For Colored Girls (2010)

Director:

Tyler Perry

Writers (WGA):

Tyler Perry (screenplay)
Ntozake Shange (play)

Release Date:

5 November 2010 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Many voices. One poem.

Plot:

Each of the women portray one of the characters represented in the collection of twenty poems, revealing different issues that impact women in general and women of color in particular.

Plot Keywords:

Poem | Female Protagonist | Domestic Violence | Female Nudity | Rape

Awards:

7 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Kimberly Elise	...	Crystal / Brown
Janet Jackson	...	Jo / Red
Loretta Devine	...	Juanita / Green
Thandie Newton	...	Tangie / Orange
Anika Noni Rose	...	Yasmine / Yellow
Kerry Washington	...	Kelly / Blue
Tessa Thompson	...	Nyla / Purple
Phylicia Rashad	...	Gilda
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Alice / White
Macy Gray	...	Rose
Michael Ealy	...	Beau Willie
Omari Hardwick	...	Carl
Richard Lawson	...	Frank
Hill Harper	...	Donald
Khalil Kain	...	Bill
Rayna Tharani	...	Renee
Jaycee Williams	...	Kenya
Thomas 'Deuce' Jessup	...	Kwame
May Zayan	...	Katina
John Crow	...	Dr. Davis
Michael Cory Davis	...	Man #1
Jason Graham	...	Man #2
Ayo Sorrells	...	Man #3
Kendrick Cross	...	Man #5
Joe Amato	...	Driver
Ambrya Underwood	...	Girl #1
Jackie Prucha	...	Nurse
Holly Crawshaw	...	Waitress
Roevely Rancell	...	Nurse
David Feigenbaum	...	Security Guard
Karen Slack	...	Soprano #1
Andrea Jones-Sojola	...	Soprano #2
Jeanette Illidge	...	Soprano #3
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Karissa Parran	...	Opera Guest
Al G. Sillah	...	Opera Patron
Indi Tyton	...	Opera Scene
Natasha A. Williams	...	Drug User
Haji Abdullah	...	Graduation Audience Member (uncredited)
Sidney Baxley	...	Opera Patron (uncredited)
Tim Blanchard	...	Opera Patron (uncredited)
Kate Caldwell	...	Audience Member (uncredited)
Gregory R. Campbell	...	Opera Patron (uncredited)
Frances Cobb	...	Opera Patron (uncredited)
Michael L. Covington	...	Parent at Graduation (uncredited)
Lee Darnell	...	Orderly Roberts (uncredited)
Curtis Gammage	...	Opera Patron (uncredited)
TJ Hassan	...	Bill #2 (uncredited)
Walter Hendrix III	...	Opera Patron (uncredited)
Barry Hopkins	...	Opera Patron (uncredited)
Eli Jones	...	Convict (uncredited)
Andrew R. Kaplan	...	College Professor (uncredited)
Thina Lowe	...	Graduation Patron (uncredited)
Todd Maynor	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Ken Melde	...	Board Room Member (uncredited)
Deidre D. Mosely	...	Partygoer (uncredited)
Donald Norris Jr.	...	Opera Audience Member and Graduation Audience Member (uncredited)
William Palmer Jr.	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Elizabeth Pistolis	...	Opera Patron (uncredited)
Jill St. Williams	...	Extra - Opera Scene (uncredited)
Latika Sye	...	Opera Patron (uncredited)
Joshua Tanksley	...	Student (uncredited)
Summer Valentine	...	Girl jumping rope (uncredited)
Wayne Webb	...	Doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Tyler Perry

Writing credits (WGA)
Tyler Perry		(screenplay)
Ntozake Shange		(play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf")

Produced by
Tim Andrew	....	supervising producer
Ozzie Areu	....	supervising producer
Roger M. Bobb	....	producer
Deborah Evans	....	line producer
Joseph P. Genier	....	executive producer
Paul Hall	....	producer
Charisse Nesbit	....	co-producer
Tyler Perry	....	producer
Nzingha Stewart	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Aaron Zigman

Cinematography by
Alexander Gruszynski

Film Editing by
Maysie Hoy

Casting by
Robi Reed		(as Robi Reed-Humes)

