Fifty pages into Percival Everett's “Erasure" Cord Jefferson knew he wanted to adapt it into a movie script. Halfway through, he began to see Jeffrey Wright playing the book's academic protagonist, Thelonious “Monk” Ellison. By the time he was finished, he knew he wanted to direct it, too.
As quick as that, Cord Jefferson — the 41-year-old TV writer of “Succession,” “Master of None” and “Watchmen” — began working toward his directing debut, “American Fiction.” And just as speedily, following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, “American Fiction” became a breakout hit of the festival, launching Jefferson as a major new voice in movies.
