‘12 Years a Slave’ shares similarities to Anne Frank’s diaries

theGRIO REPORT - NBC's Ann Curry has the opportunity to sit down with director Steve McQueen and several cast members from his movie, 12 Years a Slave.

carrieheals

Oct 19, 2013

NBC News’ Ann Curry has the opportunity to sit down with director Steve McQueen and several cast members from his movie, 12 Years a Slave.

The film is based on the once best selling memoir of Solomon Northup’s life. It tells the harrowing tale of a free black man from New York who is tricked and sold into slavery.

“I had the initial idea of a free man who had been kidnapped into slavery, and I talked to my wife who is a historian and she found this book called 12 Years a Slave,” McQueen said. “And as soon as she put it in my hand, I never let it go. I couldn’t believe that I had never known this book.”

McQueen shared his surprise that no one he knew was familiar with the book.

“For me there was a huge parallel to Anne Frank and Anne Frank’s diaries,” McQueen said.

“For me, overall, this is a story about human respect,” lead actor Chiwetel Ejiofor said.

Actor and producer Brad Pitt agreed, saying, “It’s a detailed look at how inhuman man can be to man, but ultimately it’s a reminder of our responsibility to each other.”

12 Years a Slave opens in select theaters this weekend.

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