ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

CRAIG BOLOTIN (Writer/Director) was born in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles after his graduation from the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in psychology and penned film reviews.

After a variety of jobs, Bolotin landed work at Rastar Productions as a script reader while polishing his own writing skills at night. Rastar bought his spec script No Small Affair, which was produced in 1987 and starred Demi Moore. He next wrote (and co-executive produced) the 1989 thriller "Black Rain," directed by Ridley Scott. He turned his talents to comedy for his next project, "Straight Talk," which starred Dolly Parton and James Woods and filmed on location in his hometown. Bolotin also contributed re-writes to such productions as "Desperately Seeking Susan" and "A Thousand Acres." He made his feature directorial debut on the 1993 drama, "That Night," adapting Alice McDermott’s 1960s teen romance that starred Juliette Lewis and C. Thomas Howell.

As a participant in the Discovery Program at Columbia Pictures, Bolotin co-wrote and directed the short film "Sapphire Man," starring Powers Boothe. The project won the 1989 Special Gold Jury Award at the Houston International Film Festival. He also wrote and directed for the popular NBC series "Miami Vice."

Currently, Bolotin is adapting the novel "Virgin Heat" for Drew Barrymore.



TRACEY E. EDMONDS (Producer) made her motion picture producing debut on the hit 1997 family drama "Soul Food," which received five NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture and Outstanding Music Soundtrack, which this maverick talent executive produced. The film also earned three Black Oscar Awards for Edmonds as producer, George Tillman as writer-director, and husband Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds’ soundtrack, which went multi-platinum and yielded several Top-10 hits.

One of the most powerful forces in the entertainment arena, Edmonds is the founder, president and CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group, Inc. and supervises the daily operations of its subsidiary companies – Edmonds Entertainment, the film-and-television production entity; Edmonds Management; Edmonds Music; Tracken Place Recording Studio; Yab Yum Music and Yab Yum Records, both associated with Elektra Entertainment. Yab Yum produced all of the music and score for the Academy Award7-nominated film "Tuesday Morning Ride," Edmonds’ first foray into filmmaking, which was the only black film nominated for an Oscar7 in 1996.

Yab Yum also features a talented roster of artists, including two-time Grammy nominee Jon B. (whose debut album was certified gold), BEVERLY, Shaya, and 3rd Storee. The company’s roster of writers and producers is also credited with contributing songs to such multi-platinum artists as New Edition, Toni Braxton, After 7, Diana Ross, TLC, Tevin Campbell and many more.

Edmonds also executive produced "Hav Plenty," Chris Cherot’s romantic comedy that debuted as part of the Dramatic Competition at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. She also executive produced the film’s eclectic soundtrack, featuring music by Babyface, Des’ree, Jon B., Az Yet, Faith Evans, Blackstreet, Queen Pen, Jay Z. and others. Edmonds’ company will also produce David Mickey Evans’ feature, "L.C. Soul Unlimited." She will also oversee production on the small screen version of "Soul Food."

The Southern California native received a scholarship to Stanford University, where she majored in a self-designed curriculum, "psycho-biology," which combined the study of psychology and neurobiology. After graduating from college at age 20, she passed on additional studies to develop her business skills, running a successful mortgage and real estate company. After meeting her future husband, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, she changed career course and joined the talented singer/songwriter/producer by forming her own music publishing company. She dubbed her new enterprise Yab Yum, adapting the name from the Japanese "god of love" from a dance club she frequented in college while studying overseas.



KENNETH "BABYFACE" EDMONDS (Executive Producer), one of the music industry’s most successful singer/songwriter/producers, turned his formidable talents to the movie arena with his first feature film production, "Soul Food." The 1997 box-office hit walked off with five NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture and another for his soundtrack.

Edmonds has made pop history in a relatively short period of time, culminating with a record-tying 12 Grammy nominations in 1996 (equaling Michael Jackson’s 1982 achievement). He won three awards at the 1997 ceremonies, including Record of the Year (as producer) for Change the World, Best R&B Song (songwriter) for "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" from the soundtrack of "Waiting to Exhale," and as Producer of the Year, also for Changing the World.

