Cadillac Records (2008)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Darnell Martin

Writer (WGA):

Darnell Martin (written by)

Release Date:

5 December 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Music | Romance

Tagline:

If you take the ride, you must pay the price.

Plot:

Chronicles the rise of Chess Records and its recording artists.

Plot Keywords:

1950s | Sex | Singing | Rock 'n' Roll | Immigrant

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Adrien Brody	...	Leonard Chess
Jeffrey Wright	...	Muddy Waters
Gabrielle Union	...	Geneva Wade
Columbus Short	...	Little Walter
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Willie Dixon
Emmanuelle Chriqui	...	Revetta Chess
Eamonn Walker	...	Howlin' Wolf
Mos Def	...	Chuck Berry
Beyoncé Knowles	...	Etta James
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joshua Alscher	...	Mick Jagger
Tim Bellow	...	Man in the Caddy
Tony Bentley	...	Lomax
Lawrence P. Beron	...	Overseer
Tammy Blanchard	...	Isabelle Allen
Eric Bogosian	...	Alan Freed
Marc Bonan	...	Keith Richards
Wayne Cobham	...	Piano - Ettas Recording Recording Group
Ryan Curtis	...	Picnic Boyfriend
Veronika Dash	...	Blonde
Eshaya Draper	...	Charles Waters - 7 Years Old
John Farrer	...	Violinist - Ettas Recording group
Shiloh Fernandez	...	Phil Chess
Jill Flint	...	Shirley Feder
Doug W. Goldman	...	Trumpet - Ettas Recording group
Gano Grills	...	Slick Pimp
Suzette Gunn	...	Minnie
Evan Hart	...	Young lover
Osas Ighodaro	...	Vicky - Maid
Kevin Jackson	...	Mysterious Black Man
Albert Jones	...	Hubert Sumlin
Nate Jones	...	Etta's Recording Group
Rayan Lawrence	...	Harmonica Player
Chyna Layne	...	Juanita
Malikha Mallette	...	Little Walter's girlfriend
Kevin Mambo	...	Jimmy Rogers
Aaron Munoz	...	Manager
Anthony Del Negro	...	Bandstand Dancer
Natasha Ononogbo	...	Muddy Waters' Girlfriend
Ginnie Randall	...	Muddy Waters Grandmother
Norman Reedus	...	Chess
Jake Robards	...	Robert
Jay O. Sanders	...	Mr. Feder
Stephen Seidel	...	Officer Brown
Derrick Simmons	...	Dice Player
Valence Thomas	...	James Cotton
Dwan Dink Young	...	Drums - Ettas Recording group
Angelina Aucello	...	Teenybopper (uncredited)
Dexter Darden	...	Geneva's Teenage Son (uncredited)
Seth Donavan	...	Chuck Berry Concert Goer (uncredited)
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Allan Freed (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Cerrone may	...	Muddy's band member (uncredited)
Catherine Pierce	...	Shocked Bystander (uncredited)
Elvis Presley	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Darnell Martin

Writing credits (WGA)
Darnell Martin		(written by)

Produced by
Petra Hoebel	....	co-producer
Beyoncé Knowles	....	executive producer
Andrew Lack	....	producer
Marc Levin	....	executive producer
Sofia Sondervan	....	producer

Original Music by
Terence Blanchard

Cinematography by
Anastas N. Michos		(director of photography) (as Anastas Michos)

Film Editing by
Peter C. Frank

Casting by
Kim Hardin

Production Design by
Linda Burton

Art Direction by
Nicholas Locke

Set Decoration by
David Schlesinger

Costume Design by
Johnetta Boone

Makeup Department
Kimberly Amacker	....	assistant key makeup: Louisiana
Nikki I Brown	....	la. key makeup artist
Christine Domaniecki	....	make-up artist: uncredited
Marjorie Durand	....	makeup artist
Valerie Gladstone-Hapel	....	assistant hair stylist
Tarsha Marshall	....	assistant hair stylist
E. Morrow	....	makeup day player
Jeffrey Rebelo	....	wigs/hair designer
Barbara Roman	....	assistant hair stylist
Vincent Schicchi	....	special makeup effects artist
Tomasina Smith	....	makeup artist
Nicole Tucker	....	key hair stylist
Teresa Valenzuela	....	wig maker
Tony Ward	....	assistant hair stylist: Louisiana
Colleen Wheeler	....	background hair supervisor

