Let me throw a scenario in your direction. It’s 1993, a Hollywood big wig is reading your script about Harriet Tubman, a black woman who was a former slave and later became an icon for the civil rights movement for African Americans back in the early 20th century. They love the script and will make it into a movie… but only if Julia Roberts, a white woman, played Harriet, who again is a black woman.
Well folks, this ridiculous scenario actually happened and isn’t some fiction made up by a Hollywood screenwriter.
Gregory Allen Howard, screenwriter for the Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet, spilled the tea during a Q&A with Focus Pictures, saying that the film was set up at Disney back in 1993. After penning the script, he was told by a studio head that his work was great but they wanted to “get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman” because she was the biggest actress in Hollywood at the time.
Howard noted (via The Los Angeles Times) that the sole black person other than himself in that (presumably tense) meeting pointed out that perhaps getting a white woman to play a black woman wasn’t the best idea, only to be told by studio head, “That was so long ago. No one will know that.”
The project ultimately stalled for many years, perhaps for the better given the climate in Hollywood at the time. However, Howard pointed to two films that helped make his Harriet Tubman biopic a reality.
First was 12 Years A Slave, which won critical acclaim and made a big pile of money, and the second was Black Panther, which also got great reviews and made even more money. Both these films proved to the Hollywood suits that black people can indeed sell movie tickets and it ultimately helped give Harriet the greenlight.
Now at this point in time, Hollywood had changed a smidge and casting tastes have changed meaning Julia Roberts was no longer an option. Howard ultimate chose Cynthia Erivo, an ridiculously talented African British actress to play Harriet, presumably because Scarlett Johansson was too busy or something.
So if you’re ever feeling like you’ve said something dumb, just remember that some idiot in Hollywood (who was likely a racist) thought it was a good idea to have Julia Roberts play a black woman who made a huge impact on the world.
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