The director and writer of the Oscar-winning 12 Years A Slave are locked in a behind-the-scenes battle over the credit for the film's screenplay, it has been claimed.
According to The Wrap entertainment website, British filmmaker Steve McQueen requested a co-writing credit on screenwriter John Ridley's script, which Ridley politely declined. They have reportedly been feuding ever since.
Fox Searchlight, which backed the film, is said to have taken Ridley's side, while its producer Brad Pitt played peacemaker. The participants were allegedly encouraged to keep the matter under wraps so as not to threaten the film's awards chances.
12 Years A Slave is based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup, a free-born black man kidnapped and sold into slavery in the pre-Civil War South. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, while one of its stars, Lupita Nyongo, was named Best Supporting Actress. McQueen is the first black director to see his film win Best Picture, while Ridley is only the second black person to triumph in the screenplay category.
Observers noted that as he made his way to the podium, Ridley hugged not McQueen, but David O. Russell, the writer and director of another Oscar contender, American Hustle. While accepting the Best Picture prize, McQueen neglected to mention Ridley, whom he had also omitted from his acceptance speeches at the Baftas and Golden Globes.