Production Management
Petra Hoebel	....	unit production manager
Christopher Kenneally	....	post-production supervisor
Oak Porcelli	....	production supervisor: Louisiana
Melissa Roberts	....	production supervisor: Louisiana
Andrew Saxe	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tony Phillippe	....	second assistant director
Gary S. Rake	....	second assistant director
Maurice Sessoms	....	second second assistant director
Jonathan Starch	....	first assistant director
Rebecca Strickland	....	location first assistant director

Art Department
Anthony A. Altomare	....	lead graphic designer
Eric Breaux	....	set dresser
Leni Calas	....	property master
Paul Camarro	....	set dresser
Gabu Camilo	....	props
Monique Champagne	....	set decorator: second unit
John J. Ciccimarro	....	key carpenter
Kaem Coughlin	....	camera scenic artist
Peter DeCurtis	....	leadman
Mandie DeMeskey	....	assistant property master
Emily Gaunt	....	charge scenic
Deborah Greene	....	assistant set decorator
Gavin A. Holmes	....	carpenter
Michael Kall	....	carpenter foreman
Jon Kim	....	props
Scotty Morris	....	leadman
Kate Noll	....	art department
Celia Parker	....	scenic artist
Pierre Rovira	....	construction coordinator
Rodney Sterbenz	....	on-set dresser
Will Watkins	....	art department coordinator
Will Zinser	....	art production assistant

Sound Department
David Briggs	....	dialogue editor
Rachel Chancey	....	foley artist
Rusty Dunn	....	sound effects editor
Mark Filip	....	sound effects editor
Alan Freedman	....	adr mixer
Lewis Goldstein	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lewis Goldstein	....	supervising sound editor
Richard Kamerman	....	sound intern
Nathan Lindsey	....	adr recordist
Teferra McKenzie	....	boom operator
Cate Montana	....	adr editor
Cate Montana	....	dialogue editor
Chris Navarro	....	adr mixer
Bill Orrico	....	first assistant sound editor
David Pastecchi	....	audio playback
Jeff Pullman	....	sound mixer
Tom Ryan	....	apprentice sound editor
Adam Sanchez	....	sound utility

Special Effects by
Donna Cutrer	....	weapons
Ken Speed	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Jennifer Basnyat	....	visual effects
Molle DeBartolo	....	digital intermediate coordinator
Garman Herigstad	....	motion capture director
Robert Lopuski	....	visual effects supervisor
Chris MacKenzie	....	smoke artist
Jun Ren	....	digital matte painter
Jun Ren	....	digital production manager
Noah Weinzweig	....	visual effects director of photography

Stunts
Bob Colletti	....	stunts
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunt coordinator
Sean Shyboy Davis	....	stunt actor
Samantha MacIvor	....	stunt performer
Naomi Peters	....	stunts
Stephen A. Pope	....	stunt coordinator
Jeremy Sample	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Gonzalo Amat	....	cinematographer: additional photography
Craig Carter	....	grip
Daniel Casey	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Radium Cheung	....	gaffer
Kathleen Corgan	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Howard J. Cournoyer	....	rigging gaffer
Bryan Delorenzo	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera: Louisiana
Robert Foster	....	camera operator: Louisiana
Chris Frumkes	....	electrician
Craig Paul Harris	....	electrician
Bernard James	....	additional electrician
David Landau	....	rigging electrician
Sal Lanza	....	key grip
Todd Lichtenstein	....	additional electrician
Eric Liebowitz	....	still photographer
Bill Lynch	....	additional electrician
Derek J. Manganelli	....	camera loader
Gerard Martin	....	film loader: Louisiana
Joe Mellon	....	grip
Charlie Nauman	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera: Louisiana
Ed Nessen	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Sebastien Nicolet	....	grip
Michael P. Prisco Jr.	....	best boy electric
Gay E. Riedel	....	electrician
Chris Scarfi	....	generator operator
Mark Schmidt	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Pierson Silver	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Barry Strickland	....	electrician: Louisiana
Jeff Taylor	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera: Louisiana
Phil Testa	....	stage rigging gaffer
Greg Travis	....	gaffer: Louisiana
Shawna Travis	....	electrician: Louisiana
Earl Woods	....	best boy electric: Louisiana
Alexander Yellen	....	first assistant camera: pick-ups