In addition to the three 1997 prizes, Edmonds has also won six additional Grammy honors, including the 1996 Producer of the Year (the only artist to win two consecutive producing Grammys); a pair of 1994 prizes as Best R&B Male Vocal for "When Can I See You" and Best R&B Song, "I’ll Make Love to You"; a 1993 Album of the Year award for producing the hit soundtrack from the film "The Bodyguard"; and two 1992 Grammy Awards, again as Producer of the Year and Best R&B Song for "End of the Road." He competed again in 1998 for Best Pop Collaboration (with Stevie Wonder) for the recording, "How Come, How Long."

His encyclopedic list of career honors also includes three NAACP Image Awards, Billboard’s #1 Pop and R&B Songwriter in both 1994 and 1995, three BMI Awards in 1995, the Essence Award for Excellence, and the Soul Train Music Award.

Edmonds’ impeccably-crafted explorations of love, romance and relationships have made an indelible imprint on the evolution of Rhythm & Blues pop music throughout the world. His singing/songwriting talents have yielded 116 Top 10 R&B and Pop hits, 46 #1 R&B chart hits, 51 Top-10 Pop hits and 16 #1 chart toppers, producing sales of over 29 million singles and 77 million albums. Billboard’s Pop and R&B charts, at one time, contained a dozen songs either written, produced and/or performed by Edmonds.

His debut album, Tender Love, containing the popular "Whip Appeal," sold over 2.5 million copies and was certified double-platinum. His second release, For the Cool in You, also went double platinum with over two million copies sold in 1993. He was the force behind the amazing success of the "Waiting to Exhale" soundtrack (producing as well as composing the score), which was the #1 album in the country for five weeks and sold over seven million units. That soundtrack included four Top-10 singles – Whitney Houston’s "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)," Brandy’s "Sittin’ Up in My Room," Mary J. Blidge’s "Not Gon Cry" and Toni Braxton’s "Let It Flow." His fourth album, The Day, debuted at #6 on the charts and won wide critical acclaim. He also wrote-and-produced two tracks for singer Houston on the soundtrack of "The Preacher’s Wife," and composed Michael Jackson’s "On the Line" for Spike Lee’s movie, "Get on the Bus." Additional soundtrack credits include "Poetic Justice," "Boomerang" and "The Pagemaster."
As an artist, writer and producer, Edmonds’ chart domination verges on the incomparable. He has written Grammy-winning songs for some of the music industry’s top recording artists, including Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Eric Clapton, Lionel Ritchie, Celine Dion, Brandy, Tevin Campbell, Bobby Brown, Boyz II Men, Madonna, Aretha Franklin and Vanessa L. Williams, with whom he reunites here for their second film project together. He debuted as a solo artist in 1994 when he co-headlined his first concert tour with Boyz II Men. His composition of their hit single, "I’ll Make Love to You," debuted at #1 and reigned at the top spot for 14 weeks, tying the record of Houston’s record I’ll Always Love You.

Edmonds is co-owner and co-founder of Laface Records, based in Atlanta, and is credited with helping to make that city the "Entertainment Mecca of the South." The LaFace label features a number of talented artists, including Toni Braxton, Usher, TLC, Tony Rich and the Edmonds-discovered group, Az Yet. Their debut single, "Last Night" (written-and-produced by Edmonds) from the soundtrack of "The Nutty Professor," debuted at #1 on the charts.



DAVID STARKE (Co-Executive Producer) has spent the past seven years as Vice President, Feature Films at Twentieth Century Fox. During his tenure at Fox, Starke supervised production on such features as "Home Alone 3," "Baby’s Day Out," "Miracle on 34th Street," "Prelude to a Kiss," "Jack the Bear," "Hoffa," "Soul Food," "Dr. Dolittle," "The Edge" and "Entrapment."

A native New Yorker, Starke studied business management at SUNY-Albany and Colorado University. While in high school, he began his career volunteering on films for Milos Forman and Sidney Lumet in his hometown. His first paying job was on the Academy Award7-winning drama "Network."

In the early ’80s, Starke joined the Directors Guild as a location manager and assistant director, working on such productions as "The Wanderers," "The Survivors," "The Pope of Greenwich Village," "One Trick Pony," "Legal Eagles," "The World According to Garp," "Heartland" and various television shoots. Before joining Fox, he worked as a unit production manager in New York on several feature films and television series including "Presumed Innocent," "Hudson Hawk," "Look Who’s Talking Now" and television’s "Legwork."



