MRC AND T-STREET PARTNER ON UNTITLED CORD JEFFERSON FILM STARRING JEFFREY WRIGHT

Feature From MRC Film and T-Street Based on Novel “Erasure” by Percival Everett, Written and Directed by Cord Jefferson

Los Angeles, CA – (November 10, 2022) – MRC Film & T-Street today announced a new untitled film based on the novel “Erasure” by Percival Everett. Emmy-winning writer Cord Jefferson (“Watchmen,” “Master of None”) wrote the adaptation for the untitled film and is making his feature directorial debut. Emmy-winning actor Jeffrey Wright stars (“The Batman,” “Westworld”).  

Jeffrey Wright plays Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, an English professor and author who writes a satirical novel under a pseudonym, aiming to lay bare the hypocrisies of the publishing world. The book’s immediate success forces Monk to get deeper enmeshed in his assumed identity and challenges his closely-held worldviews.

“Cord has masterfully captured the sharpness and irreverence of Percival’s writing and brought the characters to life with such humanity and accessibility.  There is no one more well-suited than Jeffrey Wright to embody Monk’s wit and exasperation.  We are honored to partner with them and T-Street to make this fresh and original film,” said MRC Film Co-Presidents Brye Adler and Jonathan Golfman.

Said Bergman and Johnson: “The goal of T-Street and MRC has always been about collaborating with original voices on original projects. Cord has exceeded our expectations on all fronts and we with MRC so look forward to what comes next.”

Percival Everett was recently named a finalist for the prestigious Booker Prize for his novel “The Trees.” The annual award celebrates the best works of fiction from around the world written or translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.

“Within minutes of opening Erasure, I was overwhelmed by the novel's profound personal and universal resonance, and shocked that something so relevant to our world today had been written decades before. I hope I can make a film that feels as meaningful to others as the book is to me. My eternal gratitude goes to MRC, T-Street, Percival Everett, and Jeffrey Wright for helping me to bring this adaptation to life,” said Jefferson.

Jefferson’s recent credits are a powerhouse of critically-acclaimed television series, including HBO's groundbreaking series “Watchmen,” for which he won an Emmy award for Outstanding Writing For A Limited Series. Other credits include HBO Max's “Station Eleven,” NBC's “The Good Place,” Netflix's “Master of None,” and HBO's drama series tour-de-force “Succession.” Among the accolades that Jefferson has earned for his work on these series are two Writers Guild Awards (“Watchmen,” “Succession”) and an NAACP Image Award for writing “The Good Place” episode, “Tinker, Tailor, Demon, Spy.” Prior to writing for TV, Cord was the West Coast editor for Gawker. His reporting and writing have appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, National Geographic, and Bookforum, among others.

Jeffrey Wright is a Tony, Emmy, AFI and Golden Globe Award-winning actor who has enjoyed an illustrious career, spanning the worlds of theatre, film and television. Wright was most recently seen as Bernard Lowe in HBO’s critically acclaimed series “Westworld,” for which he has earned three Emmy nominations. Wright was last seen on the big screen in Matt Reeves' “The Batman: Vengeance” portraying the iconic character of Jim Gordon. Next year, Wright will appear on Netflix as Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. in the George C. Wolfe-directed “Rustin,” the story of civil rights titan Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1963 March on Washington. Also next year, Wright can be seen as General Gibson in the star-studded Wes Anderson film “Asteroid City” and will return as the voice of The Watcher in the Marvel animated series “What if…?,” for which he is also Emmy-nominated.

The film is produced by T-Street’s Ben LeClair and Nikos Karamigios, Jermaine Johnson and Cord Jefferson. The film recently wrapped production in Boston. 

MRC Film is a division of global entertainment company MRC, which holds a minority equity stake in T-Street. Together, they partner on a fully capitalized, independently staffed studio. Last year as a part of the partnership, the two companies launched an emerging filmmakers label which recently announced, “The Snack Shack,” from writer/director Adam Reihmeir, starring Gabriel LaBelle, Conor Sherry and Mika Abdalla. The label also recently completed production on “Fair Play,” from writer/director Chloe Domont, starring Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Sebastian de Souza, Eddie Marsan and Rich Sommer.  

Jefferson is represented by CAA, 3Arts Entertainment, and Ziffren Brittenham. Wright is represented by CAA, and the law firm of Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.