BPS 289: How I Built a Blockbuster Career Off of an Indie Film with Craig Brewer

Craig Brewer (Director/Producer) began his career as a filmmaker in
Memphis, Tennessee. While working at Barnes & Noble, he learned
camera and editing techniques from books he purchased with his
employee discount. In 2000, he made his first feature film, THE
POOR & HUNGRY, which won Best Digital Feature at the 2000
Hollywood Film Festival.

Brewer’s second film, HUSTLE & FLOW, starring Terrence Howard
and Taraji P. Henson, was produced by Stephanie Allain and the late
John Singleton. The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film
Festival, winning the Audience Award for Best Feature. The film
secured a record-breaking acquisition deal by Paramount Pictures
and MTV Films. It garnered an Academy Award nomination for lead
actor Terrence Howard and won the Academy Award for Best Original
Song: Three 6 Mafia’s "It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp."

Brewer’s third film, BLACK SNACK MOAN, starred Samuel L. Jackson,
Christina Ricci, and Justin Timberlake. The film premiered at the
2007 Sundance Film Festival and was released in theaters by
Paramount Pictures. In 2011, Brewer directed the remake of
FOOTLOOSE for Paramount and produced the concert documentary KATY
PERRY: PART OF ME. Moving into Television, Brewer directed the
pilot to TERRIERS, which ran for one season on FX. He then
re-teamed with Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, directing ten
episodes on their hit TV series, EMPIRE.

In 2018, Brewer began his collaboration with Eddie Murphy on two
films. The first, DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, based on the life of Rudy
Ray Moore, won The Critic’s Choice Award for Best Comedy, an NAACP
Award for Best Independent Film, and earned Eddie Murphy a Golden
Globe Nomination for Best Actor.Next was the highly anticipated
sequel, COMING 2 AMERICA. The film was produced by Paramount and
released by Amazon Studios in 2020, becoming the most streamed
movie for Amazon ever.

Enjoy my conversation with Craig Brewer.

Become a supporter of this podcast:
https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bulletproof-screenwriting-podcast--2881148/support.