Own Your Power: A Conversation with ‘Rustin’ Co-Screenwriter Julian Breece

The architect of 1963’s momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known. He challenged authority, never apologized for who he was, what he believed, or who he desired. And he did not back down. He made history, and in turn, he was forgotten. Directed by DGA Award and five-time Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe and starring Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo, Rustin shines a long overdue spotlight on the extraordinary man who, alongside giants like the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to imagine a different world, and inspired a movement in a march toward freedom.

There is an unwavering beauty when the pivotal and dynamic elements of storytelling, performances, and direction meld together. The unification of these elements typically delivers a timeless film, one that bears rewatching again, and again, and Rustin is one of those timeless films. But, it's also an incredibly timely film, from the message being delivered to the filmmakers delivering said message. A message of resiliency, human rights, kindness, and the greatness behind owning your own power.

For this film, it all started on the page, thanks to screenwriter Julian Breece. He poured over the subject of his film with great care and understanding. Which was then shepherded by Dustin Lance Black, who also co-wrote the film, and brought to life by director George C. Wolfe.

Julian shared with Script his journey in writing the Rustin screenplay, his research process, and the importance of honing his character's voices on the page, and he shares advice for writers embarking on writing a biographical screenplay. 

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Sadie Dean: This is such a beautiful film. It's just so timely, and knowing that this was 10 years in the making - that's kind of the nature of the game, right?

Julian Breece: Yeah…I'd written spec features before I got this job. And it was my first feature writing job. And I cared about it so much, and when it didn't get made right away, I was crushed. But you just realize that is the nature of the other projects that are in development, like 10-15 years, and then they come back around, and yeah, things come together and can fall apart.

Sadie: It's all about timing. How did this project initially come to you?

Julian: I have to give that credit to Lance Black. I was at the time temping on studio lots, you know, getting coffee and making copies for people. And I'd won a couple of fancy screenwriting awards, but that had not started to pay the bills. [laughs] But my manager told me that Lance Black is producing a film about Bayard Rustin, and he's looking for a writer. And I was like, ‘It has to be me’ even though at the time it really seemed impossible, because in 2013, it's changed so much now, thankfully, where the idea that like a young Black screenwriter would get to write a screenplay about a Black...well about anything, there just weren't a lot of us in the system in 2013. So, I went after it, my manager pounded the pavement, I wrote Lance this long email explaining to him why I was the writer for it. And we actually had a short that was in Sundance that he had seen and so he was familiar with my work, and we met, hit it off and I went straight into the research process from there.

Sadie: You could have told this story in so many different variations and time periods of his life. During that research process, you could’ve gone down a deep rabbit hole and keep going, when do you know when to stop researching, start writing, but finding the framework of this storyline and choosing that specific time in his life?

Julian: It was pretty early in the process actually, I just read everything I could get my hands on. I had known about Bayard Rustin, I found out about him when I was a teenager, not in school, but just being a kid on the internet - just coming to terms with my own sexuality. And I found out, just on the internet, ‘Are there other Black gay guys out there, living, loving their lives?’ And I came across Bayard Rustin on a guy named Keith Boykin’s site. And, from there, I did research on him in college. And then during this process, I went even deeper. And yes, like you said, you could do like a 10-part, limited series on Bayard Rustin. There's just so much to cover in his life, and the work that he's done, but I think that the March on Washington was perfect to center the film on because it really was a convergence of all of the work and so many of the meaningful relationships throughout his career -t hat it all kind of converged upon this moment in his life. So King, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, NAACP. And then of course, some things from his past come back to haunt him. All of that comes to a head.

So, I knew pretty quickly, even though I don't know how exactly it's going to work, I know that the action of the film is going to be based around this moment. And I would say the harder part was really finding the personal story. Who is Bayard? Because those are the things that even biographies don't cover, it's like, what in this moment, what was he dealing with personally, in order to pull off this great feat?

Sadie: There is this really great line from one of the characters telling Bayard “Own your power.” As a viewer, this felt like his overarching theme – this purpose he was following and fulfilling. Was that something similar for you as your own North star for his trajectory?

Julian: Absolutely. Bayard, he never wanted the glory, right? For him, he genuinely believed that all humans were created equal, and that they should all share the same quality of life and all enjoy the same dignity in life. And that's what his fight was for from the beginning of this fight. And so, he didn't care who got the credit for it, he just knew that he had what it took to help drive things in that direction. He believed that.

And I think that part of him being gay, I think when you're gay, especially during that time, we're talking about a man who was out in the 30s, 40s, 50s, but even now, for a lot of Queer people, we learn to play in the background, it's one of the good things that we can do is to keep that quiet, right? That's helpful thing that we can do. And I think for Bayard, as powerful as he was, as very much a leader in his own right, this tall, striking man, this booming voice, this presence, he knew that he had to shrink himself for the better good. And so, I think his arc in the movie is realizing that, ‘You know, what? Me containing who I am, me containing my voice. It's not right. It goes against what we're fighting for here.’ And I think that that arc of him, like you said, coming into his power, it's like, ‘Hou all know what I offer. I know what I offer, and we know that we need it right now.’ And he's standing up for himself, but also really, pressuring the men in the movement to stand for what they say they stand for.

