'Green Book' Writer Says Dr. Shirley Wanted His Family Excluded: "I Didn't Even Know They Really Existed" [Oscars 2019]

In a night highlighted by a record amount of women and people of color being awarded Oscars, the awards ceremony seemingly left a bad taste in many people’s mouth after the surprise wins by “Green Book” for Best Original Screenplay and, ultimately, Best Picture. The controversy surrounding that film has come from all different angles, but perhaps the most disappointing scandal involved the film’s reluctance to speak to the Shirley family before production. In a post-Oscars press conference, the film’s writer explains why the family of the real-life musician the film was based on was never consulted. And well, it’s a bit…complicated.

“Green Book” was co-written by Nick Vallelonga, who also happens to be the son of the Viggo Mortensen character Tony Vallelonga. On paper, the film seems to be a love letter from a son to his father, chronicling an important time in Tony’s life, as he drove Dr. Don Shirley around the Deep South during the Jim Crow era. Unfortunately, as “Green Book” began racking up awards, the family of Dr. Don Shirley spoke up and said the film was a “symphony of lies” and revealed that they were never contacted before the production of the film to give their thoughts on their beloved family member.

And in a post-Oscars press conference, Nick Vallelonga explained why that was. “That falls on me,” said the writer (via THR). “But Don Shirley himself told me not to speak to anyone [from his family].”

“I didn’t even know they really existed until after we were making the film,” he would go on to clarify.

“I kept my word to the man, and that’s the reason for that,” Vallelonga concluded.

Now, reading those statements, as part of the larger response (seen below), it might be a tad bit confusing. In the same breath, he says that Don Shirley told him to not reach out to anyone from his family, but then Vallelonga says he didn’t know the family even existed (which echoes earlier statements from director Peter Farrelly). He ends his answer by invoking his Italian heritage to explain his loyalty.

Obviously, this explanation will do little to quell the concerns of film fans that were outraged to watch “Green Book” and witness it’s clear “white savior” tropes, only then to find out that Dr. Shirley’s family denies the bulk of the story. It would appear that Vallelonga will continue to be a controversial figure (compounded by a Twitter scandal from a month ago) in the weeks to come as people begin to dissect just how “Green Book” won the evening.

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Backstage at the #Oscars, #GreenBook's Nick Vallelonga says Don Shirley asked him not to reach out to the Shirley family: "I didn't even know they really existed until after we were making the film." https://t.co/ZuoOGuBHmV pic.twitter.com/N3gOfXcmFi

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 25, 2019