Casting Department
Brent Caballero	....	local casting
Hank Langlois	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Arlynn Abseck	....	key set costumer
Aneikit Bonnel	....	costumer
Alex Bovaird	....	costume coordinator
Mary Gierczak	....	costumer
Eileen Goh	....	costumer
Olivia Mori	....	assistant costume designer
Lauren Press	....	assistant costume designer
Brenda Rousseau	....	stitcher
Elisa Santiago	....	costumer
Wendy Talley	....	set costumer: Louisiana
Deirdre N. Williams	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Mitchell Ferm	....	digital intermediate producer
Joe Gawler	....	senior digital intermediate colorist
Chris Gennarelli	....	colorist
Saar Klein	....	additional editor
Tom Mayclim	....	digital intermediate scanner and recorder
Richie Roefaro	....	colorist assistant
Jackeline Tejada	....	assistant editor (post-production)

Music Department
John Carbonara	....	music editor
Marshall Chess	....	executive music producer
Howard Drossin	....	orchestrator
Steve Jordan	....	music producer
Steve Juliani	....	music preparation
David Low	....	orchestra contractor
Beth Rosenblatt	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Mac Alsfeld	....	driver: Mr. Brody/ Mr. Wright
Richard Burch	....	driver: insert car
Rick Damazio	....	transportation coordinator
George Mills	....	production driver
Jack Prince	....	transportation captain: LA unit
Monica Williamson	....	driver

Other crew
Md. Moinuddin Ali	....	production assistant
Adam Babin	....	key production office assistant: Louisiana
Caroline Berberich	....	production assistant intern
Jason Block	....	post-production accountant
Carla Borras	....	assistant: actor
Janice Brabaw	....	first assistant acccountant
Benton Collinsworth	....	set production assistant
Diana A. Delatorre	....	executive assistant: producer
Cord Dueppe	....	key office production assistant
Lisa Falzarano	....	background production assistant
Nicole Feder	....	assistant to director
Kerin Ferallo	....	production coordinator
Rosa Garces	....	second assistant accountant
Jennifer Gaston-Gates	....	first assistant accountant
Kenneth Gifford	....	production assistant
Orit Greenberg	....	location scout
Matt Grimm	....	assistant to producer
Duck Grossberg	....	data manager
Chris Hadlock	....	production coordinator: Louisiana
Micah Haley	....	assistant to cast
Kristina Hall	....	production intern
Tal Harris	....	production intern
Sally May Homer	....	production assistant
Melissa Kalbfus	....	script supervisor (as Melissa Kalbfus Paliocha)
Richard Keeshan	....	assistant production coordinator
Mary Knauf	....	set production assistant
Michelle Kowalski	....	office production assistant/runner: Louisiana
Ronnie Kupferwasser	....	location manager
Ben Ledoux	....	assistant locations: Louisiana
Robert Lopuski	....	title designer: main title sequence
SiddeeQah Na'Imah Malik	....	production assistant (as Siddeeqah Na'Imah Malik)
LeRoy McCarthy	....	assistant location manager
Marisa Murphy	....	second assistant accountant
Brendan O'Rourke	....	assistant location manager
Sandy Parker	....	script supervisor: Louisiana
Johnnie Ruth Richey	....	production secretary: Louisiana
Stephan Roux	....	assistant locations
Patrick Russell	....	production executive
Lora Sorrentino	....	production assistant
Ken Speed	....	armorer
Desiree Stevenson	....	base camp production assistant
Brian Wiggins	....	production assistant
Aaron L. Williams	....	stand-in
R. Bryan Wright	....	location manager: additional photography
April Freeman	....	consultant: product placement (uncredited)

Thanks
Etta James	....	thanks
Roman Polanski	....	thanks
Emmanuelle Seigner	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Parkwood Pictures
• Sony Music Film

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2009) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2009) (UK) (theatrical)
• TriStar Pictures (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Base FX (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Columbia Records  soundtrack
• Comp Edge Media  product placement consulting (as April Freeman)
• Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing  special thanks (vintage clothing rentals)
• Hollywood Trucks  entertainment transportation
• Music World Music  soundtrack
• Sony Pictures Stock Footage  stock footage

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44889) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:11 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Company:

Parkwood Pictures

Trivia:

Leonard Chess had a brother named Philip who was his partner in both the night club and Chess Records. Philip, however, neither appears nor is mentioned in the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Several of the guitars seen in the studio are much later models than would have been available at the time. A Gibson ES-335 is clearly visible at one shot set in 1955 - the 335 wasn't introduced until 1958. A Gibson ES-175 visible in that scene and ones set earlier has humbucking pickups - not introduced until 1957.