BRIDGET D. DAVIS (Co-Producer) is Vice President of Film for Edmonds Entertainment and its new indie film division, e2 filmworks. As such, Davis was responsible for bringing "Light It Up" into the company, as well as spearheading its rapid development.

As Edmonds Entertainment’s first hire, Davis manned the Los Angeles offices and oversaw the marketing campaign for "Soul Food," the first production through their deal with Fox 2000 Pictures. While attending the 1st Annual Acapulco Black Film Festival, Davis identified a talented young filmmaker, Christopher Scott Cherot, and supervised Edmonds Entertainment’s acquisition of his film "Hav Plenty." Serving as executive producer, Davis accompanied the film to both the Toronto and Sundance film festivals. The film was sold to Miramax Films and released in June of 1998 to rave reviews.

A native of Los Angeles, this now 30-year-old decided at the age of 12 that the entertainment industry was where her future lay. While studying film at UCLA via an independent studies major, Davis was determined to get practical experience and began working at Paramount Pictures in both their motion picture publicity and domestic television advertising and promotions departments. After sufficiently completing the challenges presented at Paramount, Davis then moved on to Tri-Star Pictures’ physical production department and eventually transitioned herself over to the feature film "Hudson Hawk," which starred Bruce Willis.
Having accumulated an impressive amount of industry experience, Davis landed a position on the heralded television series "I’ll Fly Away." She moved from the small screen to work in the independent film world before joining actor-director Bill Duke on the feature "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit." Following the film’s completion, Davis stayed on with Duke and was named Director of Development at his Yagya Productions. She developed and worked with Duke on several projects, including HBO’s award-winning anthology series "America’s Dream," as well as the feature "Hoodlum" starring Laurence Fishburne and Vanessa L. Williams. Davis held this position until she made the move to Edmonds Entertainment in 1996.



HELENA ECHEGOYEN (Co-Producer) is a producing partner, with directors Vondie Curtis-Hall and Kasi Lemmons, in the production company Motor City Films. The company’s next two films, which Echegoyen will produce with Curtis-Hall, are "59," written by Attica Locke, and "The Swedish Job," penned by Will Rokos.

Prior to joining Motor City Films, Echegoyen served as Senior Vice President of Production at Miramax Films and created the urban label, Miramax flavor. Projects developed under her supervision included Robert Patton Spruill’s acclaimed directorial debut "Squeeze," the provocative musical documentary "Rhyme & Reason" and the recent "In Too Deep," starring Omar Epps, Stanley Tucci and Pam Grier.

Prior to joining Miramax, Echegoyen served two stints at New Line Cinema, overseeing the development and production of such hit films as "House Party," "Above the Rim," "Set It Off" and "Money Talks." She also developed and served as executive producer on "love jones," which won the 1997 Sundance Audience Award and was also presented at such international film festivals as Havana, Toronto and Tokyo.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in the Bronx, Echegoyen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University. She is co-founder of the New York-based Urban World Film Festival, a competitive, international showcase for black talent. She also serves on the advisory committees for the Sundance Film Festival, the Sundance Labs and the Independent Feature Project in Los Angeles.



ELLIOT DAVIS (Director of Photography) has collaborated with a number of award-winning filmmakers, including Steven Soderbergh ("Out of Sight," "King of the Hill," "Gray’s Anatomy," "The Underneath," for which he won an Independent Spirit nomination), Alan Rudolph ("Breakfast of Champions," "Love at Large," "Mortal Thoughts," "Equinox," the latter earning a second Independent Spirit nomination) and Spike Lee ("Get on the Bus").

Other motion picture works include "Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead," "Miles from Home," "Lawn Dogs," "Larger Than Life," "Mother’s Boys," "The Cutting Edge," "Memphis," "Bloodhounds of Broadway," "Vamp," "Forces of Nature" and "Harvest 3000," which was honored at both the Berlin and Cannes Film Festivals. He recently completed work on John Schlesinger’s upcoming "The Next Best Thing," starring Madonna and Rupert Everett.

A native New Yorker who grew up along the east coast, Davis has a B.A. degree in architectural studies from Virginia and an M.F.A. from UCLA. He earned his first professional credit on six episodes of Jacques Costeau’s PBS series "Oasis in Space."



