George Tillman Jr.
George Tillman Jr. | |
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Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
Alma mater | Columbia College Chicago |
Occupations |
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Spouse | Marcia Wright |
Children | 1 |
George Tillman Jr. (born January 26, 1969) is an American filmmaker.[1]
Tillman directed the films
Tillman was nominated for the
Early life
Tillman was born in
In 1975, Tillman became inspired to create his own films after seeing the film, Cooley High.[3] To Tillman, Cooley High spoke to the African American audience in both tears and laughter, and Tillman decided he wanted to contribute to that medium, but did not necessarily know if he wanted to become an actor, writer or director. In 1973, when Tillman watched Five on the Black Hand Side and Claudine in 1974, he felt empowered and knew he wanted to become a filmmaker.[3] "Those were the films that made me realize that African American films- this is before they started calling some films of that era Black exploitation films-spoke for us, and I wanted to be involved with that."[3]
Tillman went to
Tillman began to write his script for Scenes for the Soul, and sent the script to
Career
Scenes for the Soul
In 1994, Tillman directed and wrote his own
Soul Food
Tillman, disappointed that his film did not make it to screen, went to Chicago and wrote the screenplay to Soul Food. Tillman told the Chicago Tribune, "I wanted to make a movie about a black family in Middle America. I wanted to make a film where everyone can look at them and say, 'this is my family.'"[8] When Tillman finished his screenplay, he returned to Hollywood. Tillman made sure to focus on female characters and tell a humble story about the importance of family.
When it was time for Tillman's agents to sell the script, they marketed it as an independently produced and low-budget project and asked the musician,
The Edmonds' were able to negotiate with
Tillman was pleased with the Edmonds' efforts in the film's production, stating "I was able to bounce a lot of ideas off of them. They were there every day to see what was going on, but they didn't interfere with what I was doing. They let me make the film."[10]
On November 6, 1996, the production of Soul Food began on a thirty-day schedule. Tillman finished the film on schedule because he already had so much of the big ideas worked out in advance. Tillman told Murray during an interview, "I knew all the shots. I knew the locations…It was pretty much based on my experiences, so it wasn't hard for me."[10]
Soul Food is originated from Tillman's passion to make a motivating and straight from the heart story about a modern African American family. It is based around three sisters that live in Chicago—Maxine (Vivica A. Fox), a full-time house wife and mother; Teri (Vanessa L. Williams), a strong willed
In September 1997, Soul Food reached theaters and earned $11 million during its first weekend.[5] $14 million was earned by the end of its first week, which validated Tillman's success because the film received twice the amount it originally cost to make.[5] Tillman later told Murray, "the shows were sold out, people were laughing, crying, it was just incredible."[10] The grand total from Soul Food's release was $43 million and it also thrived in video sales. Initially, it was hoped that Soul Food would be able to attract white moviegoers, especially after all the success from the first week, but it did not work out that way. After learning that only 12 percent of the film's ticket buyers were white,[5] Tillman stated "I do feel sometimes that white audiences are still not coming to black films as much as I would like. I think we're still working on that. But I'm really comfortable with where the film ended up."[12] However, even with the lack of white supporters, it proved that African American audiences are able to make a film a commercial success. According to Jack Trout, president of Trout & Partners, in regard to black audiences, "this segment is really sizable, and Hollywood is just starting to recognize that."[5]
Due to Soul Food's astonishing success, Tillman and Teitel signed a two-year deal with 20th Century Fox and changed their production company's name from Menagerie Films to State Street Pictures, which was their way of paying tribute to the early film years taken place in Chicago.[8]
Tillman received offers to start a new project starring
Men of Honor
Tillman's next big hit was his film, Men of Honor, starring Robert De Niro, and Cuba Gooding Jr. Tillman was inspired to do this film after seeing F. Gary Gray in The Negotiator (1998) because he realized there were little to no opportunities for African American directors to work with big time stars and he wanted to change that.[3] When Tillman first got his hands on the script while he was editing Soul Food, he was very impressed by it. "I think a great script is when you have a great other world—a world that other people can explore and other people don't know about—and that script had that."[3]
It was Tillman's first time experience being an African American director "working in a white film world."[3] When working with De Niro and Gooding, Tillman felt a bit intimidated because he knew both were big stars. He knew De Niro could take up to fifty takes and knew from his research that he looks to the director to possess all the answers.[3] "I remember I called him one day and I said, 'Bob, I wanna know how you like to work on a set because I wanna make it easy for you.' And he told me, 'I like what you did with Soul Food, you won't have any problems with me,'" according to Tillman.[3] In regard to Gooding, he knew that he always had to know the back-story to his character. Tillman enjoyed what Gooding presented in his first film, Boyz n the Hood, and wanted to incorporate that persona. Tillman really had to do his research on both actors in order to achieve the direction he was going for in the film. "It all depends on a person, on an actor, and it's my job to figure those things out."[3]
Tillman's transition between Soul Food and Men of Honor was challenging. Tillman was not used to all the visual effects that Men of Honor possessed. He also had a problem dealing with the crew because he felt that he had to prove himself. "Right away you have to let everyone know that you know what you're doing. That has to be done right away," Tillman said.[3] The second hardest part for Tillman was shooting everything in a specific number of days. "There were times when I was shooting four and five scenes a day, because they try to put so much in the schedule."[3] Tillman knew there was a lot to be done especially since the film cost $32 million to produce.[3] Tillman also had to take into account of shooting under water and on top of the water. However, Tillman prevailed through all the obstacles came out proud with the overall product.
