Cord Jefferson Wins Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for 'American Fiction,' Calls for Diverse Black Narratives

Cord Jefferson, a former staff writer at Gawker, has won his first Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for 'American Fiction.' Directed by Jefferson, the film is riotously funny and offers a sharp commentary on the uneasy racial dynamics of modern publishing. Jefferson's win is a significant milestone, being the first Oscar for a former Gawker writer since Neetzan Zimmerman's Sound Mixing prize in 2013. In his victory, Jefferson highlighted the influence of filmmakers like Spike Lee and 'Hollywood Shuffle' and stressed the need for Hollywood to embrace depictions of Black life that are as broad and as deep as any other. 'American Fiction' has been praised for its satirical take on the publishing industry and Hollywood's treatment of Black creatives, with Jefferson urging the industry to take more risks.