Join acclaimed film director, screenwriter, actor, and author, John Sayles in conversation with actor Joe Morton as they discuss John's latest novel Yellow Earth and their past movie collaborations, including The Brother from Another Planet.

In Yellow Earth John introduces an epic cast of characters. When rich layers of shale oil are discovered beneath the town of Yellow Earth, all hell breaks loose. Through the intertwining lives of its characters, Yellow Earth lays bare how the profit motive erodes human relationships, as well as our living planet.

John Sayles works as a fiction writer, screenwriter, actor, and feature film director. His novel Union Dues (1978) was nominated for the National Book Award and the National Critics' Circle Award. He has written over 100 screenplays and was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has directed 18 feature films. with another, I Passed This Way, currently in progress. His films Matewan and Lone Star, as well as his previous novel,  A Moment in the Sun, are often used for instruction in History and American Studies courses. Yellow Earth is his fifth novel.

Joe Morton is an Emmy Award and multiple NAACP Image Award winning film, television and stage veteran actor. Morton is widely known for playing the title character in film director John Sayle’s sci-fi film The Brother from Another Planet (1984), as well as roles in Sayles’ City of Hope (1991), and Lone Star (1996), and also worked as the ill-fated scientist ‘Miles Dyson’ in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. His other film credits include Speed 2, American Gangster, What Lies Beneath, Blues Brothers 2000 and The Astronaut’s Wife, among many others. On the small screen, Morton delighted TV audiences for five seasons as scientist ‘Henry Deacon’ in Eureka, recurred as ‘Daniel Golden', the attorney to ‘Peter Florrick (Chris Noth) in CBS’s The Good Wife, and is widely known for his role in The Cosby Show’s spin-off A Different World. Morton currently stars as ‘Rowan Pope’ in ABC’s groundbreaking TV series Scandal. Morton is a huge proponent of diversity in Hollywood and uses his platform to express the need for more contemporary non-white roles in television and film.

This is part of Succeed2gether's Montclair Literary Festival at Home series.

You can buy Yellow Earth from Festival partner Watchung Booksellers here. Shipping or contactless pick-up only.

Succeed2gether’s fourth annual Montclair Literary Festival was scheduled for March 25 to 29, 2020. Due to the current health crisis, Festival Day is now planned for Saturday September 12, 2020. The program will feature around 80 authors in over 30 free events, book talks, children's activities, and more.

The festival is a fundraiser for Montclair-based non-profit Succeed2gether, which offers after-school one-on-one tutoring and enrichment classes with the aim of closing the education opportunity gap in Essex County. You can read more about Succeed2gether and the festival at www.succeed2gether.org.

The festival organizing committee wishes to thank event partners Succeed2gether staff, Montclair Public Library, First Congregational Church, and Watchung Booksellers, and festival sponsors Rao's, Montclair State University, West of Hudson Realty Group, and community members.

John Sayles "Yellow Earth" with Joe Morton