Production Design by
Ina Mayhew

Art Direction by
Roswell Hamrick

Set Decoration by
Lance Totten

Costume Design by
Johnetta Boone

Makeup Department
Lay'Na Anderson	....	third makeup artist
Maurice Beaman	....	hair stylist
Carol 'Ci Ci' Campbell	....	hair stylist
Veronica Cox	....	assistant makeup artist
Anita Gibson	....	makeup department head
Valerie Gladstone-Appel	....	key hair stylist
David Presto	....	custom tattoo artist
Keitric Starks	....	additional makeup
Keitric Starks	....	assistant makeup artist
Keitric Starks	....	makeup artist
Kenneth Walker	....	hair department head
Dionne Wynn	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Petra Hoebel	....	production manager: New York
Curtis A. Miller	....	production director
Carl Pedregal	....	post-production supervisor
Donna Sloan	....	executive in charge of production: Lions Gate Films

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roger M. Bobb	....	first assistant director
Angelique Bones	....	second assistant director
Rhonda Guthrie	....	second second assistant director
Antoine Massey	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Christopher Amerson	....	painter
Calvin Ashford	....	assistant to production designer
Bil Barnes	....	additional on-set dresser
Bil Barnes	....	set dresser
Eric Bomba-Ire	....	set dresser
Heather Bowers	....	assistant propmaster (as Heather Kane)
Billy Bricker	....	gang boss
Sarah Bricker	....	set dresser
Danny Brown	....	set designer
Amanda Carroll	....	set decorator: New York
Cristina Lucia Cesari	....	buyer
Carl Cocker	....	propmaker
Eddie DeCurtis	....	set dresser
Peter DeCurtis	....	leadman: New York
Russ Dickerson	....	general foreman
Daniel Elliott	....	utility
Jeremy Farlow	....	welder
Karen A. Felix	....	assistant property master
Rick Fields	....	utility
Brenda Findley	....	art department coordinator
Carol Francoso	....	scenic artist
Seth Gardner	....	propmaker
Joey Hall-Sisson	....	set dresser
Rob Hamby	....	propmaker
Trent Hevener	....	prop maker
Meldas Hodges	....	set dresser
Malchus Janocko	....	assistant art director
Sean Ryan Jennings	....	art department production assistant: New York
Shun Jester	....	leadman
Robin D. Jones	....	construction buyer
Joshua Justis	....	set dresser
Kathleen Kasinger	....	property master
Solomon King	....	propmaker
Rich Koll	....	gang boss
Kevin Ladson	....	property master: New York
Eliot Levin	....	props
Konrad Lewis	....	set dresser
Meredith Lippincott	....	set dec production assistant: New York
Patrick J. Martin	....	gang boss
David H. Nash	....	gang boss
Sheila Nash	....	draftsperson
Mark Nave	....	gang boss
Valerie Nolan	....	set decoration buyer: New York
Joe O'Shea	....	construction medic
Reginald Robert	....	set dresser
Melinda Sanders	....	buyer
Chris Sheetz	....	gang boss
Joey Sisson	....	set dresser
Kimberly Slosek	....	props
Brian D. Smith	....	propmaker
Noreen Souza-Bailey	....	shop production assistant: New York
Mary Stacy	....	buyer
Mike Sullivan	....	scenic chargeman
Alexa-Michelle Tarver	....	clearances coordinator
Alexa-Michelle Tarver	....	construction auditor
Richard Tenewitz	....	additional construction manager: New York
Christopher T. Thompson	....	art department production assistant: New York
Monika van Schellenbeck	....	set decoration buyer
James Bryant Wactor	....	prop maker
Dion Watkins	....	art production assistant
John Weeks	....	carpenter
Shauna Williams	....	art assistant
Jay Womer	....	construction coordinator
Tim Zydel	....	on-set dresser
Brittany Cohn	....	prop intern (uncredited)

Sound Department
Steve Bartkowicz	....	sound re-recording engineer
Ron Bedrosian	....	adr mixer
Damian Canelos	....	sound mixer
Kerry Ann Carmean	....	sound editor
Dan Furst	....	video assist
Nick Kray	....	adr mixer
Daniel J. Leahy	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jason C. Lewis	....	sound utility
Colt Logan	....	boom operator
James Moriana	....	foley artist
Todd Niesen	....	dialogue denoising
Stephen P. Robinson	....	sound designer
Paul Sorohan	....	sound utility
David Stanke	....	first assistant sound editor
Michael Stern	....	pro tools playback operator
Trevor Stott	....	additional boom operator
Gary Summers	....	sound re-recording mixer
Seth Tallman	....	boom operator
Jon Title	....	sound effects editor
Brett Voss	....	foley mixer
Todd Weaver	....	pro tools playback mixer (as Christopher Todd Weaver)
Jeffrey Wilhoit	....	foley artist
Michael D. Wilhoit	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
Elliot Holmes	....	special effects technician
Eric A. Martin	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
John Brubaker	....	digital compositor: 2G Digital Post
Scott Dougherty	....	visual effects executive producer: Furious FX
Carl Frytz	....	animator
Cortney Haile	....	visual effects executive
Spencer Hecox	....	visual effects supervisor
Patrick Keenan	....	lead compositor: 2G Digital Post
Sean Mattini	....	digital colorist assistant
James P. Noon	....	tracking
Francesco Panzieri	....	3D artist & digital compositor: 2G Digital Post
Justin Pascal	....	compositor
Jason Sanford	....	visual effects producer
Prateep Siamwalla	....	tracking
Tiffany Smith	....	visual effects producer: Furious FX
Ashley J. Ward	....	visual effects coordinator
Xye	....	tracking

