Tennessee Movies Make a Splash at Sundance
Published Apr 07, 2005
Joaquin Phoenix is a young Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon is the love of his life, June Carter, in Walk the Line, filmed in Memphis.
Memphis is proving to be a hot commodity in the world of film production, with two independent films taking big honors at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. One of those films even made festival history as the biggest deal ever negotiated.
Receiving thumbs up were Hustle & Flow, written and directed by Memphis native Craig Brewer, and Forty Shades of Blue, directed by former Memphian Ira Sachs.
Hustle & Flow became the biggest-ever Sundance deal when it was picked up by Paramount/MTV Movies for $9 million, with an additional $7 million to fund the production of two future films.
“This is a great Tennessee story,” says David J. Bennett, executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. “Craig Brewer lives in Memphis, pays taxes in our state, and is on his way to making a huge impact in the film industry.”
Brewer was the recipient of the Nashville Film Festival’s Tennessee Spirit Award only two years ago for his script of The Poor & The Hungry. For Hustle & Flow, he teamed up with film producer John Singleton (Boyz in the Hood) to tell the story of a Memphis street hustler out to make it big in the hip-hop music industry. The film picked up the Audience Award for American Dramatic film as well as top honors for Excellence in Cinema- tography Dramatic. It hit theaters nationwide in July 2005.
Forty Shades of Blue shared some of the Sundance spotlight, receiving the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic award. A moody and intimate character piece, Forty Shades tells the story of a young Russian woman living in Memphis with a much older rock ’n’ roll legend; a tangled love triangle ensues when she engages in an affair with his estranged son.
“There is no doubt that the success of these two films at the Sundance Film Festival will make an impression on filmmakers worldwide. The fact that Hustle & Flow is a Tennessee- produced film in Memphis and Forty Shades of Blue is a Memphis-based film will not be lost on the industry at large,” Bennett says. “I am delighted that, once again, the talent, expertise and dedication of Tennessee’s film and television industry have been affirmed in such a spectacular way.”
Combined, the two independent films generated nearly $2 million in revenues for the Memphis and Shelby County area and spent a total of 57 days shooting there. More than 100 local crewmembers and 400 extras were hired for the project.
“We were very excited about the successes of these films at the Sundance Film Festival,” says Sharon Fox O’Guin, deputy film commissioner for the Memphis/Shelby County Film and Television Commission. “Variety magazine called Memphis ‘the lucky charm,’ and we hope to continue to see our luck improve in attracting quality productions such as these.”
Memphis was also successful in attracting a big-box motion picture – Walk the Line, starring Nashville native Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde 2, Sweet Home Alabama) and Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator). Twentieth Century Fox spent 27 days shooting in the area, contributing more than $3.6 million to the local economy.
Story by K. Dawn Rutledge Jones
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