LAWRENCE G. PAULL (Production Designer) received an Oscar7 nomination and the British Academy Award (BAFTA) for his designs on Ridley Scott’s "Blade Runner." His distinctive design style is on display in a wide variety of feature films, including Robert Zemeckis’ "Back to the Future," for which Paull earned a second BAFTA nomination. Among his forty-plus films, he also designed the box-office hits "City Slickers," "Romancing the Stone" and "Unlawful Entry."

Trained as an architect, the Chicago native graduated from the University of Arizona and began his career in films working as a set designer, rapidly moving up to the post of art director and, subsequently, production designer on the 1970 film "Little Fauss and Big Halsy." He followed with such credits as "The Hired Hand," "Star Spangled Girl," "W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings," "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings," "Which Way Is Up?" "Blue Collar," "In God We Trust," "The Last American Hero," "American Flyers," "Project X" and "Cocoon: The Return."

Paull’s most recent credits include "Escape from L.A.," "Another Stakeout," "Sgt. Bilko," "Born Yesterday," "Predator 2," "Harlem Nights" and "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult."



WENDY GREENE BRICMONT, A.C.E. (Editor) garnered the British Academy Award (BAFTA) for her first film as editor: Woody Allen’s classic "Annie Hall," an honor she shared with Ralph Rosenbloom. She has since edited the films "My Girl," "My Girl 2," "The Rich Man’s Wife," "Race the Sun," "License to Drive," "Perfect Witness," "Surrender," "The Clan of the Cave Bear," "Calendar Girl" and "Love Letters."

As co-editor, Bricmont’s credits include "Six Days Seven Nights," "Father’s Day," "Junior" and "Kindergarten Cop" for director Ivan Reitman, "Pump Up the Volume" and "All the Right Moves." She was a member of the editing team on Robert Zemeckis’ "Back to the Future Part III" and served as associate producer on "Surrender," which starred Sally Field and Michael Caine. Her television credits include "Amazing Stories" for producers Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg.

A graduate of Oberlin College, Bricmont started her career with a New York editorial company where she edited television, documentaries and features.



SALVADOR PEREZ (Costume Designer) reunites with the Edmonds following his wardrobe designs for their debut feature "Soul Food." He initially met Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds while working on wardrobes for the Pebbles concert tour. Perez then had the pleasure of creating Tracey’s wedding gown and designing the entire wedding party’s wardrobe for their 1992 nuptials.

A native of central California, Perez studied design at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. He applied his skills and gained practical experience while working as a wardrobe manufacturing foreman on his first major feature "Super Mario Bro."

He continued working as a costume manufacturing foreman on such projects as "The Flintstones," "Stargate," "Casper," "The Brady Bunch," "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" and "Titanic." He became assistant costume designer on such projects as "Nothing to Lose," "The Phantom," "Barb Wire" and "Operation Dumbo Drop."

In addition to "Soul Food," Perez also designed the wardrobes for the William Richert independent production "The Man in the Iron Mask" and the debut season of the Fox television drama "413 Hope Street."



HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS (Music) recently completed the score for "King of the Jungle" starring John Leguizamo and Rosie Perez, the television movie "Swing Vote," an episode of "The Hunger" directed by Tony Scott, and the independent film "The Magic of Marciano" starring Nastassja Kinski.

Born into a musical family, Gregson-Williams toured extensively in Europe with an ensemble from the music school of St. John’s College, Cambridge. By the age of 13 he had appeared as a soloist on over a dozen records. He went on to earn musical scholarships throughout his education, culminating in a coveted spot at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Initially, he taught music to young children, guiding many of his students to musical careers. He spent a year in Egypt working for the government, teaching disadvantaged children in Alexandria and Cairo, and six months in an inspirational program with similar aims in the Rift Valley in Kenya, where his ear became sensitive to the rhythms and sounds of African music which find their way into his work today.

Gregson-Williams’ motion picture credits also include "The Match," "Antz," "Enemy of the State," "The Replacement Killers," "The Borrowers," "Smilla’s Sense of Snow," "Deceiver," "The Rock," "The Whole Wide World," "Hotel Paradise" and "White Angel."

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About the Cast

About the Filmmakers