James McBride

As a kid, you dream about meeting a great novelist. You imagine them as kind, noble, wise, omniscient. When I met James McBride, I felt like I’d had coffee with a hysterically funny 21st century Leo Tolstoy. 

James has all the qualities one would expect. With The Color of Water, The Good Lord Bird, Kill ’Em and Leave, Deacon King Kong, and now The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, his excellence in the art of storytelling defies gravity. He writes about deep American wounds with love, rage, and a sense of wit that flies like a falcon in large leaping circles, riding the invisible winds of history.

In creating the limited series The Good Lord Bird, I learned that James is also the kind of friend you dream of making. When things get rough, he never loses his sense of humor, his wisdom, and his powerful ability to communicate.

If James is one of the most influential artists in America, then there is great hope for America. 

Hawke is an Oscar-nominated actor, writer, and director