHIC.

SO WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THAT HISTORY, HE'S TEACHING THIS BOOK AND THE WORD'S ON THE BOARD BEHIND HIM.

THAT WAS THE FIRST SCENE OBVIOUSLY THAT I READ.

IT'S THE FIRST SCENE IN THE SCRIPT, AND I WAS HOOKED IMMEDIATELY, BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH A FLUENT CONVERSATION THAT THE FILM IS HAVING ABOUT A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION AROUND RACE, CONTEXT, LANGUAGE, AND HISTORY, A CONVERSATION THAT'S HAPPENING IN CLASSROOMS ACROSS AMERICA, ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

IT'S REALLY AT THE CENTER OF THE NATIONAL DISCOURSE IN MANY WAYS, THE POLITICAL DISCOURSE.

BUT IT'S NOT A CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVE VERY WELL.

>> NO.

IN FACT, WE HAVE JUST HAD THIS CONVERSATION WHICH GOES TO THE HEART OF THE ACTUAL ISSUE, BECAUSE I CAN'T USE THE WORD THAT YOU JUST USED.

SO I HAVE ALSO GOT TO BLEEP IT OUT TO AVOID, YOU KNOW, SENSITIVITIES BY AUDIENCES AND PEOPLE, EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE NAME OF THAT ACTUAL BOOK THAT WAS WRITTEN ALL THOSE MANY YEARS AGO.

>> WELL, THERE WAS A LINE IN -- THAT WE CONSIDERED IN THE MOVIE, A LITTLE SECRET WE FORGOT TO PUT IT IN.

DON'T TAKE IT UP WITH ME.

TAKE IT UP WITH FLANNERY O'CONNER.

I'LL GET YOU A OUIJA BOARD.

THIS IS THE HISTORY.

AND THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE FEAR TALKING ABOUT NOW.

THERE IS A SEGMENT OF OUR SOCIETY THAT DOESN'T WANT -- THAT WANTS TO PRETEND THAT CERTAIN PART OF OUR HISTORY THAT NEVER EXISTED.

THERE IS ANOTHER PART OF OUR SOCIETY THAT'S TRAUMATIZED BY THESE CONVERSATIONS.

AND SO HOW DO WE COME TOGETHER WITH ALL OF THESE STRANGE DYNAMICS HAPPENING TO HAVE PRODUCTIVE DISCOURSE AND PROBLEM SOLVE AROUND RACE AND REPRESENTATION AND IDENTITY IF WE -- IF WE ARE AFRAID OF THESE THINGS?

AND SO OUR FILM IS NOT AFRAID.

WE DIVE INTO IT.

WE DO WIT A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR ABOUT OURSELVES AS WELL.

AND SO IT PROVIDES MAYBE A LITTLE RELIEF, MAYBE A BETTER SPACE, A MORE PRODUCTIVE SPACE TO CONSIDER THESE THINGS.