Sadie: Another thing, amongst many things that I really loved about this movie was the opening when we’re being introduced to key players, especially their dialogue, it’s like this great jazz movement where each character gets like a little solo. Can you talk about finding that rhythm of the dialogue there and what key information to incorporate in those intros?

Julian: So, I actually cannot take credit for that. I wrote the script, back in 2013. And then there was a long lull after that. It was actually set up at one place at another studio, with another director who was excited to make it. That's when the casting process started, it actually had been slipped to Coleman [Doming], and you know, things happen in Hollywood - it fell apart. [laughs] And so then, I think it was around 2019, when Lance as a producer took the project to Higher Ground and Netflix. And then once George [C. Wolfe] was attached, Lance did revisions based on George's vision. And so that was one of the I'd say those first 10 pages those intros were George. Which was so beautifully done. The way that he tropes theater and the way that he tropes film of the era is just so perfect for this and so beautiful. And so that's one of the elements that was added there at the top that I think is wonderful. That was really good. Really well done.

Sadie: When writing dialogue, and the rhythm of it, also thanks to George, but I think it also comes down to what you and Lance are doing on the page, and honing those voices.

Julian: That was one of the things that's most important to me in my writing. I have to be able to hear my characters. And once I hear my lead characters interacting, I kind of get the rhythm for the entire piece. And what's magical about the process sometimes is how we transfer energy to each other collaboratively. Because I didn't work with George and Lance when they were doing the rewrites on the script, but that rhythm remains, and it's on screen. And the way that that came across was incredible, like Bayard's voice. And then Colman too…I mean… Colman got that right. But then he did something else. That was so much more correct. I remember the first time, George had a screening of his early cut, and I was in shambles the entire time, because it's a special project. I've seen a lot of them, that I've worked on, all great - this one just felt like it was meant to happen the way it happened.

Sadie: Absolutely. Just taking a step back, what piqued your interest in becoming a storyteller and a filmmaker?

Julian: I was always very creative. I was in theater, I was a painter, I loved to draw when I was a kid. And I started writing short stories when I got into elementary school. And I think a lot of that writing came from…I always felt kind of like a loner - I had friends, but I always felt different, you know? And I was always kind of an observer. I was fascinated by human relationship dynamics. And so, I would write these stories. And they would start to circulate - I give them to one friend and then next thing you know, the principal has it. And it's like, ‘Oh, no.’ [laughs] But then the principal encouraged me, 'This is really good. These little soapy stories you're writing about your classmates and the teachers. You're a good writer, but maybe, try not to be distracting with them.' So, it started there.

And I think that I always was interested in film. Film, to me, as a visual medium, it's the most probably like effective, potent means to really change people's minds about things that they are rigid about, or never would have thought about. Just the visual force of the medium. And so, I was always attracted to it. And I knew that I wanted to be a part of it, on the writing, and directing side - which I'm moving back into, which I'm really excited about. I just love movies. Always have.

Sadie: Any advice for writers who are writing biographies?

Julian: I watched every biographical film that I could get my hands on, if I hadn't already watched it when I was working on this. And I think it's really the most important thing that I've found, and it's made it easier for me when I do biographical projects is really honing in on specifically why you're telling this story and why you? Even on a biographical project, if you can really connect something about yourself to the character, whether it is something from your life, and it doesn't mean that you project that onto it, it's just for me, it's like analyzing why me for this. It always helps connect me to it, because that's something that can be hard when you're just writing about, for me, something else, someone else, like an idea that's not from your head, or characters that you can't just create. For me being able to empathize with whoever I'm writing about, whether I disagree with them on things or not.

And also, again, why is this story important for now? And so, I think it's easy to get stuck in, ‘OK, well, this is this was important then, and these issues were important.’ Storytelling has always been about how we can apply the lessons from the past to where we are currently? And so, I think that with biographical film, it's the same I'm watching a biographical film, even if it's a black and white period, I want to feel like it's being told for now. And I feel like in being told for now, it's weird. That kind of film ends up being timeless.

Sadie: Because of the power of movies and power of storytelling, and because of the subject of this film, what do you hope audiences take away from watching this?

Julian: The thing for me that really stands out now, just where we are in this country we've made a lot of progress when it comes to equal rights when it comes to respecting the private lives and the dignity of other people. But you see book bans. We see denialism when it comes to the history of this country. We see rollbacks on laws that are protecting Queer people and women. I think that, just with Bayard, we have someone who is a gay man, who was pushed out of the civil rights movement as the result of being attacked by racist politicians. Strom Thurmond, Hoover's FBI, they knew his power, and they did not want him to be able to achieve what he achieved. 

And the cause for Black freedom was not just about Black people, it was really rescuing this entire country from itself. If Bayard Rustin had not pushed his way back into the movement - they didn't ask him back - he said, ‘This is the time. This is the moment that everything can change.’ As a strategist, he knew that. And he pushed his way back in. And we have to all be grateful for that. But what if he hadn't? What if we just pushed him out?

So, I think in this moment, what I want people to take from it is, we could be pushing out the people that really do save us all. Even if it's just the people who can enhance our lives personally, but also that as the collective that could really be a part of our collective deliverance in this country and just where we are right now, globally, and it was Bayard for the civil rights movement. Who are we potentially losing and not fighting for right now?

Rustin is now playing in select Theaters and will be released on Netflix on November 17, 2023.