As the theatrical release date for the upcoming much-anticipated film draws closer (limited release starting this Friday, December 16, followed by a nationwide roll-out the weekend after), it’s worth recapping the long journey the project took before finally becoming a reality, resting in the hands of Denzel Washington as director (which is significant) and star.

The age-old story on a stalled film adaptation of August Wilson’s award-winning play “Fences” is that, the late playwright insisted to the studio (Paramount – this was in the late 1980s) that the director of the film be black.

Paramount didn’t feel this was necessary, stating that they wanted “the best director for the job.” Even Eddie Murphy, who was attached to star in and co-produce the film adaptation at the time, told Wilson that he wasn’t going to hire a director just because they are black.

Wilson reiterated that he wasn’t suggesting that a black director be hired simply because they are black, but certainly a black director who was qualified for the job.




But this wasn’t a clause in the original agreement between Wilson and Paramount, so the studio wasn’t legally bound to adhere to Wilson’s wishes (however they likely realized well enough that a film adaptation of “Fences” without Wilson’s blessing, wasn’t something that they wanted to do). While seeming to be taking Wilson’s wishes under consideration, the studio approached Barry Levinson to helm the film; obviously, Levinson isn’t black.

Needless to say, Wilson didn’t approve. Although Levinson backed away from the project anyway, after he saw the play himself, stating that he didn’t think it would translate well to the screen – at least, not the version of the script that Wilson had written. Although I’m sure Wilson’s public objections to a white director helming the project were also of some influence.

So the project stalled, and remained in Limbo, while Wilson continued to publicly express his frustration with the number of films about black lives that were directed by white filmmakers, arguing that “whites have set themselves up as custodians of our experience.” Sound familiar?

There’s a really good 25-year-old piece on this story in the New York Times, published in January 1991, not-so-long after all the above transpired. It details the journey the adaptation took, and all the different players who were involved at different times.

In fact, it’s said that at one point, Bill Duke was a front-runner for the directing job. Warrington Hudlin was also approached, although not to direct, but to come up with a short list of black directors at the time, who were qualified for the job. Hudlin provided 12 names, which included directors like Gordon Parks, Charles Burnett and Spike Lee. Certainly they all would’ve been qualified.

But Paramount’s interest was in making a film that they felt would be commercial enough to return a healthy profit – hence, they likely felt that a white director, for one reason or another, would give them the best chance at that. Again, sound familiar?

As you can read in the New York Times piece, there were a lot of opinions sought on this, including Norman Jewison’s, who recalled his own experiences attempting to direct an adaptation of “The Confessions of Nat Turner” in the late 1960s, which was met with much opposition from the black community, in part because he was white, and also because the book distorted Turner’s story. Of course, Jewison would face a similar opposition when he sought to direct Malcolm X’s bio.

Since then, Spike Lee went on to direct “Malcolm X” and, more recently, Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” tells the story of Nat Turner’s rebellion.

The article paints a picture of a charged debate between all those involved (James Earl Jones, who starred in the 1987 premiere of the play on Broadway, was one of those voices), with August Wilson standing firm on his criteria.

Ultimately, the studio film adaptation never got made, although the play continued to thrive on the stage, throughout the country.

Skip ahead to 2010 when Denzel Washington and Viola Davis starred in a Broadway revival of the play, directed by Kenny Leon (a black director by the way), both giving strong performances that would earn them the highest honor in the theatre world, the Tony Award.

But what may not be universally known is that, when producer Scott Rudin first approached Denzel Washington about “Fences,” he sent him August Wilson’s screenplay adaptation of the play, suggesting that Denzel star and direct the film version of it. Denzel, a lover of the stage, first and foremost, and who also wanted to direct, felt that he needed to do the play first, before attempting a film adaptation. Rudin obviously was OK with that, Kenny Leon was hired to direct, Viola Davis came on-board to co-star, and the rest is history.

And 6 years after getting the stage version out of his system, Denzel has returned to “Fences,” but this time as a film, as producer Rudin apparently originally wanted, with Washington starring and directing – and ultimately, almost 30 years later, meeting the late August Wilson’s demand that a black filmmaker direct the filmed version of his celebrated play. So he eventually got his wish!

Now if only he were alive to see all of this unfold, and watch the film on the big screen, when it’s released this month, possibly en route to Oscar glory in 2017! If only…

Check out the New York Times 1991 piece (titled “Did Hollywood Sit on ‘Fences’?”), which you can read here.

A film that’s on my 2017 Oscar predictions list, there very likely will be lead acting nominations for Washington and supporting for Davis. And the rest of the cast could get nods as well. Keep in mind that this film adaptation of “Fences” isn’t part of the deal that Washington has with HBO, which will see him bring to the small screen, Wilson’s American Century Cycle series (minus “Fences”), which consists of 10 plays portraying the 20th century African American experience, from the early 1900s, just after slavery and the Civil War, to the 1990s.

If you missed the trailer premiere for the “Fences,” watch it below: