The real Don Shirley is not someone who is far away from the black community and does not understand black music. He is actively involved in the black civil rights movement. He is a friend of Dr. King and participated in the parade in Selma together. He is very close friends with black musicians Nina Simone, Duke Ellington and Sarah Vaughn.
The real Don Shirley is not alienated from his family. It is said in the movie that he has only one brother who is not in contact. In fact, he had three close brothers at the time. After the death of one of the brothers' wife, he almost raised two nephews who had no mothers.
According to Don Shirley's family, Don Shirley and Tony did not establish a real friendship, and their relationship is the relationship between an ordinary employer and an employee. Tony did not work for Don Shirley for long and was fired. The fact is that Tony's son Nick Vallelonga is one of the writers of the film. The film only chooses one person's narrative without referring to (or respecting) the other's narrative. However, this is only a film, not a documentary, and it may not be very important to not restore the facts.
Don Shirley's family was interviewed after the movie was broadcast and expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the movie. For more detailed and accurate content, please refer to the link below (the details of the interview are included) https://shadowandact.com/the-real-donald-shirley-green-book-hollywood-swallowed-whole
However, in the follow-up, director Green Book responded to Don Shirley's family accusations. What is the truth? Because the death of the two people in the world may not be confirmed at all. Right or wrong can only be decided by each. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/01/green-book-director-peter-farrelly-defends-movie-against-criticism
View more about Green Book reviews
