The Help
Short description
The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960s. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan returns home from university with ambitions of becoming a writer, but finds her old friends preoccupied with marriages and households staffed by Black domestic workers. Troubled by the racial conventions around her, and by a proposed law requiring separate toilets for Black employees, she decides to interview the maids about their lives. Aibileen Clark, who has raised white children for years and is still grieving the death of her own son, and Minny Jackson, an outspoken cook who struggles to keep a job, become central to the project. The interviews grow into a secret book that puts all three women at risk.
Tate Taylor directed and wrote the screenplay, working from Kathryn Stockett's novel. It was the first feature he directed in the chronological list of his films, followed by Get On Up, The Girl on the Train, Ma, Ava and Breaking News in Yuba County. Emma Stone plays Skeeter, with Viola Davis as Aibileen, Octavia Spencer as Minny and Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, the town's most vocal defender of the status quo; Jessica Chastain and Ahna O'Reilly also appear. Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green produced.
Made for about 25 million dollars, the film took roughly 217 million dollars worldwide, a strong return. On IMDb it holds 8.1 out of 10 from around 527,000 votes, and on TMDB 8.2 out of 10 from more than 9,000 votes, while critics' reviews average 7 out of 10 across 231 reviews, so audiences rated it somewhat higher than critics did.
What's left behind the scenes
- Before "The Help" was published, the novel was rejected by at least 60 literary agents.
- The paintings hanging above Celia's fireplace were found in the basement of a local hospital. The two chairs from the same scene were taken from a used furniture store.
- Melissa Molinaaro auditioned for the role of Celia.
- The author's childhood friend, director Tate Taylor, acquired the rights to the novel even before the book was published.
- The film topped the daily American box office chart for 25 days in a row.
- The film is based on Kathryn Stockett’s debut novel “The Help” (2009). At the time of the film's release, over 5 million copies of the novel had been sold in two and a half years.
- The bookstore in the film, Avent & Clark, was named after producer's assistant Aven Clark.
- Octavia Spencer served as the basis for the character of Minny in Kathryn Stockett's novel, as she was a childhood friend of the author. She also narrated the audiobook version, released simultaneously with the print edition in 2009.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
