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'Flow' director hustles production deal

Posted on: Friday, 22 July 2005, 08:27 CDT

By Nicole Sperling

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - On the eve of the release of his first studio feature, the writer/director of "Hustle & Flow" has signed a two-year production deal with the film's distributor.

Craig Brewer will develop projects for Paramount Pictures and its Paramount Classics specialty division through his new production company, Southern Cross the Dog, which he runs with former studio executive Stephanie Allain.

Their first project under the deal is the previously announced "Black Snake Moan," starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci. The $13 million production will begin filming in the fall in Memphis.

The deal is not limited to pictures Brewer writes and directs. The two also might develop and produce other projects with outside writers and directors.

"We think Hollywood needs a bit of a reboot, and we're going to invest in new talent and new ideas," Brewer said. "Stephanie has her finger on the pulse, and we think Paramount trusts us to bring those types of people in."

Brewer and Allain first joined forces with Paramount when it bid $9 million for "Hustle & Flow" at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Terrence Howard stars as a Memphis hustler who dreams of becoming a rapper. Opening nationwide on Friday, the R-rated picture was produced by director John Singleton ("2 Fast 2 Furious"), who financed it himself when no studio would touch it. He will also produce "Black Snake Moan."

The name of Brewer and Allain's production company, Southern Cross the Dog, refers to the famed W.C. Handy lyric "I'm going down where the Southern cross the dog." It's a reference to the spot where the Southern Railroad once met the Yazoo Railroad in Moorhead, Miss.

"It's a legendary crossroads, where longing for your best self and creativity meet," said Allain.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Source: REUTERS

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