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There’s a reason why the conspicuously picky James Baldwin estate trusted writer-director Barry Jenkins to adapt Baldwin’s 1974 novel “If Beale Street Could Talk.” It wasn’t that Jenkins won an Oscar for co-writing Best Picture “Moonlight” — that hadn’t happened yet. The Baldwin estate looked at Jenkins’ work to date and, most importantly, his screenplay for “Beale Street,” which richly cultivates a novelistic tone and preserves Baldwin’s voice in narration and dialogue.

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CalMatters is a Sacramento-based nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. It works with more than 130 media partners throughout the state that have long, deep relationships with their local audiences, including Embarcadero Media.