From KCRW Santa Monica and KCRW.com, it's The Treatment.

Welcome to the treatment, home edition.

I think one of the most fiercely awaited projects of the year is the Netflix film adaptation of Mar Rainey's Black Bottom.

We happen to have somewhere in the continental United States talking to me today, the director of that adaptation, George C. Wolf, returning to the show.

George is always good to have you back.

Glad to be here, glad to be here.

One of the things that's so interesting about the way you've staged this is that as a play, it's dependent on entrance. I mean, we get

one interest pretty early on, and then we're kind of waiting for Guffman or Godot, whatever

you want to call. We're waiting for Ma. You give us Ma the very beginning and Levy, the character that she comes into clash with, into conflict with. They both come right away. I think it's really interesting because it builds a different kind of tension, doesn't it?

Well, yeah, because, you know, it's the play which is beautifully crafted and these monologues, blues arias are so extraordinary and funny and deeply

moving and smart and all of that. But you really want to get to Godzilla and Mothra going at

each other as soon as you possibly can. Because it's named Godzilla and Mothra. It's not,

you know, four band members sitting in a basement talking. It's called Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. And so I wanted to see her, you know, I just did Iceman Cummuth with Denzel Washington. And it's 45 to 50 minutes before Hickey, the main character shows up. And so I wanted to get at Ma right away, put into place

the power dynamic that is going on between Levy, this young trumpet player and Ma, so that therefore,

when you cut into the guys arriving, you're watching every single thing they're doing. And when

Ma's name comes up and when we see her at the colored hotel or when we see her or they discuss her, you're invested in her already.

So you're not spending all this time waiting on this character who you don't know while other people talk about her.

So I just wanted to jack up the stakes and but also put the like put the audience

in command of what is at stake as well. I just think there's such a really interesting choice

and between you and Ruth and Santiago Hudson who did the adaptation. Just doing something like that

showing us Ma's power over an audience right away because there's also something we didn't have

access to in a play either to show the command that she has and to show that fight between the two

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