Soul Food (1997)

Director:

George Tillman Jr.

Writer (WGA):

George Tillman Jr. (written by)

Release Date:

26 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A story of the people who make us strong and the recipe that makes us a family.

Plot:

Matriarch Mama Joe has held her family together for 40 years around a Sunday dinner of soul food. When diabetes hospitalizes her...

Plot Keywords:

Sister | African American | Food In Title | Family Relationships | Discrimination

Awards:

6 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Vanessa Williams	...	Teri (as Vanessa L. Williams)
Vivica A. Fox	...	Maxine
Nia Long	...	Bird
Michael Beach	...	Miles
Mekhi Phifer	...	Lem
Brandon Hammond	...	Ahmad
Jeffrey D. Sams	...	Kenny
Gina Ravera	...	Faith
Irma P. Hall	...	Mother Joe
Carl Wright	...	Reverend Williams
Mel Jackson	...	Simuel
Morgan Méchelle Smith	...	Kelly
John M. Watson Sr.	...	Uncle Pete
M.T. Alexander	...	Jada
Lawrence Petty	...	Harome
Marcia Wright	...	Nicole
Bernard Mixon	...	Dr. Benson
Hamp Clemons	...	Hamp
Theron Touché Lykes	...	Blimp
Martell Hill Edmond	...	Ahmad - Age 4
Ras Majah Couzan	...	Dread Man
James W. Boinski	...	Foreman
Mike Bacarella	...	Printing Company Owner
Joan Collaso	...	Choir Member
Donn C. Harper	...	Funeral Minister
George Brashear	...	Blimp's Henchman #1
Larry C. Tankson	...	Blimp's Henchman #2
Austin Curtis	...	Family Member
Sylvester Phifer	...	Bartender
Malik Yoba	...	Studio Engineer
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds	...	Band Member #1
Kevon Edmonds	...	Band Member #2
Melvin Edmonds	...	Band Member #3
Jo Jo Hailey	...	Band Member #4
K-Ci Hailey	...	Band Member #5
Simon Horrocks	...	Band Member #6
Randy Walker	...	Band Member #7
Tamara Braun	...	Teri's Secretary
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Juan Marsh	...	Party Goer (uncredited)
Isley Nicole Melton	...	Hair Client (uncredited)
Kevin Mukherji	...	Sanjay (uncredited)
David Newman	...	Boy Friend #1 (uncredited)
Greg Wittman	...	Orderly (uncredited)

Directed by
George Tillman Jr.

Writing credits (WGA)
George Tillman Jr.		(written by)

Produced by
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds	....	executive producer
Tracey E. Edmonds	....	producer
Michael McQuarn	....	co-producer
Robert Teitel	....	producer
Llewellyn Wells	....	line producer

Original Music by
Lisa Coleman		(music by)
Wendy Melvoin		(music by)

Cinematography by
Paul Elliott		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John Carter		(film editor)

Casting by
Robi Reed		(as Robi Reed-Humes)

Production Design by
Maxine Shepard

Art Direction by
Cydney M. Harris

Set Decoration by
Joe Bristol

Costume Design by
Salvador Pérez Jr.		(as Salvador Perez)

Makeup Department
Kate Best	....	makeup artist: Ms. Williams
Eadra Brown	....	first assistant hair
Timothy M. Carter Sr.	....	hairstylist
Sterfon Demings	....	key hair
Cat'Ania McCoy-Howze	....	key makeup artist
Denise Wynbrandt	....	first assistant makeup (as Denise J. Wynbrandt)

Production Management
Thomas J. Busch	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Randy Fletcher	....	first assistant director
Stefanie Moore	....	second second assistant director (as Stefanie A. Moore)
Jono Oliver	....	second assistant director