On November 10, 2000, Men of Honor was released in theaters.[8] Men of Honor turned out to be a success especially oversees. The film generated $85 million.[3]
Barbershop
While Tillman was editing Men of Honor, his producing partner Robert Teitel presented him with the Barbershop script, written by Mark Brown.[3] Both Tillman and Teitel instantly knew that Barbershop was going to be comical yet hit an emotional chord with the audience. Barbershop stars Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, and Cedric the Entertainer, and it is based on the social life of a South Side of Chicago Barbershop. The film also has three original songs by the famous R&B singer, Sherod Lindsey.
Tillman and Teitel took the script to Twentieth Century Fox, but they failed to pass it because they were not satisfied with the script. The same was said with
In 2001, Barbershop began filming in Chicago. The film was located in the
In regard to marketing the film, MGM spent $12 million in marketing alone because the company knew how important and effective it would be. According to Tillman, "if a studio get behind an African American film, which has universal themes, and markets it like any other movie, you can make a lot of money."[3] Both Tillman and Robert made sure to be involved with the marketing scheme because they wanted to make sure that the film was delivered as a heartfelt yet comical piece.
On September 13, 2002, Barbershop was released in theaters and made a grand total of $77, 063, 924.[3]
The Longest Ride
Tillman directed the 2015 romantic drama The Longest Ride, based on Nicholas Sparks' 2013 novel of the same name.
More recently, his production company State Street Pictures, signed a first look deal with Sony Pictures Television.[13]
Personal life
Tillman is married to actress Marcia Wright.[5]
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Paula (Short film) | Yes | No | Yes |
1995 | Scenes for the Soul | Yes | No | Yes |
1997 | Soul Food | Yes | No | Yes |
2000 | Men of Honor | Yes | No | No |
2009 | Notorious | Yes | No | No |
2010 | Faster | Yes | No | No |
2013 | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete | Yes | Yes | No |
2015 | The Longest Ride | Yes | No | No |
2018 | The Hate U Give | Yes | Yes | No |
2023 | Big George Foreman | Yes | No | Yes |
Producer only
- Barbershop (2002)
- Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)
- Beauty Shop (2005)
- Roll Bounce (2005)
- Nothing Like the Holidays(2008)
- Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016)
Television
Executive producer
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2000-03 | Soul Food | 4 episodes |
2005 | Barbershop | 10 episodes |
2006 | The Brandon T. Jackson Show | TV movie |
Director
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2014-16 | Power | 3 episodes |
2016 | Luke Cage | Episode: " Now You're Mine "
|
2016-19 | This Is Us | 3 episodes |
2020 | For Life | Episode: "Pilot" |
See also
References
- ^ Cammila Albertson (2011). "George Tillman Jr". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011.
- ^ "George Tillman Jr. Is Directing the Notorious B.I.G. Biopic". MovieWeb. August 12, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Alexander, George. Why We Make Movies. Random House, Inc, 2003. Print.
- Milwaukee SentinelJune 22, 1992
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Gale Contemporary Black Biography:George Tillman Jr.." Answers.com. Answers Corporation, 2011. Web. February 15, 2011. Answers.com.
- ^ Tribute.ca. Tribute Entertainment Media Group, 2011. Web. February 15, 2011. Tribute.ca.
- Columbia Chronicle: 5.
- ^ a b c Chicago Tribune September 21, 1997: 9. Print.
- ^ a b Ebony. 1997: 143–146. Print.
- ^ a b c d Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (1997): 18. Print.
- ^ Entertainment Weekly. January 16, 1998: 74. Print.
- ^ a b Back Stage West. 1998: 6–7. Print.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 18, 2021). "George Tillman Jr. & Robert Teitel's State Street Pictures Inks First-Look Deal With Sony Pictures TV". Deadline. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
External links
- George Tillman Jr. at IMDb
- George Tillman Jr. at AllMovie