Black Snake Moan (2006)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Craig Brewer

Writer (WGA):

Craig Brewer (written by)

Release Date:

2 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

Everything is hotter down south.

Plot:

A God-fearing bluesman takes to a wild young woman who, as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, looks everywhere for love, never quite finding it.

Plot Keywords:

Abuse | Sexual Abuse | Army | Anxiety | Marriage

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Samuel L. Jackson	...	Lazarus
Christina Ricci	...	Rae
Justin Timberlake	...	Ronnie
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Angela
John Cothran Jr.	...	Reverend R. L. (as John Cothran)
David Banner	...	Tehronne
Michael Raymond-James	...	Gill
Adriane Lenox	...	Rose Woods
Kim Richards	...	Sandy
Neimus K. Williams	...	Lincoln
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Deke Woods
Ruby Wilson	...	Mayella
Claude Phillips	...	Bojo
Amy Lavere	...	Jesse
Clare Grant	...	Kell
Jeff Pope	...	Batson
Charles 'Skip' Pitts	...	Charlie (as Skip Pitts)
Willie Hall	...	Pinetop
John Malloy	...	Gene
T.C. Sharpe	...	Archie
John Still	...	Herman
Jared Hopkins	...	Auto Worker
Tosh Newman	...	Conner
Cody Block	...	Bryan
Benjamin Rednour	...	Guardsman
Carnell Pepper	...	Melvin
David Chapman	...	Red
Jo Lynne Palmer	...	Ella Mae (as Jolynne Palmer)
Raymond Neal	...	Hershel
John Pickle	...	Arty
Kim Justis	...	Waitress
Cedric Burnside	...	Himself
Kenny Brown	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Son House	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Craig Brewer

Writing credits (WGA)
Craig Brewer		(written by)

Produced by
Stephanie Allain	....	producer
Ron Schmidt	....	executive producer
John Singleton	....	producer

Original Music by
Scott Bomar

Cinematography by
Amy Vincent		(director of photography) (as Amelia Vincent)

Film Editing by
Billy Fox

Casting by
Kim Hardin		(as Kimberly R. Hardin)

