‘American Fiction’ Wins Best Adapted Screenplay At 2024 Oscars

American Fiction got off to a strong start at the 2024 Oscars. The September 2023 film won the Best Adapted Screenplay award, the first award out of the five total nominations associated with the film.

Cord Jefferson took the stage to accept the award, reflecting on the fact he was a first-time director and thanking everyone involved with the film for trusting his vision. He encouraged everyone who sought to be a director to focus less on big-budget blockbusters and more on getting their repetitions in with multiple directorial efforts. He believed that the “next Martin Scorcese” and “both Gretas” were out there in the world.

He spoke with L.A. Magazine last week about his journalism career before breaking into directing. “When I first moved to L.A., years ago when I was still a journalist, I was writing articles for L.A. Magazine,” he said. “I think my byline’s been in LA Mag a couple times, so to be here feels wildly surreal.”

American Fiction is up for five total awards at this year’s Academy Awards. It will contend for Best Picture, Best Actor (Jeffrey Wright), Best Supporting Actor (Sterling K. Brown), and Best Original Score (Laura Karpman).

American Fiction boasted an impressive cast that included Wright, Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, John Ortiz, Keith David, and many more. The comedy-drama already won awards at the Celebration Of Cinema & Television, American Film Institute Awards, New York Film Critics Online Awards, Black Film Critics Circle, Black Reel Awards, and more.