Sorry to Bother You
Short description
In an alternate version of present-day Oakland, Cassius Green takes a job as a telemarketer and struggles to make sales. After a coworker shares a trick for sounding white on the phone, he starts rising quickly through the company. His friends and colleagues, meanwhile, are organizing against the firm's working conditions, and Cassius finds himself drawn toward the executive Steve Lift, whose offer of wealth pulls him further from them. The discovery of a special key to success leads Cassius into a strange and unsettling world.
Sorry to Bother You is Boots Riley's feature debut, released in 2018. Riley wrote and directed the film, which was produced by Forest Whitaker, Kelly Williams and George Rush. LaKeith Stanfield plays Cassius Green, with Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews and Kate Berlant among the cast.
Made for about 3 million dollars, the film earned roughly 18 million worldwide. With 94 credited cast and 112 credited crew, it was a modestly scaled production that found a sizeable audience relative to its cost. On IMDb it holds 6.9/10 from around 94,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.8/10 from a much smaller base of 1,845 votes. A critics' rating of 7.8/10 from 309 reviews puts professional response above both audience scores. Riley's second feature, I Love Boosters, followed in 2026.
What's left behind the scenes
- The lead role was intended for Donald Glover, but he was busy filming "Solo: A Star Wars Story". In his place, he recommended Lakeith Stanfield, with whom he starred in the series "Atlanta".
- Director and screenwriter Boots Riley wanted to mention Michel Gondry in the film as a sign of deep respect. Considering he was making a comedy himself, he didn’t technically need to ask Gondry’s permission to use his name, but Riley still decided to clarify the matter with Gondry. Gondry gave his permission, but with certain conditions. When Riley accepted all the conditions, he was contacted by Gondry’s representatives who stated that the permission had been revoked. Offended, Riley changed the surname “Gondry” to “Dongri” in the appropriate scene and announced that he would continue to mention Gondry in this way in all his future films until Gondry finally contacted him.
- Costumes and animatronic heads for the half-human, half-horse creatures were created by “Amalgamated Dynamics,” which had previously created costumes for films in the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises. As Boots Riley stated in a 2018 interview, there was actually only one costume for all these creatures, but several different animatronic heads. The heads were operated by puppeteers, one of whom was responsible exclusively for eye movement.
- Director and screenwriter Boots Riley wanted to mention Michel Gondry in the film as a mark of deep respect. In reality, there was no need to ask Gondry's permission to use his name, but Riley decided to clear the matter anyway. Gondry gave his permission but set certain conditions. Once Riley accepted all the conditions, Gondry's representatives contacted him and stated that the permission had been revoked. Consequently, Riley changed the surname to "Dongry" in the scene and announced that he would continue to refer to Gondry in this manner in his future films until the director contacts him.
- Riot scenes were mainly filmed in downtown Oakland, California.
- As Boots Riley stated in an interview, there was actually only one costume for all the centaurs, while there were several animatronic heads. The operators controlled the heads, with one of them focusing exclusively on the eye movements.
- Initially, the role of Cassius Green was intended for Donald Glover, but he was busy filming the science fiction action film “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (Ron Howard, 2018). He recommended Lakita Stanfield to the filmmakers as his replacement, having worked with him on the series “Atlanta” (2016-2022).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
