A writer of the "Green Paper" says that he did not know that Don Shirley's family existed before the movie

Voters in the Oscars clearly liked the "Green Book" – but many did not like it.

The film, which won the award for Best Picture, Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali) at the 91st Oscars Sunday night, is based on true friendship between black jazz pianist Don Shirley (Ali) and Tony "Lip" Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), the white bouncer club, was created after Shirley hired Vallelonga as a driver and bodyguard on a musical tour in Jim Crow South in the early 1960s .

Despite the impressive number of prestigious awards received by the film well-being, this season has been rewarded by many people, including the critic, the director Spike Lee and especially by the own family of Shirley.

In November, Shirley's surviving relatives said the film was "a symphony of lies."

They also stated that no one in the film had contacted them during the production, that Shirley was not separated from his family or black community, as described in the film, and that the film reinforced the relationship between Shirley and Vallelonga.

Nick Vallelonga, the son of Tony Lip, who co-wrote the screenplay, told reporters after the Oscars that he would have liked to be able to contact the Shirley family, but "I did not even know that they existed really before the film's making, "according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"If you're talking about the Don Shirley family affair, it falls on me, but Don Shirley himself told me not to talk to anyone," Vallelonga said. "He told me the story he wanted to tell. He was protecting his privacy and all the other things about him, miraculous things about him. He was an extraordinary man.

Vallelonga continued, "He told me, 'If you're going to tell the story, it's your father, me, nobody. Do not talk to anyone else. That's how you have to succeed. And also, he told me, "Do not survive before death," so I kept my word to this man.

Vallelonga also said that the film touched the pianist's musical estate and invited Shirley's relatives to screenings and discussions after the film's making.

"Personally, I was not allowed to talk to his family, as Don Shirley wanted. I am an Italian from New York. They call that a guy standing up. I have kept my word to the man.

Vallelonga's comments, however, contradict the family's claims.

Two of Shirley's parents – 82-year-old musician Maurice Shirley's brother and nephew Edwin Shirley III – told Shadow and Act that not only did Shirley tell them about Vallelonga's film, but that he had totally rejected.

"I remember very well, 30 years ago, Nick Vallelonga, son of Tony Vallelonga, had approached my uncle to talk to him about a movie about his life. Uncle Donald had talked about it, "Edwin said. "He flatly refused."

Edwin recalled that he had even tried to convince his uncle to look into it.

"I remember suggesting to her that it might be a good idea:" You can be involved [with the making of the film]And he just said categorically, "No, absolutely not. I do not want to be part of it, "said Edwin, adding:

"And then, I told him at the time," Well, maybe you can define some conditions in which you can be involved if they accept certain things in terms of control for you, "and what he said at the time was "No matter what they tell me now, I will have no control over how I am described." & # 39; "

Upon learning that Shirley's family was disappointed with the movie, Ali called Maurice and Edwin and "excused himself if there was an offense," Edwin told Shadow. Act.

"What he said is," If I have offended you, I am terribly sorry. I did my best with the material that I had. I did not know that there were close relatives with whom I could have consulted to add nuances to the character. "

A representative of Ali told HuffPost that Ali did not apologize for the film himself, but did not give more details about his apology.

The next Vallelonga film, titled "That's Amore!", Is a romantic musical featuring a 40-year-old single who fell in love with a woman named Patti Amore (yup). He is also vaguely related to his father, according to Deadline. . It is co-produced by the producer of "Rocky" Gene Kirkwood, who met Vallelonga when his father played a small role in Kirkwood's film "The Pope of Greenwich Village".