"He saw in this script an opportunity to use it as a metaphor for people who grew up loving hip-hop music, and who found something in the music that was unique and fresh and theirs," comments Heller.įamuyiwa made his feature film debut with THE WOOD. It soon became apparent that Rick Famuyiwa was the ideal man for the task. When Fox Searchlight Pictures came on board, the quest began to find a director who could bring this unique combination of elements to the screen. All of the characters are really funny and rich, unique and grounded." He explains, "The secondary characters in romantic comedies are usually set up to be weak, so you know why the two main characters end up together. This film sets the audience up to believe that something is going to happen, and then all sorts of other things happen."Įlliot's obvious love and understanding for his characters was another reason Heller was drawn to the script. "It's really hard to find a romantic comedy that can surprise people because the structure for the genre has become so fixed in stone. Producer Peter Heller was quick to recognize the story's potential. "I had the desire to create a love story inside a world that I loved. Once he had worked with the basic concepts of the love story, Elliot placed Sidney and Dre against a background he was intimately familiar with, the world of hip-hop music. I just wanted to create something really romantic that by the end of the movie, touched you," says Screenwriter Mike Elliot of his motivation for BROWN SUGAR.Įlliot decided to base the story on lifelong friends who, as adults, come to the realization that they are also in love with each other. "I always felt like all the great love stories weren't ones that had black people in them. BROWN SUGAR marks Earvin "Magic" Johnson's first feature film as an executive producer. The film is produced by Peter Heller (LIKE MIKE) and co-produced by Trish Hofmann (IGBY GOES DOWN). The screenplay is written by Michael Elliot (LIKE MIKE) and Rick Famuyiwa based on a story by Elliot. As they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isn't the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment on the corner.ĭirected by Rick Famuyiwa (THE WOOD), BROWN SUGAR stars Taye Diggs (HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK), Sanaa Lathan (LOVE & BASKETBALL), Mos Def (MONSTER'S BALL), Nicole Ari Parker (REMEMBER THE TITANS), Boris Kodjoe (LOVE & BASKETBALL) and Queen Latifah (THE BONE COLLECTOR). Now some 15 years later, she is a revered music critic and he is a successful, though unfulfilled music executive. Dre (Taye Diggs) and Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single childhood moment - the day they discovered hip-hop on a New York street corner.
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