'Harriet' director on Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman: 'We've learned a lot since then'
Last month, "Harriet" producer Gregory Allen Howard made waves when he said an entertainment executive once suggested Julia Roberts play the title role.
The film's director, Kasi Lemmons, as well as one of its producers, Debra Martin Chase, weighed in on the controversial suggestion at the inaugural celebration of black cinema by the Critics Choice Association on Monday, according to Variety.
The outlet reported that Lemmons first heard the news when the film's star, Cynthia Erivo, sent her an article about it.
Though the incident happened "a long time ago and things have changed," the director told Variety the uproar "does go to show you how far we've come."
“I it's happened a lot, and not that long ago. We do have to be careful and check ourselves," she added. "We’ve learned a lot since then. And in fact, in some ways, the way of approaching docudrama is completely different than it was 25 years ago.”
Chase said she "wasn't surprised" when the news broke.
“That’s how it used to be," she said. "People would say crazy stuff like that and get away with it. They would not be ashamed to say whatever they thought. That was the climate in this town — hostile."
Variety reported that Chase heard the story about the executive before but forgot about it until it resurfaced.
'Ridiculous': Viola Davis on Julia Roberts being considered to play Harriet Tubman
Howard began writing the film's screenplay over two decades ago with Lemmons. Though the film centers on the life of famous slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman, Howard said one executive thought Roberts should take on the part.
" 'Harriet,' which was set up at Disney 26 years ago, was my first assignment. … Hollywood, however, was very different back then," Howard recalled in an interview with the film's distributor, Focus Features.
Julia Roberts reportedly was suggested to play Harriet Tubman, and Twitter isn't having it
"I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, 'This script is fantastic. Let's get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman,' " he continued. "When someone pointed out that Roberts couldn’t be Harriet, the executive responded, 'It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.' " (Howard did not identify the exec who allegedly made the proposal.)
'Harriet' fact-check: How accurate is the new movie about Harriet Tubman?
Contributing: Cydney Henderson
See our full coverage of entertainment news
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman? 'Harriet' director, producer weigh in