Stunts
Brent Bernhard	....	utility stunts
Avis Boone	....	stunt double
Scott Dale	....	stunt coordinator
Rose Sias	....	stunt double
Matthew R. Staley	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Eddie L. Watkins	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Reid Andrews	....	electrician
Chris Antignane	....	electrician
Joshua Adam Bermudez	....	grip
Dane Bjerno	....	aerial camera technician
Kenneth Bolton	....	dolly grip: "b" camera
Brian Carmichael	....	video assist operator
Ted Chu	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Quantrell D. Colbert	....	still photographer
Juvonn Daves	....	grip
Alfeo Dixon	....	additional camera operator: "c" camera
Donny Fowler	....	electrician
Sergei Franklin	....	director of photography: second unit, New York
Dan Furst	....	video assist
Michael Gallart	....	gaffer: second unit
John Geisler	....	grip
Mike Gentry	....	electrician
Melissa Hollingsworth	....	dimmer board operator
Matthew Horn	....	camera loader
Matthew Horn	....	film loader
Lane Leagans	....	best boy grip
Sherri Angela Leger	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Grg Magidow	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (as Greg Magidow)
Michael J. Maurer	....	rigging electrician: New York
Sean McCardell	....	rigging gaffer: New York
Daniel McDowell	....	rigging electrician
Michael A. McFadden	....	rigging grip: second unit
Matthew McGinn	....	additional film loader
Christopher L. Miller	....	grip
Christopher Mills	....	epk camera operator
Kevin Murphy	....	gaffer
Matt Neel	....	electrician
Jerry Parker	....	electrician
Jesse Wayne Parker	....	key grip
Meiklejohn Pate	....	rigging grip
Christopher E. Pettus	....	electrician (as Christopher Earl Pettus)
Kelly Price	....	grip
Lance Rieck	....	scorpio head technician
Matt Robinson	....	rigging grip
Mike Robinson	....	rigging gaffer
David Shakibanasab	....	lamp operator
Louis Smith	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Jeff C. Sutton	....	electrician
Randy Tharpe	....	grip
Cris Toebben	....	basecamp electrician
Steve Zigler	....	best boy electric
John Trapman	....	aerial director of photography (uncredited)

Casting Department
Aba Arthur	....	casting assistant
Marquita Bradley	....	extras casting intern: New York
Rhavynn Drummer	....	casting assistant
Brittany N. Grooms	....	extras casting assistant
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Talisha McClaney	....	extras casting assistant
George Pierre	....	extras casting
Doran Reed	....	casting associate
Alpha Tyler	....	additional casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sylvia Akuchie	....	set costumer
Aliyah I. Baynes	....	wardrobe production assistant
Alex Bovaird	....	assistant costume designer
Scott T. Coppock	....	milliner
Shayne Allen Duhon	....	set costumer
Careen Fowles	....	costume supervisor: New York
Shavon Christina Gihan	....	costumer
Rhonney Greene	....	costume set supervisor
Darlene Jackson	....	costume supervisor
Alison Levine	....	costume assistant
Carmia Marshall	....	set costumer
Lonnie McQuarters	....	costume shopper
Katie Nolff	....	costume production assistant
Natasha Noorvash	....	costume assistant
Shady Patterson	....	costume p.a.
Janet Ross	....	set costumer
Minerva Diann Savoy	....	seamstress
Ellen Semones	....	shopper
Jeffrey Wirsing	....	ager/dyer