Production Design by
Keith Brian Burns

Art Direction by
Liba Daniels

Set Decoration by
Meg Everist

Costume Design by
Paul Simmons

Makeup Department
Allan A. Apone	....	makeup artist: Mr. Jackson (as Allan Apone)
Adam Brandy	....	makeup artist: Mr. Jackson
Philip Ivey	....	key hair stylist (as Phillip 'Mr. P' Ivey)
Donna M. Premick	....	key makeup artist (as Donna Premick)
Tina Roesler Kerwin	....	makeup artist: Ms. Ricci
Robert L. Stevenson	....	hair stylist: Mr. Jackson (as Robert Louis Stevenson)
Joani Yarbrough	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Terra Abroms	....	post-production supervisor (as Terra Mair Abroms)
Paul Hellerman	....	unit production manager
Ron Schmidt	....	unit production manager
Haley Sweet	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Heather Grierson	....	second assistant director
James Alan Hensz	....	first assistant director
Scott Rorie	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Scott Andrews	....	propmaker
Kurt Blondis	....	propmaker
Troy Borisy	....	lead person
Joseph Butler	....	propmaker
Kenneth Col	....	construction foreperson
Darian Corley	....	property master
Aaron Dale	....	propmaker
Chad R. Davis	....	set dresser
Will E. Drummond	....	propmaker (as Will Drummond)
Dwayne Duncan	....	propmaker
Emmy Ellison	....	art department coordinator
J. Edward Fitzgerald	....	on-set dresser (as Ed Fitzgerald)
Frank Gray III	....	assistant property master
Brian Markey	....	construction coordinator
Adele Plauche	....	set designer
Scott Rambin	....	set dresser
Spencer Register	....	set dresser (as Spencer H. Register)
Peter Sattler	....	graphic designer
Ramsey Smith	....	construction foreperson
Keith Wall	....	set dresser
Chris Barnes	....	lead painter (uncredited)
Matthew Butler	....	greens supervisor (uncredited)
Thad Carlile	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Dennis Collins	....	stand-by painter (uncredited)
Tommy Gilbert	....	greens gangboss (uncredited)
Spencer Pharr	....	property assistant (uncredited)
Kelly Anne Ross	....	set decoration buyer (uncredited)
Chris Scher	....	construction gang boss (uncredited)
Marcus Turchi	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Krista Tutor	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Christopher Alba	....	assistant sound editor
Bobbi Banks	....	supervising adr editor (as Bobby Banks)
Nancy Barker	....	first assistant sound editor
Andy Black	....	sound mixer
Nathan Black	....	boom operator
Ed Callahan	....	dialogue editor
Michael Camello	....	apprentice sound editor
Kevin E. Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dane A. Davis	....	sound designer
Ezra Dweck	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
David E. Fluhr	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gabriel Guy	....	sound recordist
Greg Hedgepath	....	sound effects editor
Susan Kurtz	....	dialogue editor
Mark Larry	....	sound effects editor
Kimberly R. McCord	....	dialogue editor (as Kimberly McCord Wilson)
Carey Milbradt	....	foley mixer
Chris Navarro	....	adr mixer
Monique Reymond	....	foley artist
Frank Smathers	....	supervising sound editor (as Frank T. Smathers)
Beth Sterner	....	sound effects editor
Josh Swain	....	cable person
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Nathan Whitehead	....	assistant sound editor
James Wright	....	consultant: Dolby sound
Tony Margulies	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Carey Milbradt	....	foley editor (uncredited)
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist (uncredited)
Randolph Saucedo	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Mike Weesner	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Scott Rader	....	digital effects supervisor (as Scott Radar)
David Rosenthal	....	I/O supervisor
René Simen	....	fllame artist
Ken Wallace	....	digital effects producer

Stunts
J.J. Dashnaw	....	stunts
Steve M. Davison	....	stunt coordinator (as Steve Davison)
Kiante Elam	....	stunt coordinator
Dina L. Margolin	....	stunts (as Dina Margolin)
Kevin Reid	....	stunts
Kevin Reid	....	stunt double: Justin Timberlake (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Tony Arnaud	....	second company grip
Peter Budd	....	grip
Dan Cornwall	....	chief lighting technician
Christopher Crowther	....	electrician
Robert Duke	....	grip
David J. Duren	....	chief rigging electrician (as David Duren)
Tracy Facelli	....	film loader
Jamie Felz	....	first assistant camera
Dale Fowler	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Donny Fowler	....	electrician
Carlos M. Gallardo	....	dolly grip
Jeffrey Greeley	....	camera operator: "a" camera (as Jeff Greeley)
Christian Hawkins	....	electrician
Beth Horton	....	second assistant camera (as S. Beth Horton)
Colin Hudson	....	Steadicam operator
Kyle D. Hutson	....	assistant chief rigging technician (as Kyle Hutson)
Bill Jackson	....	electrician
Heather Lea	....	first assistant camera (as Heather LeRoy)
Eric Leftridge	....	first assistant camera (as Eric Scott Leftridge)
Dave Lowry	....	grip
Josh Malloy	....	electrician
Lee McLemore	....	grip
Jim McMillan Jr.	....	first company grip (as Jim McMillan)
Mark A. Miller	....	electrician
Ryan Rayner	....	second assistant camera
Paul Sanchez	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Scott Satterfield	....	second company rigging grip (as Scott N. Satterfield)
Bruce W. Talamon	....	still photographer
Darryl Wilson	....	first company rigging grip
Scott Friedland	....	rigging grip (uncredited)
Joshua Miller	....	additional grip (uncredited)
Karen Parsons	....	dimmer board operator (uncredited)
James H Razo	....	G3 gyro head technician (uncredited)
Jonathan Stoll	....	electrician (uncredited)
James Young	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Michelle Adams	....	casting associate
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Winsome Sinclair	....	background casting: Memphis
Nicole Stoll	....	casting associate: Memphis
Natasha Ward	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jim Alan Cook	....	on-set costumer (as Alan Cook)
Askia Won-Ling Jacob	....	costumer: Mr. Jackson
Meriwether Nichols	....	costumer
Omar J. Simmons	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Kenny Becker	....	color timer
John Daro	....	digital intermediate editor
Brian Kahovec	....	colorist: high definition dailies
Paul Lavoie	....	digital intermediate production manager
Mato	....	color timer
David Rosenblatt	....	assistant editor
Bill Schultz	....	digital intermediate general manager
Walter Volpatto	....	digital intermediate colorist

