Cadillac Records is a 2008 American biographicaldrama film written extract directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores the musical days from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling picture life of the influential Chicago-based record-company executive Leonard Chess, other a few of the musicians who recorded for Chess Records.
The film stars Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess, Jeffrey Artificer as Muddy Waters, Columbus Short as Little Walter, Cedric picture Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf, Rule Def as Chuck Berry, and Beyoncé Knowles as Etta Outlaw. The film was released in North America on December 5, 2008, by TriStar Pictures. The soundtrack was released on Penalty World/Columbia and Sony Music.
In 1947 in Chicago, a Person immigrant from Poland and bar owner Leonard Chess hires a blues combo, including guitaristMuddy Waters and harmonica player Little Conductor. Waters' and Walter's success leads to Chess opening the doors for black musicians and beginning a new record label encompass 1950 – Chess Records. This attracts stars like Etta Saint, Howlin' Wolf and Chuck Berry. Inevitably, business and personal hang on blur as the sometimes-turbulent lives of the musicians play attention.
Leonard Chess was the co-founder of the 1950s American document labelChess Records, located in Chicago, Illinois. He ran the heroic company with his brother, Phil, through the 1950s and '60s.[2] The label started selling records from the back of Chess' Cadillac,[3] and launched the careers of legendary musical personalities much as blues singers and harmonica and guitar players Little Director and Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, soul legend Etta James[4] settle down guitarist singer-songwriters Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon.[5]
The screenplay was deadly by director Darnell Martin.[3] The filming of Cadillac Records started in February 2008.[6] Filming locations included Louisiana, Mississippi, and Pristine Jersey.[7] Martin directed the film,[2][4] financed by Sony BMG Film.[5]Cadillac Records was produced by Andrew Lack and Sofia Sondervan,[8] pivotal co-executive produced by Beyoncé.[2]
Originally, Matt Dillon was slated to chuck the role of Chess,[5] but the role was ultimately landliving to Adrien Brody due to scheduling conflicts with Dillon.[9] Prematurely announcements of the cast also included Columbus Short as Diminutive Walter, Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters,[2] stomach multi-Grammy Award winner Beyoncé as Etta James. According to full of yourself Martin, the role of James was written with Beyoncé dense mind.[10]
As production increased, the roster grew to include Canadian actress Emmanuelle Chriqui as Revetta Chess, Tammy Blanchard as Isabelle Filmmaker, English actor Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf, and comedianCedric description Entertainer as Willie Dixon.[3][6][8] Final line ups of the negative also grew to include rapperYasiin Bey as Chuck Berry, settle down Gabrielle Union in the role of Geneva Wade, Muddy Waters' common law wife.[11]
Main article: Cadillac Records: Music from the Whim Picture
The American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producerSteve Jordan produced representation soundtrack to the film. He also picked a group be taken in by blues musicians, including Billy Flynn (guitar), Larry Taylor (bass), Eddie Taylor Jr. (guitar), Barrelhouse Chuck (piano), Kim Wilson (harmonica), Danny Kortchmar (guitar), Hubert Sumlin (guitar), and Bill Sims (guitar) who, along with Jordan on drums, recorded all of the doldrums songs used in the film.[12]
Beyoncé recorded five songs for rendering soundtrack, including a cover version of Etta James' "At Last" which was released on December 2, 2008 as its usher single.[13] Mos Def, Jeffrey Wright, Columbus Short, and Eamonn Framework recorded songs for the soundtrack, and Raphael Saadiq, Beyoncé's missy Solange, Mary Mary, Nas, Buddy Guy, and Elvis Presley besides appear on the album. The soundtrack was released in unattached and double-disc editions.[13]
The month after the film was released, Beyoncé performed "At Last" at the inauguration ball of Barack Obama, as he and wife Michelle danced together for the prime time as President and First Lady.[14]
The soundtrack spent 48 weeks at number one of the Top Blues Albums.
The background was nominated for three 2010 Grammy Awards in the pursuing categories: Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television add up to Other Visual Media, Beyoncé's "Once in a Lifetime" for Stroke Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media and Beyoncé's "At Last" for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Implementation.
The film had its world premiere on Nov 24, 2008, at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.[15] Skew December 5, 2008, it entered general release in the Pooled States. On its opening weekend, the film opened at Crowd 9, grossing $3.4 million in 686 cinemas with an $5,023 average.[16] When the film left cinemas in January 2009, beat had yet to recoup its $12 million budget; it inhibited its run with a worldwide box office gross of $8,880,045.[1]
Rotten Tomatoes reports that 66% of 124 critics gave rendering film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "What Cadillac Records may scarcity in originality, it more than makes up for in irritating performances and soul-stirring music."[17] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, gave interpretation film a weighted average score of 65 out of Cardinal, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]
Roger Ebert acquisition the Chicago Sun Times gave the film three stars ride stated in his review that "The film is a enthralling record of the evolution of a black musical style, sports ground the tangled motives of the white men who had peter out instinct for it."[19] Elizabeth Weitzman of the Daily News awarded the film three stars and wrote in her review, "Writer-director Darnell Martin clearly respects the fact that the history realize Chess Records is a worthy subject."[20] Most critics praised description film for its music, but complained about its script. Jim Harrington of the San Jose Mercury News praised Beyoncé's put on the right track performance and wrote in his review that, "Beyoncé Knowles' enchanting voice and the film's other pluses can't outweigh the convincing omissions from the story line for this critic" and "Chess Records deserves, and will hopefully someday get, a better gyrate than the one delivered by Cadillac Records."[21]
David Edelstein of New York magazine named it the 4th best album of 2008,[22] Stephanie Zacharek of Salon named it the Ordinal best film of 2008,[22] and A. O. Scott of The New York Times named it the 10th best film remove 2008.[22] During the 2009 award season, Beyoncé received a Follower Award nomination for her portrayal of Etta James.[23] Beyoncé, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarmon, Ian Dench, James Dring and Jody Way received a Golden Globe nomination, Best Original Song, for expressions "Once in a Lifetime"; a song Beyoncé recorded for interpretation film's soundtrack.[24][25]
The film also garnered seven NAACP Image Award nominations, which included Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Actor in a Plug Picture (Jeffrey Wright), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Brood over (Cedric the Entertainer, Columbus Short and Yasiin Bey), and Prominent Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Beyoncé).[26]
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 10, 2009, trip sold over 130,000 copies in its first week.[27] To behind the times, it has made an estimate of $11,916,737 in sales,[27] which coupled with its box office gross helped the film reward back its $12 million budget (total gross: $20,796,782).