Editorial Department
Rick J. Brown	....	colorist: dailies (as Rick Brown)
Tricia Chiarenza	....	color timer
Eileen Godoy	....	digital intermediate producer
Rachel Faith Hanson	....	dailies
Matt Hull	....	digital intermediate assistant producer
Natasha Leonnet	....	digital intermediate colorist
Curtis Lindersmith	....	digital intermediate editor
Joi McMillon	....	first assistant editor
Justin Powell	....	post-production assistant
Kimberly Wilhoit	....	post-production assistant
Ariana Young	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Joshua Bell	....	musician: violin solos
Johnny Caruso	....	supervising music editor
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
George Doering	....	musician
Jay Faires	....	music executive
Jerry Hey	....	orchestrator
Joel C. High	....	music supervisor
Steve Juliani	....	music preparation
Mem Nahadr	....	composer: additional music
Maria Newman	....	musician
Jasper Randall	....	choir contractor
Rebecca Rienks	....	assistant music supervisor
Peter Rotter	....	music contractor
Dennis S. Sands	....	music scoring mixer
Michael Stern	....	music scoring mixer
Dara Wedler	....	music coordinator
Willa Yudell	....	music assistant
Sam Zeines	....	music editor
Aaron Zigman	....	conductor
Aaron Zigman	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Tim Barker	....	transportation
Tracy L. Coker	....	hair/make-up driver
Daniel La Fave	....	production driver
Cindy Parker	....	transportation coordinator
J.L. Parker	....	transportation captain
Janet Perrotti	....	transportation co-captain
Dennis Salomone	....	transportation captain: New York
Patricia Sammons	....	driver
Ralph Strickland	....	driver: cast
Kevin R. Wood	....	transportation co-captain: New York

Other crew
Dana Abercrombie	....	stand-in
Adi Amit	....	production coordinator: New York
Jill Andrade	....	assistant to producer
Giuseppe Ardizzone	....	set production assistant: New York
Ozzie Areu	....	president: Tyler Perry Studios
Will Areu	....	senior vice president: production and operations
Alex C. Askew	....	production assistant
Colbert Bernard	....	set production assistant
John D. Bert	....	craft service
Khalilah Birdsong	....	TPS creative executive
Amy A. Blanc	....	script supervisor
Justin Bones	....	key set production assistant
Crystal D. Brown	....	production assistant
Jeffrey A. Brown	....	location scout: New York
Cassie Bryant	....	location scout
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot
Amyjoy Clark	....	payroll accountant: New York
Ami Cohen	....	production department coordinator
Angela Coleman	....	first assistant accountant: New York
Dana Corl	....	production secretary: New York
Michael L. Covington	....	stand-in (as Michael Covington)
Derrick Doose	....	key set production assistant
Nick Doumlele	....	office production assistant: New York
John Findley	....	location manager (as John Findley III)
Erin G. Fisher	....	location scout
Ellen Gannon	....	production coordinator: New York
Tsedy Gebeyehu	....	assistant production coordinator
Lindsay Gores	....	production staff
Valencia Y. Hawkins	....	executive assistant
Atiya Henry	....	assistant to co-producer
Kevin Hill	....	office production assistant: New York
Jade A. Holmes	....	office production assistant
Bill Jacks	....	manager of business and legal affairs
Cindy L. Jefferson	....	stand-in (as Cindy Jefferson)
Carmen K. Jones	....	production secretary (as Carmen K. Brown)
John Kaylin	....	dubbing producer
Haweni Keskessa	....	second assistant accountant
Chrissy Kim	....	credits coordinator
Kellye Lloyd	....	accounting intern
John Van Loan	....	set medic
Chasity Lowe	....	medic
Paul Lowe	....	key set medic
Ian MacGregor	....	location manager: New York
Dan Masciarelli	....	producer: main titles, Rok!t
Karen Marie Mason	....	assistant location manager
LeRoy McCarthy	....	location manager
Chris Mello	....	credits coordinator
Robert M. Melnik	....	executive vice president of business affairs
Cheryl Miller	....	production coordinator
Jamie Morris	....	first assistant accountant
Sean C. Nattini	....	office production assistant: New York
Elena Nordé	....	stand-in
Gary Ousdahl	....	story editor: 34th Street Films
Jennifer Parris	....	production assistant
Jennifer Quesenbery	....	location scout
Jason Quimby	....	location scout: New York unit
Timothy Scott Ralston	....	screening operations executive (as Timothy Ralston)
Andrew Riley	....	production assistant
Justin Rosini	....	assistant location manager: New York
Justin Rosini	....	location scout: New York
Jennifer Schoenherz	....	executive assistant to president
Salpy Semerdjian	....	payroll accountant: New York
Hakim Shakoor	....	caterer: chef
Beatrice Simmons	....	key craft service
Nikki Simpson	....	production secretary
Collin Smith	....	supervising location manager
Kimberly S. Smith	....	accounting clerk
Oreathia C. Smith	....	accounting intern
Julie Solomon	....	accounting clerk: New York
Robin Spears	....	set production assistant
Joshua Tanksley	....	stand-in
Amy R. Trachtman	....	assistant production coordinator: New York
Stan Umamoto	....	payroll accountant
Roberto Villareal	....	set production assistant
Dennis Voskov	....	location scout
Thomas Wohlford	....	location manager
Carole Wurst	....	executive assistant to Tyler Perry
Carole Wurst	....	executive assistant to director
Derek Yip	....	production accountant
Erica Young	....	set production assistant
Chris Saharek	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Shawn Luckey	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Lionsgate (presents)
• Tyler Perry Studios (presents)
• 34th Street Films
• Lionsgate
• FCG Productions

