Hustle & Flow
Short description
Djay is a Memphis pimp nearing the end of his twenties, supporting himself and the women working for him through small-time hustles that no longer add up to much. When he runs into Key, an old school friend who now works as a sound engineer, the encounter stirs a long-dormant ambition: Djay has always had a way with words, and he begins writing rap lyrics about the life he knows. With Key, a church musician named Shelby and the women around him, including the pregnant Shug and young Nola, he scrapes together the equipment and confidence to record a demo. Word arrives that Skinny Black, a local rapper who made it big, is coming home for the Fourth of July, and Djay becomes convinced that getting his music into those hands is his one real chance to change his life.
Hustle & Flow was released in July 2005 and runs 116 minutes. Craig Brewer wrote and directed it, with John Singleton and Stephanie Allain producing; it is the first of six features Brewer has directed, ahead of Black Snake Moan, Footloose, Dolemite Is My Name, Coming 2 America and Song Sung Blue. Terrence Howard leads as Djay, with Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, DJ Qualls and Ludacris among a credited cast of forty-one.
Made for about 3 million dollars, the film took roughly 24 million worldwide, a strong return on its budget. It holds a 7.3 rating on IMDb from around 45,000 votes and a 7.2 on TMDB from roughly 469 votes; a critics' rating of 7.5 from 160 reviews places it slightly above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Terrence Howard began preparing for the role 2.5 years before filming and during that time spoke with 123 pimps and 78 prostitutes. In total, the actor lived with 4 different pimps and spent a month in one of Memphis's brothels.
- The film contains numerous references to famous musicians from Memphis, but Craig Brewer deliberately avoided any references to Elvis Presley.
- At the filmmakers' insistence, the lead actor Terrence Howard lived in Memphis for some time before filming, immersing himself in the spirit of the city and learning to speak like the locals.
- Screenwriter and director Craig Brewer dedicated the film to the memory of Sam Phillips (1923-2003), an American producer and founder of the Sun Records label, famous for discovering Elvis Presley (1935-1977).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