Music Department
Jesse Allen	....	musician: The Sound of Memphis
Jimmie Allen Sr.	....	musician: The Sound of Memphis
Bunny Andrews	....	supervising music editor
Scott Bomar	....	executive music producer
Scott Bomar	....	score arranger
Roy Brewer	....	musician
Percy Cole	....	musician: The Sound of Memphis
Terry Delsing	....	music editor
Cody Dickinson	....	musician
Jim Dickinson	....	musician
Luther Dickinson	....	musician
Otha Andre Evans	....	musician
Marc Franklin	....	conductor
Marc Franklin	....	orchestrator
Jason Freeman	....	musician
John Hampton	....	music sound engineer
Adam Hill	....	assistant music sound engineer
Kevin Houston	....	music editor
Patty Johnson	....	music production assistant: Clarksdale
Jonathan Kirkscey	....	musician
Andria Lisle	....	music production coordinator
Matt Martone	....	music sound engineer
Melvin Mosley	....	musician: The Sound of Memphis
Edward Murray	....	musician
Charlie Musselwhite	....	musician
Charles 'Skip' Pitts	....	musician
Peter Rotter	....	music contractor
The Sound of Memphis	....	musician
Curry Weber	....	assistant music sound engineer
Willie Wilson	....	musician: The Sound of Memphis
Jonathan Wires	....	musician
Julie Sessing	....	music clearance: Sessing Music Services (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Monte Emery	....	unit driver
Jeff Hooie	....	transportation captain
Hall Prewitt	....	driver: Mr. Jackson
Lee Siler	....	transportation coordinator
Nalla Black	....	driver (uncredited)
Dale Combs	....	driver: honeywagon (uncredited)
Justin Nance	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Kimberly Bailey	....	adr loop group
Andrea Baker	....	adr loop group
David Booth	....	digital film scanning and recording
Alex Borys	....	assistant location manager
Celia Brown	....	auditor: post-production
Doug Burch	....	adr loop group
Cassandra Butcher	....	unit publicist
Julie Carideo	....	production coordinator (as Jules Carideo)
Paul Chapman	....	technical consultant
Kim Crockett	....	assistant: Ms. Ricci
Antoine L. Dandridge	....	production assistant (as Antoine Dandridge)
Deborah Dismukes	....	production secretary
Michael Farah	....	assistant: Ms. Allain
Mary Jane Faris	....	second assistant auditor
E.J. Friedman	....	production assistant
Erin Hagee	....	assistant: Mr. Brewer
Wade Hagen	....	production auditor
Sueann Han	....	assistant: Mr. Singleton
Amad Jackson	....	adr loop group
James Jordan	....	adr loop group
Margo Kornemann	....	second assistant auditor
Martin Lane	....	location manager
Terence Mathews	....	adr loop group
Kim McCray	....	production assistant (as Kim 'Cookie' McCray)
David S. Merrill	....	assistant location manager (as David Merrill)
David Michie	....	adr loop group
Tate Moore	....	production assistant
Erik Morrison	....	production assistant
Ilene Pickus	....	script supervisor
Annie Poirier	....	production secretary
Edward Pollard	....	stand-in: Mr. Jackson (as Edward H. Pollard)
Noreen Reardon	....	adr loop group
Benjamin Rednour	....	production assistant
Cheryl D. Sims	....	payroll auditor
Birdie Talanca	....	first assistant auditor
Leonard L. Thomas	....	assistant: Mr. Jackson
Annette Toarmina	....	medic
Mark Van Horne	....	high definition dailies supervisor
Anna Wenger	....	assistant production coordinator
John R. Whitehead	....	production assistant (as John Whitehead)
Rachel Yarbrough	....	assistant: Mr. Timberlake
Gretchen Cook	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Sean Davis	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Jay Floyd	....	clearance administrator (uncredited)
Erica Hines	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Noel Davis Poyner	....	publicity intern (uncredited)
Kevin Scroggs	....	stand-in: Justin Timberlake (uncredited)
Leonard L. Thomas	....	stand-in: Robert Jacobs (uncredited)
Arnita Williams	....	stand-in: Adriane Lenox, Ruby Wilson and S. Epatha Merkerson (uncredited)