Distributors

• Lionsgate (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• Maple Pictures (2010) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Belga Home Vidéo (2012) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Eagle Films (2011) (non-USA) (all media) (Middle East)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel DVD (2011) (Australia) (DVD)
• Sookie Pictures (2012) (South Korea) (all media)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Bangladesh) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Bhutan) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (India) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Maldives) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Nepal) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Pakistan) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Sri Lanka) (TV)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2012) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Furious FX (additional digital effects)

Other Companies

• ARRI / Camera Service Center  camera equipment provided by
• ARRI / Camera Service Center  grip and lighting equipment
• Atlantic Records  soundtrack
• De Lane Lea  ADR recording
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• EFilm  digital intermediate
• Gallagher Entertainment  insurance
• Happy Feet Foley  post-production sound services (foley services)
• Harris Diversified  a/c & power rental
• Hollywood Trucks  Entertainment Transportation
• Moving On Up Enterprises  security
• Paskal Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Rok!t Studio  titles
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Soundelux  post-production sound services
• Todd-AO Studios  post-production sound services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some disturbing violence including a rape, sexual content and language

Runtime:

USA:133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #46416) | UK:15 | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:MA (2011) | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

The original title of Ntozake Shange's play is "for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf" (complete with the unorthodox capitalization, spelling, and punctuation).

Quotes:

Crystal:There's a part of me that knows it happened, but most of me feels like I'm dreaming. Am I awake? This must be what death feels like.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.21" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Stand Up

A gorgeous, layered, over-the-top emotional ride...I really liked it

For Colored Girls (2010)

An artful, gutsy, moving experience.

You could easily see this movie and say that it's overly artful, overtly gutsy, and an overwhelmingly moving experience. You would have to like this kind of high drama to get into this at all. Very high drama. I do, and so I loved this movie.

If you've seen "Crash" you know how this movie is put together--a series of high powered characters in tough situations are followed separately in an interwoven and increasingly connected urban universe. This is a work about women, African-American women, and about their ultimately horrible plight in a world of greed, horror, and men, who don't come off very well. So they turn increasingly inward, and to each other, to survive.

Director Tyler Perry has great material here--the Ntozake Shange play that wowed Broadway in 1975. One of the strengths here is one of the things people find irritating--the characters speak at times in long lines of poetic monologue. It isn't realistic, but it's beautiful, and in fact it really is poetry, and is part of the overall style. This helps form the overall aura of the movie, as well, of highbrow seriousness in a gutsy, often low income narrative. The story gets tweaked for 2010, though some of the themes don't make sense for our times, most glaring the backstreet abortion.

The acting is fabulous, and uniformly so. Everyone is able to really pour it on, which is difficult when they are sometimes speaking through actual poetry. And so through all the tears comes a realization that this very artificially outrageous drama has deeply deeply serious intentions.

If you like movies for how they are made--the editing, the filming, the set design--you'll be impressed. It's highly artful in a Hollywood, expensive way, an uncompromised production. Of course, as a viewer, you have to like that, especially when it gets artsy, as when a mother and daughter speak in two simultaneous monologues and the camera, and the sound, film back and forth between them, while still delicately keeping both threads continuous and palpable throughout. And the moment has huge symbolism, too, because it's about how they never understand each other, even when they pretend to try.

If there's a large problem here, it's in the endless excess. There is more tragedy, and more emotional crisis, than you can handle in a movie. I think it starts to be a parody of itself, and toward the end you are just ready for a catharsis. The choreographed ending is a little predictable and breezy, too, though even here, when the women gather on the roof, there is still a complex, interwove poetic power.

Forget the cynics and the impatient, if you can, that have slammed this film. It's not a typical Tyler Perry movie at all. It's a smart, beautiful film, and in some ways a great film.