Ken Rance is a cousin of one of my sister’s friends. He wrote a screenplay about a “white collar” black woman who falls in love with a “blue color” black man. “32 & Single” became the movie “New in Town,” with Harry Connick, Jr., and Renee Zellweger in the leading roles. You may have noticed that neither Connick nor Zellweger are black.
I wondered why Rance would allow such a significant change to his work. I was hoping this interview would delve more into his reasons. At one point, he seemed to balk at changing the characters’ race, but apparently things changed:
“It is my story, but the story can be told with different nuances. … There wasn’t that much change, but I never set out to write a movie about race. She (Monica Tate, the lead in the original script) just happens to be an African-American female. In the spirit of Barack Obama it shows that black writers can write universal stories. A lot of our stories are so tragic, but our stories are more vast and diverse than that. There are other stories out there.”
To answer the question, “Because of the money!” would be rather cynical, yes? What are the odds of selling a screenplay and seeing it made into a movie, no matter what color you are? It must be doubly difficult if you’re black. Let’s be honest. From trying to sell screenplays to auditioning for a handful of roles to proving yourself behind the camera and in the corporate office, it’s not an easy road for blacks in Hollywood.
Imagine yourself in Rance’s situation. Someone wants to buy your work and make your movie, which no doubt will open doors and build your network of people in the business who can help get subsequent movies off the ground. But there’s a catch.
Is changing the race (sex, religion, nationality, etc.) of your main characters a small price to pay?
