Green Book

About

Green Book is a 2018 biographical dramatic comedy film. Directed by Peter Farrelly, the film follows black pianist Don Shirley's music tour of the deep south in 1962 and his relationship with his white driver Tony Vallelonga. The film received moderate-to-positive reviews, but after winning best picture at the 2019 Academy Awards, many criticized the film for its depiction racism and race relations in the United States.

History

Production began on Green Book in late 2017 with Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen set to play Shirley and Vellelonga, respectively.^[1]

On August 6th, 2018, the trailer for Green Book was released. Within six months, the trailer received more than 2.5 million views (shown below).

Viggo Mortensen "N-Word" Controversy

On November 8th, 2018, at a screening of and question and answer event for Green Book, Viggo Mortensen reportedly said the "n-word" in reference to language used during the period that film takes place. That day, those within the room tweeted about the incident. For example, Twitter ^[2] user @DickSchulz tweeted, "Was at a screening for #GreenBook--the movie is amazing, but at the Q&A after Viggo Mortensen just dropped the N Word and the oxygen immediately left the room." The tweet received more than 150 retweets and 295 likes in four months (shown below).

Mortensen later released an apology for using the word.^[3] He said:

Last night I participated in a Q&A session moderated by Elvis Mitchell following a screening of ‘Green Book’ in Los Angeles. In making the point that many people casually used the “N” word at the time in which the movie story takes place, in 1962, I used the full word.

Although my intention was to speak strongly against racism, I have no right to even imagine the hurt that is caused by hearing that word in any context, especially from a white man. I do not use the word in private or in public. I am very sorry that I did use the full word last night, and will not utter it again.

Nick Vallelonga Anti-Muslim Tweet

On January 9th, 2019, film producer Jordan Horowitz tweeted,^[4] "Nick Vallelonga wrote Green Book. My industry just gave him a Golden Globe for writing. This remains on his timeline. Mahershala Ali is a Muslim, and a beautiful, generous and kind man. This is all just too disgusting." In addition to the caption, Horowitz shared a screenshot of the tweet that showed Vallelonga, Green Book's screenwriter and the son of the real-life Tony Vallelonga, agreeing with a conspiracy theory shared by then-candidate Donald Trump about Muslim people in Jersey City, NJ cheering for the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Vellelonga wrote, "@realDonaldTrump 100% correct. Muslims in Jersey City cheering when towers went down. I saw it, as you did, possibly on local CBS news." Horowitz's tweet received more than 3,000 retweets and 10,000 likes in less than one month.

Vallelonga later apologized for the tweet. He said,^[5] via a representative, I want to apologize. I spent my life trying to bring this story of overcoming differences and finding common ground to the screen, and I am incredibly sorry to everyone associated with Green Book. I especially deeply apologize to the brilliant and kind Mahershala Ali, and all members of the Muslim faith, for the hurt I have caused."

Reception

As of February 24th, 2019, Green Book has amassed a worldwide box office total $144 million.^[6] On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, ^[7]the film received a score of 79% (based on 301 reviews). In their critical consensus, the site writes, "Green Book takes audiences on a surprisingly smooth ride through potentially bumpy subject matter, fueled by Peter Farrelly's deft touch and a pair of well-matched leads."

Shirley Family Response

On November 29th, 2018, Don Shirley's brother Maurice E. Shirley, Sr released a statement condemning the film. He wrote,^[14] "In agreement with Malcolm X who proffered that ‘every White man in America profits directly or indirectly from his position vis-a-vis Negroes, profits from racism even though he does not practice it or believe it.’ This movie, The Green Book is NOT about MY brother, but about money, white privilege, assumption, and Tony Lip!"

His statement continues to dispell factual inaccuracies found within the film. He continues, "My brother never considered Tony to be his 'friend'; he was an employee, his chauffeur (who resented wearing a uniform and cap). This is why context and nuance are so important. The fact that a successful, well-to-do Black artist would employ domestics that did NOT look like him, should not be lost in translation."

Additionally, family member Maxine C. Leftwich called for a boycott of the film. They wrote, "Our family is boycotting the film due to the implicit and the explicit affronts we have endured while critics have hailed the film for its artistic brilliance and its timely juxtaposition to the rise in hate crimes, White Nationalism, and neo-Nazism in the contemporary United States."

Vallelonga defended his family, stating that Don Shirley approved of what was put in the film, which focused on a two-month period of Shirley's life. He said, "It’s unfortunate to me because I don’t want to hurt the Shirley family in any way. There’s a lot of information [the Shirley family] doesn’t have, and they were hurt that I didn’t speak to them. But to be quite honest with you, Don Shirley himself told me not to speak to anyone. And he only wanted certain parts of his life. He only allowed me to tell what happened on the trip[…]To say I didn’t contact them, that was hard for me because I didn’t want to betray what I promised him [Dr. Shirley]."

2019 Academy Awards

Green Book was nominated for five Academy Awards and won three for best supporting actor, best screenplay and best picture. However, the film was the subject of controversy as many believed that the film was not worthy of the best picture distinction. Spike Lee, whose film Blackkklansman was also nominated for best picture, reportedly wave his hands angrily and attempted to leave the Dolby Theater when the winner was announced.^[8]

Following the ceremony, Lee elaborated, "I’m snakebit. I mean every time somebody's driving somebody, I lose. But they changed the seating arrangement!" The comment was a reference to 1990 best picture winner Driving Ms. Daisy, another film that was criticized for its depiction of race and racism.^[9]

"I guess it’s progress, because Do the Right Thing didn’t even get nominated. I mean, it seems very similar to Driving Miss Daisy. They just changed the driving positions."

Media outlets also criticized the win. The Los Angeles Times^[10] called the film "the worst best picture winner since Crash." Popsugar^[16] called the win "the most embarrassing Oscars moment in years."

Online, people tweeted their criticisms of the film and the win. Twitter^[11] user @MarkHarrisNYC tweeted, "Remember when Green Book won Best Picture? Man, that choice did not age well." The tweet received more than 2,600 retweets and 13,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, left).

Twitter^[12] user @MsPackyetti tweeted, "Green Book was not for Black people. It was to make white people feel good about doing little to stop racism beyond the interpersonal. Also, the other movies were better. ALSO, Regina, Ruth, Spike & more amazing Black folks won last night so I’m done talmbout Green a Book." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 675 retweets and 4,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, right).

That evening, Redditor ^[13] AtlasFink posted about the win in the /r/movies subreddit. The post received more than 15,000 points in 24 hours.

It was later reported that Green Book had the worst Rotten Tomatoes score for a best picture winner since Crash, leaving some to cite it as the worst-reviewed best picture winner since 2005.^[15]

Online, some used Green Book as a joke about well-meaning but racist white people. On February 24th, 2019, Twitter^[17] user @aseitzwald tweeted, "Some of Green Book’s best friends are black movies." The tweet received more than 12,000 retweets and 72,000 likes in two days (shown below). The post inspired a series of jokes that used cliche excuses for racism and replacing them with references to the film.

Search Interest

External References