MIFF presents Hustle & Flow

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Print this article MIFF presents Hustle & Flow (released 6/24/2005) By greenroom wire The Miami International Film Festival, presented by Miami Dade College, is pleased to invite MLP friends & members to a "sneak preview" of Hustle & Flow. Thursday, June 30, 2005 7:30 p.m. Regal Cinemas South Beach 1100 Lincoln Road, South Beach Please RSVP to cbrown@miamilightproject.com no later than Tuesday, June 28th. There is a limit of 2 tickets per person. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, Hustle & Flow is produced by John Singleton ("Boyz N' the Hood," "2 Fast 2 Furious," "Four Brothers") and Stephanie Allain, and written and directed by newcomer Craig Brewer. Cast Terence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Ludacris, Taraji Hensen, DJ Qualls and Isaac Hayes. Story Hustle & Flow is the redemptive story of a streetwise Memphis hustler trying to find his voice and realize his long-buried dreams. Though DJay (Terence Howard) has always had a way with words, that gift has long been misused; this philosopher-hustler lives a dead-end life at the fringes of society. Anything more feels out of reach. Still, DJay wonders what happened to all the big dreams he had for his life. A chance encounter with an old friend, Key (Anthony Anderson), a sound engineer who has always wanted to make it in the music business, spurs DJay: if he's ever going to make his mark, it has to happen now. He begins to write down his freestyle raps, his flow, and the two team up with Shelby (DJ Qualls), a church musician with a beat machine, to lay down bass-thumping crunk tracks. DJay's metamorphosis affects his entire house, as the women in his life Shug (Taraji P. Henson) and Nola (Taryn Manning) find ways to contribute to the creative process. With the impending visit to Memphis of hometown platinum-selling rapper Skinny Black (Ludacris), DJay has to make one last hustle if he's ever going to flow. About the Production "This is a Memphis story—a movie about making music by any means necessary," says Craig Brewer, writer-director of the new film Hustle and Flow. "Music has been our common love and language. It's our chance to take our pain, our struggle, our tools and put it into something that has a beat, raw and unfiltered." Brewer says the idea for the movie came from life. "My father had died, very unexpectedly; I was beginning to have thoughts of my own mortality," he says. "I lost him to a sudden heart attack—he never smoked and never drank, but a blood clot ended his life at age 49. When you are the only son and your father dies at 49, you can't help but think you're on borrowed time after age 50. Being that I was 27, I couldn't help but feel that I was past the halfway point." Though race doesn't play a factor in Hustle & Flow, Brewer is aware that some people will wonder why he, a white man, it telling this story. "I knew people were going to ask about this," Brewer continues, "but this story is not about black and white; I'm writing about a world I know well. In creating the character of DJay, I tried to work against the stereotype, to make him a complex person. I didn't want to glorify DJay's lifestyle—I wanted the audience to see the humanity of this person without ignoring his flaws. What intrigues me about DJay is how his raw emotional and economic level affects his actions in these situations." For more information on the film, and to view the video and trailer, please click on the following link: http://www.hustleandflow.com Please note that seating is limited, therefore, reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis. Please RSVP to cbrown@miamilightproject.com no later than Tuesday, June 28th. There is a limit of 2 tickets per person. Members are guaranteed seating up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled screening time. At that time, seats will be freed for those who are waiting. Please arrive on time. Digg this article

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MIFF presents Hustle & Flow
(released 6/24/2005)
By greenroom wire

The Miami International Film Festival, presented by Miami Dade College, is pleased to invite MLP friends & members to a "sneak preview" of Hustle & Flow.

Thursday, June 30, 2005
7:30 p.m.
Regal Cinemas South Beach
1100 Lincoln Road, South Beach

Please RSVP to cbrown@miamilightproject.com no later than Tuesday, June 28th. There is a limit of 2 tickets per person.

Winner of the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, Hustle & Flow is produced by John Singleton ("Boyz N' the Hood," "2 Fast 2 Furious," "Four Brothers") and Stephanie Allain, and written and directed by newcomer Craig Brewer.

Cast
Terence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Ludacris, Taraji Hensen, DJ Qualls and Isaac Hayes.

Story
Hustle & Flow is the redemptive story of a streetwise Memphis hustler trying to find his voice and realize his long-buried dreams. Though DJay (Terence Howard) has always had a way with words, that gift has long been misused; this philosopher-hustler lives a dead-end life at the fringes of society. Anything more feels out of reach. Still, DJay wonders what happened to all the big dreams he had for his life. A chance encounter with an old friend, Key (Anthony Anderson), a sound engineer who has always wanted to make it in the music business, spurs DJay: if he's ever going to make his mark, it has to happen now. He begins to write down his freestyle raps, his flow, and the two team up with Shelby (DJ Qualls), a church musician with a beat machine, to lay down bass-thumping crunk tracks. DJay's metamorphosis affects his entire house, as the women in his life Shug (Taraji P. Henson) and Nola (Taryn Manning) find ways to contribute to the creative process. With the impending visit to Memphis of hometown platinum-selling rapper Skinny Black (Ludacris), DJay has to make one last hustle if he's ever going to flow.

About the Production
"This is a Memphis story—a movie about making music by any means necessary," says Craig Brewer, writer-director of the new film Hustle and Flow. "Music has been our common love and language. It's our chance to take our pain, our struggle, our tools and put it into something that has a beat, raw and unfiltered."

Brewer says the idea for the movie came from life. "My father had died, very unexpectedly; I was beginning to have thoughts of my own mortality," he says. "I lost him to a sudden heart attack—he never smoked and never drank, but a blood clot ended his life at age 49. When you are the only son and your father dies at 49, you can't help but think you're on borrowed time after age 50. Being that I was 27, I couldn't help but feel that I was past the halfway point."

Though race doesn't play a factor in Hustle & Flow, Brewer is aware that some people will wonder why he, a white man, it telling this story. "I knew people were going to ask about this," Brewer continues, "but this story is not about black and white; I'm writing about a world I know well. In creating the character of DJay, I tried to work against the stereotype, to make him a complex person. I didn't want to glorify DJay's lifestyle—I wanted the audience to see the humanity of this person without ignoring his flaws. What intrigues me about DJay is how his raw emotional and economic level affects his actions in these situations."

For more information on the film, and to view the video and trailer, please click on the following link: http://www.hustleandflow.com

Please note that seating is limited, therefore, reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please RSVP to cbrown@miamilightproject.com no later than Tuesday, June 28th. There is a limit of 2 tickets per person.

Members are guaranteed seating up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled screening time. At that time, seats will be freed for those who are waiting. Please arrive on time.

Digg this article