Thanks
R.L. Burnside	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Paramount Classics
• New Deal Productions
• Southern Cross the Dog Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Vantage (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment Finland (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2007) (Argentina) (all media)

Special Effects

• Radium (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Ardent Studios  music recorded at
• Ardent Stusios Electraphonic Recording Studio  music recorded at
• Audit Trail, The  production accounting
• Buena Vista Sound  sound re-recording
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  remote camera systems
• Danetracks  digital sound editing
• Deluxe  prints
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Electraphonic Recording  music recorded at (as Electraphonic Recording Studio)
• FotoKem Film and Video  digital intermediate (color and HD preview dailies)
• New West Records  soundtrack
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Rockbottom Rentals  cell phone rentals
• Rockbottom Rentals  nextel cell phone rentals
• Rockbottom Rentals  walkie rentals
• Sessing Music Services  music clearance
• Sessions Payroll Management  extras payroll services
• Tomkats Catering  catering (as Tomkats)
• Wilshire Stages, The  ADR recording facility

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, language, some violence and drug use.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Singapore:M18 | Ireland:16 | Netherlands:16 | USA:R (certificate #42163) | New Zealand:R16 | Germany:16 | Finland:K-15 | Sweden:11 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | Australia:MA | Portugal:M/16 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Brazil:18

Filming Locations:

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Paramount Classics

Trivia:

Rumor has it the original ending involved Justin Timberlake's character shooting Samuel L. Jackson in the back of the head during the scene where Christina Ricci sings "This Little Light of Mine". Director Craig Brewer decided, however, that it would be better to make the film happy, and with a very positive ending.

Goofs:

Continuity: Right after Rae discovers that Lazarus has chained her to the radiator, there are a series of shots from different angles. When filming Christina Ricci from behind, her shirt is down to the middle of her upper arm on both sides, but when filmed from the front, her shirt is on her shoulder on the left arm.

Quotes:

Lazarus: I remember my first time, it was out behind my uncle's barn with my second cousin.
Lazarus: She was two tons if she weighed a pound, I could have done better for myself.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Saturday Night Live: Rainn Wilson/Arcade Fire (#32.14)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Catfish Medley

Moan hits Home ..

Just got back from seeing Black Snake Moan. I had spent time reading reviews ... most seemed to focus on the obvious ... "skinny white girl chained to a black man's radiator" ... I hate when "critics" miss the point of a film. Now I suppose it helps that I live in Memphis ... and have lived in Mississippi a couple of times too. It may also help that I am the former Director of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale ... but I get this movie. Brewer's simple "redemption tale" is easy to follow and could have had various themes to tell the story ... but I believe it is highly effect as a "blues". It would be my hope that people don't read all the hype ... and/or various reviews ... and miss a really good movie. Get past the various things like skinny girls in white panties ... get past Justin Timberlake, accept his character Ronnis (which he plays very well) ... get past "Snakes on a Plane" and see how mercuricul Samuel L. Jackson is ... as he has transformed himself into a very believable Mid-South blues man. If you know little about Mid-South culture a lot of what goes on may strike some as cartoonish ... but accept the fact that Craig Brewer KNOWS how to paint the canvas and let the actors tell the story and you will enjoy this film. Not one to tell endings ... so go see this movie ... and yes I will agree with one thing the critics got right ... the music is wonderful!