Art Department
John Ahlgren	....	painter (as John W. Ahlgren)
Martin Barba	....	carpenter
Michael Beavers	....	carpenter (as Michael J. Beavers)
Mary A. Brady	....	buyer
Michael L. Butkovich	....	painter
David J. Chamerski	....	assistant property master
Frank Coronado	....	illustrator
William Dambra	....	property master
Edward England	....	construction coordinator (as Ed England)
Anthony Joseph Fatigato	....	painter
Frank Ferrari	....	labor foreman (as Frank M. Ferrari)
Matt Gibson	....	carpenter
Mishell Glockler	....	art department coordinator
Harry N. Haase	....	lead painter
Gary Happ	....	construction foreman
James Hartnett	....	carpenter (as James M. Hartnett)
Mike Hohe	....	carpenter (as Michael Hohe)
Aaron C. Holden Jr.	....	on-set dresser
Tom Holloway	....	carpenter (as Thomas Holloway)
Gregg Jarrett	....	carpenter (as Gregg A. Jarrett)
John Kroll	....	carpenter
Mel P. Mack	....	carpenter
Stanley Mack	....	carpenter (as Stanley N. Mack)
Christ Maentanis	....	painter (as Chris Maentanis)
Cyril H. Matthys	....	swing gang (as Cy Matthys)
Quentin Matthys	....	swing gang
John McHugh	....	carpenter
Freddie Mikels	....	painter (as Fred Mikles)
Darryl Parker	....	carpenter
Joel Prihoda	....	leadman
Daniel R. Sarich	....	painter
Daniel Simone Sr.	....	painter (as Daniel Simone)
Joe E. Skinner	....	painter
John J. Slove Jr.	....	carpenter
Glenn Stevens	....	carpenter (as Glenn A. Stevens)
James Topel	....	carpenter (as Jim Topel)
Scott Troha	....	swing gang
Tim Wilp	....	painter (as Timothy W. Wilp)
Dino P. Yario	....	painter (as Dino Yario)
Mark Anthony Besozzi	....	swing gang (uncredited)
John J. Slove Jr.	....	propmaker (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bobbi Banks	....	adr editor
Ricardo Broadus	....	sound effects editor
John Chandler	....	foley editor
Paul Curtis	....	dialogue editor
Elisabeth Flaum	....	sound effects editor
Marshall Garlington	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brian Geer	....	foley mixer
Jason Johnston	....	cableman
Michael Kamper	....	sound effects editor
Jonathan Karp	....	sound effects editor
Shawn Kennelly	....	assistant adr mixer (as Sean Kennelly)
Jason King	....	dialogue editor
Jason Lezama	....	foley editor
Laura Macias	....	foley artist
Larry Mann	....	supervising sound editor (as Lawrence H. Mann)
Mike Moser	....	sound effects editor (as Michael Moser)
Vince Nicastro	....	foley artist
David Obermeyer	....	sound mixer
Juan Peralta	....	rerecording assistant
Colin Rogers	....	adr recordist
Blair Scheller	....	boom operator
Ann Scibelli	....	supervising sound effects editor
Frederick H. Stahly	....	dialogue editor
John C. Stuver	....	adr editor (as Stuv)
Ken Teaney	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Tim Walston	....	sound effects editor
Skip Williams	....	sound effects editor
Ronald L. Wright	....	cableman
Pembrooke Andrews	....	assistant dialogue editor (uncredited)
Douglas Hinton	....	film-to-HDTV sound editor (uncredited)
John Lajvort	....	sound editorial engineer (uncredited)
Liz Sroka	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Rodman Kiser	....	special effects assistant (as Rod Kiser)
Tom Ryba	....	special effects coordinator
Jeffrey Lyle Segal	....	special effects makeup

Visual Effects by
Mindy Minkow	....	optical camera (uncredited)

