None of it came easy.
The writer/director wrote three drafts of the pilot before Winfrey gave her the green light.
Below is an excerpt of an exchange between DuVernay and Winfrey on the topic of rewriting.
Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images
And she said, Oh, I thought it was going to be more than this.
Thats what she said.
I thought, Yeah, okay, Im going back and adding something.
Second one, I added people doing voodoo, murders, stabbing, a frickin hurricane.
I added a lot.
What does she want?
Winfrey:Im not down with the voodoo.
DuVernay:She was like, Whaaat?
In true Oprah fashion, she said, What do you want to say?
This is a show that will be on every week in peoples homes.
I drilled into that.
And I told her, This is the last one I will do.
And that was the pilot.
Winfrey:That was the one.
She wrote a book that she would want to read.
I can be down with that.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:Thats got to be hard among friends.
Were there any hurt feelings when she kept sending you back to hit it one more time?
DuVernay:There are so few people you’re able to get a real answer from.
DuVernay chose to make considerable changes to the books plot.
A big one was giving sibling Ralph Angel Bordelon the back story of being a former inmate.
How long do you have to pay the price after youve served your time?
Viewers familiar with Basziles book will notice additional changes in the series.
The primary protagonist in the novel, Charley Bordelon (Dawn-Lyen Gardner), is a school teacher.
She retreats to the South to both help her family and escape the life shes created.
DuVernay also added an older sister, Nova, an activist/healer played byTrue Bloods Rutina Wesley.
Queen Sugarwill debut Sept. 6 at 10 p.m.