Quotes:

Etta James: Don't be looking at me like I ain't got no draws on.

Movie Connections:

Features Gidget (1959)

This boring, superficial movie could've been better. TQS Breakdown PROS/CONS

1. It was a necessary history lesson for young people in understanding where most of today's music originated from.(PRO)

2. Jeffrey Wright gave a good performance as Muddy Waters. He was amusing at times with enough mystique to make him interesting without making him a total bafflement.(PRO)

3. Mos Def was good as Chuck Berry. This had plenty to do with the fact that his character was the most engaging. He was witty and talented, possessing most of the film's admirable qualities.(PRO)

4. Beyonce gave her best performance to date. She was captivating at times. Seductive.(PRO)

========================================

1. I was bored. The movie took too long for anything real to happen. The first thirty minutes played like an uneventful montage between Chess and Waters.(CON)

2. The characters were all one dimensional. Every single one of them. They were as much developed as characters in dramatizations one would see on "America's Most Wanted." In fact, the whole film felt like one big dramatization about the rise and fall of Cadillac Records. The dots never connected.(CON)

3. I didn't engage with any of the characters. In other words, I couldn't care less. Oh, your father doesn't want anything to do with you? I don't care. Are the police working you over for being a loud mouth? I don't care. You feel slighted because your husband is out having babies with other women? (yawn) Get in line. I know there were too many characters to develop them all fully and appropriately, in which case the story should have focused on the necessary few. In some cases, they all seem to be doing something that made me disconnect from them even more, like the kid Little Walters. I had a problem with everything he did. He would act out and do cowardly things to people. Where were the humanistic qualities in most of them? They all seem to be looking out for themselves, except for Muddy Waters. I never pitied any of them. They were flawed but we never go to know their inner, personal or extra-personal conflicts. And they seemed to be predictable.(CON)

4. The transitions were not smooth at all. The story and editing together felt choppy, erratic and disjointed. This goes back to my point about the film never "connecting the dots." One minute we're here, the next we're there, cutting a time we needed to understand or see simple yet eventful things like Chess getting married.(CON)

5. Adrian Brody's performance was mediocre at best in a futile effort to breath life into a character without focus. I knew I was in trouble in the first scene, with him staring in the wake of a Polish father dragging his daughter away from him. He uttered something about one day his wife "will drive a Cadillac," the worst execution of a line in Brody's career.(CON)

6. Too much musical number scenes and not enough story. It wasn't a musical. So, what's with the constant music being played? Also, the music was so loud it clouded out the already difficult to make-out dialogue. The sound mixer should have been replaced with one who understands the necessity of dialogue in a film like this.(CON)

7. The rest of the performances were not good at all. Gabrielle Union's facial expressions made her look like she was going mad instead of being emotional about her circumstances. And what's that thing she does with her lips folded in? Columbus Short was terrible. Cedric the Entertainer was just... there. Emmanuelle Chriqui looked like she was asking in her mind, "Why am I here?"

8. I didn't believe the whole atmosphere of the film. I mean, the over all film had no life. I guess this was responsible for me being bored. I blame the writer/director.(CON)

9. Beyonce's best wasn't enough. I said it was her best performance but it wasn't very good in my opinion. When she wasn't captivating and seductive, she was whiny and boring. In the scene at the restaurant, Etta exploded in rage, throwing a glass at the floor and for that brief moment, it felt like I was watching Effie White from "Dreamgirls." The voice, the tone, the execution of the line as she breaks the glass. Besides that one unique moment of her list of underwhelming beats, she was flat and her character was all over the place. I see, like in "Dreamgirls," she still have trouble staying in the moment for a whole scene. There will be a flash of Etta James or whomever she was impersonating, then it'll be Beyonce trying to act the rest of the way. Her performance and character was inconsistent. But, she was very easy on the eyes.(CON)

IN CLOSING: I was constantly asking myself about these characters, "What does he/she want and how is he/she trying to get it?" There was never any real inciting incident and the ending was anti-climatic. And for all those who are betting their home on Beyonce winning an Oscar for her performance in this film, let me be the one to save you all from being homeless in what appears to be the coldest winter in years (at least those that live in cold places like the NYC). Not only will Beyonce NOT win an Oscar for this, she will also be overlooked for a nomination by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.