Stunts
Iris Ade	....	stunts (as Iris Adé)
Naima A. Dawson	....	stunts
Randy Popplewell	....	stunts (as Randy A. Popplewell)
Bobby Stuart	....	stunts (as Bob Stuart)
Irvetta McMurtry	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Janice Arthur	....	steadicam operator
Joseph P. Connelly	....	electrician
Theodore A. Corso	....	electrician (as Theadore A. Corso)
James Dewinski	....	electrician (as Jim Dewinski)
Adam C. Eichhorst	....	dolly grip (as Adam Eichhorst)
Joe Evreniadis	....	company grip
Marco Fargnoli	....	camera loader
John P. Friday	....	best boy electric (as John Friday)
Dulce 'Candy' González	....	camera operator
Andy Graham	....	first assistant camera (as Andrew Graham)
Adam Griswold	....	best boy rigging grip
Charles S. Hodes	....	still photographer (as Chuck Hodes)
John Hudecek	....	gaffer
Mort Hyatt	....	electrician (as Morton E. Hyatt)
Harry P. Jackson III	....	electrician
Gregory A. Jackson	....	second assistant camera
Charles Jimenez	....	key rigging grip
Michael Kohnhorst	....	director of photography: second unit
Robert Krzeminski	....	electric rigger
Dana Kupper	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Michael Lange	....	company grip
Michelle Mann	....	camera remote operator
Mark E. Matthys	....	best boy grip
Donald E. Miller	....	key grip
Peter Miller	....	electrician
William R. Nielsen Jr.	....	steadicam operator (as Bill Nielson Jr.)
Thomas J. Ridgen	....	company grip (as Thomas J. Rigden)
Joe 'Jody' Williams	....	camera production assistant (as Jody Williams)
Kyle Holden	....	electrician (uncredited)
John T. Martin	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Sharon D. King	....	casting: Chicago
Aimy Mhoon	....	casting assistant
Mark A. Ridge	....	extras casting (as Mark Ridge)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jacqueline S. Beatka	....	seamstress
Jane Blank	....	seamstress
Patrick Caulfield	....	costumer
Gloria Coffey-Sharrieff	....	costumer
Gina Marie Ome	....	costumer
Nancy Takehara	....	costume supervisor (as N. Rozakis Takehara)
Juanita White	....	assistant to costume designer

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Dennis McNeill	....	color timer
DeNon Porter	....	assistant editor (as Denon Porter)
Ron Radvinsky	....	assistant editor
Dirk Westervelt	....	associate editor
Steve Kraus	....	editing systems technician (uncredited)

Music Department
Lisa Coleman	....	soloist: piano
Neal Desby	....	soloist: oboe
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds	....	executive music producer
Dan Garde	....	music editor
Clark Germain	....	orchestra coordinator
Suzie Katayama	....	orchestra consultant
Wendy Melvoin	....	soloist: drums and bass
William Motzing	....	orchestra conductor (as Bill Motzing)
Andrew Scheps	....	soloist: trumpet
Andrew Scheps	....	underscore coordinator
Brad Gilderman	....	music mixer (uncredited)
Stephanie Lowry	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)
Michael McQuarn	....	music supervisor (uncredited)
David Sabee	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Michael J. Farej	....	transportation co-captain
Patrick Lynn	....	transportation captain (as Patrick J. Lynn)
John P. McAuliffe	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Alicia Accardo	....	script supervisor
Stephen Andrzejewski	....	location manager
Gena Avery	....	assistant: Ms. Williams
Brian W. Boyd	....	assistant: Mr. Tillman (as Brian Boyd)
Ken Cabrera	....	craft service (as Kenny Cabrera)
Harold Caldwell	....	office production assistant
Dennis Cavalier	....	payroll accountant
Roy E. Dean	....	fire safety (as Roy E. Dean II)
Elizabeth Dollarhide	....	assistant: Mr. Wells
Shara P. Fleming	....	executive assistant: Mrs. Edmonds (as Shara Fleming)
Damon Glaspie	....	set production assistant (as Damon 'Dee' Glaspie)
Russell Green	....	office production assistant (as Russell A. Green)
Larry Hanks	....	piano instructor
Poppy Hanks	....	assistant: Mr. Teitel
Bernard G. Jacobs	....	clothing provider: Mekhi Phifer, Marc Buchanan-Pelle Pelle
Darryl Johnson	....	office production assistant (as Darryl E. Johnson)
Kathryn Madden	....	medic (as Kathryn A. Madden)
Ademola McMullen	....	set production assistant
Debbie Miller	....	unit publicist
Melody L. Moses	....	set production assistant
Mark A. Murphy	....	first assistant accountant
Donna E. Oakes	....	craft service
Margaret J. Orlando	....	production coordinator
Dan Perri	....	main title design
Freddie Petros	....	food stylist
Terrie Quinlan	....	studio teacher
Dawn Smallman	....	location assistant
George L. Tarrant Jr.	....	location production assistant
Margaret A. Thomas	....	assistant production coordinator
Vanessa Truvillion	....	choreographer
Solombra Tucker	....	executive assistant: Mr. Edmonds
Jon-Paul Velasquez	....	set production assistant (as Jon Paul Velasquez)
Jane Chase Wells	....	key set production assistant
James York	....	medic
Ericka N. Shane	....	accounting assistant: Chicago (uncredited)
Greg Whiteside	....	computer/video playback operator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Fox 2000 Pictures (presents)
• Edmonds Entertainment Group (EEG) (as an Edmonds Entertainment production)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1997) (USA) (theatrical) (as Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) (A News Corporation Company)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (2001) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• 20th Century Fox (Far East)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (1998) (Argentina) (all media)
• Gativideo (1998) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Andora Studios  score mixed at
• Astro Film Labs  the producers wish to thank
• Chicago Film Office, The  the producers wish to thank (as The City of Chicago Film Office)
• Cinema Research  titles and opticals by (as Cinema Research Corporation)
• City of Chicago, Illinois  the producers wish to thank (as The City of Chicago, Illinois)
• City of Oak Park, Illinois, The  the producers wish to thank
• Clairmont Camera  camera systems by (as Clairmont)
• Colombia Michael Reese Osteopathic Medical Center  the producers wish to thank
• Columbia College, Chicago  the producers wish to thank
• EFX Systems  digital sound and rerecording by (as EFX Systems, Burbank, CA)
• Eat Your Hearts Out  caterer
• Ironwood Studios  score recorded at
• Jonvaldi  clothing provided by: Vanessa Williams
• LaFace Records  soundtrack available on (as Laface Records)
• Marriott Residence Hotel, Chicago  the producers wish to thank
• Punker Pad West  score recorded at
• Ritz Carlton Hotel, Chicago  the producers wish to thank
• State of Illinois Film Office  the producers wish to thank (as The State of Illinois Film Office)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation  acknowledgement: is the author of this motion picture for purposes of copyright and other laws

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sexuality and language

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:MA | Spain:13 | USA:R (PCA #35353) | Germany:6 | UK:15 | Argentina:Atp | Iceland:L | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

'Vanessa L. Williams' played the role of Terri in the movie, and 'Vanessa A. Williams' played the role of Maxine in the cable series.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Lem is sitting in the living room talking to Kenny at his house, you can see a light from the camera visible in the window behind them.

Quotes:

Bird:Who is that hoochie-koochie mama with her fat ass all over my man on the dance floor?
[Tearing up]
Bird:This is my wedding day! I'm supposed to be happy!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Boondocks: The Itis (#1.10)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Baby I

A Warm and Engaging Family Film

SOUL FOOD is an entertaining and, at times moving film that chronicles the lives of a tight-knit African American family. Big Mama (Irma P. Hall) is the widowed patriarch and referee who always knows exactly what to say to her children in any situation. Vanessa Williams is Terri, the oldest daughter, a no-nonsense attorney who spends a lot of time bailing family members out of tight spots and never lets them forget it. Terri's husband Miles (Michael Beach) is also an attorney who really wants to be a musician and is fighting an attraction to Terri's flaky cousin Faith (Gina Ravera). Viveca A. Fox is Maxine, the middle daughter who is married to Kenny (Jeffrey D. Sams), who we learn she stole from Terri when they were teenagers and has a son Ahmad (Brandon Hammond)who assists Big Mama in her job as family referee. The story opens at the wedding of youngest daughter Bird (Nia Long)whose new husband (Mikhi Phifer)is having trouble securing employment because of his stint in prison. The family manages to handle their differences until Big Mama is incapacitated by illness and can no longer be peacekeeper, but young Ahmad, seeing his family crumble, steps up to take up the slack. This entertaining comedy-drama has a surprisingly smart screenplay and first-rate performances, with young Hammond a standout. Lovely family drama that affectionately embraces the experience of a loving African American family. And the food looks delicious!