Cadillac Records (2008)

Director:

Darnell Martin

Writer (WGA):

Darnell Martin (written by)

Release Date:

5 December 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Music | Romance

Tagline:

If you take the ride, you must pay the price.

Plot:

Chronicles the rise of Chess Records and its recording artists.

Plot Keywords:

1950s | Sex | Rock 'n' Roll | Band | Voice Over Narration

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Adrien Brody	...	Leonard Chess
Jeffrey Wright	...	Muddy Waters
Gabrielle Union	...	Geneva Wade
Columbus Short	...	Little Walter
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Willie Dixon
Emmanuelle Chriqui	...	Revetta Chess
Eamonn Walker	...	Howlin' Wolf
Mos Def	...	Chuck Berry
Beyoncé Knowles	...	Etta James
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joshua Alscher	...	Mick Jagger
Tim Bellow	...	Man in the Caddy
Tony Bentley	...	Lomax
Lawrence P. Beron	...	Overseer
Tammy Blanchard	...	Isabelle Allen
Eric Bogosian	...	Alan Freed
Marc Bonan	...	Keith Richards
Wayne Cobham	...	Piano - Ettas Recording Recording Group
Ryan Curtis	...	Picnic Boyfriend
Veronika Dash	...	Blonde
Eshaya Draper	...	Charles Waters - 7 Years Old
John Farrer	...	Violinist - Ettas Recording group
Shiloh Fernandez	...	Phil Chess
Jill Flint	...	Shirley Feder
Doug W. Goldman	...	Trumpet - Ettas Recording group
Gano Grills	...	Slick Pimp
Suzette Gunn	...	Minnie
Evan Hart	...	Young lover
Osas Ighodaro	...	Vicky - Maid
Kevin Jackson	...	Mysterious Black Man
Albert Jones	...	Hubert Sumlin
Nate Jones	...	Etta's Recording Group
Rayan Lawrence	...	Harmonica Player
Chyna Layne	...	Juanita
Malikha Mallette	...	Little Walter's girlfriend
Kevin Mambo	...	Jimmy Rogers
Aaron Munoz	...	Manager
Anthony Del Negro	...	Bandstand Dancer
Natasha Ononogbo	...	Muddy Waters' Girlfriend
Ginnie Randall	...	Muddy Waters Grandmother
Norman Reedus	...	Chess
Jake Robards	...	Robert
Jay O. Sanders	...	Mr. Feder
Stephen Seidel	...	Officer Brown
Derrick Simmons	...	Dice Player
Valence Thomas	...	James Cotton
Dwan Dink Young	...	Drums - Ettas Recording group
Angelina Aucello	...	Teenybopper (uncredited)
Dexter Darden	...	Geneva's Teenage Son (uncredited)
Seth Donavan	...	Chuck Berry Concert Goer (uncredited)
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Allan Freed (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Vianca Johnson	...	Field worker (uncredited)
Cerrone may	...	Muddy's band member (uncredited)
Catherine Pierce	...	Shocked Bystander (uncredited)
Elvis Presley	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Darnell Martin

Writing credits (WGA)
Darnell Martin		(written by)

Produced by
Petra Hoebel	....	co-producer
Beyoncé Knowles	....	executive producer
Andrew Lack	....	producer
Marc Levin	....	executive producer
Sofia Sondervan	....	producer

Original Music by
Terence Blanchard

Cinematography by
Anastas N. Michos		(director of photography) (as Anastas Michos)

Film Editing by
Peter C. Frank

Casting by
Michelle Adams
Kim Hardin

Production Design by
Linda Burton

Art Direction by
Nicholas Locke

Set Decoration by
David Schlesinger

Costume Design by
Johnetta Boone

Makeup Department
Kimberly Amacker	....	assistant key makeup: Louisiana
Barry Berger	....	assistant makeup artist
Nikki I Brown	....	la. key makeup artist
Christine Domaniecki	....	make-up artist: uncredited
Marjorie Durand	....	makeup artist
Valerie Gladstone-Hapel	....	assistant hair stylist
Tarsha Marshall	....	assistant hair stylist
E. Morrow	....	makeup day player
Jeffrey Rebelo	....	wigs/hair designer
Barbara Roman	....	assistant hair stylist
Vincent Schicchi	....	special makeup effects artist
Tomasina Smith	....	makeup artist
Nicole Tucker	....	key hair stylist
Teresa Valenzuela	....	wig maker
Tony Ward	....	assistant hair stylist: Louisiana
Colleen Wheeler	....	background hair supervisor

Production Management
Petra Hoebel	....	unit production manager
Christopher Kenneally	....	post-production supervisor
Oak Porcelli	....	production supervisor: Louisiana
Melissa Roberts	....	production supervisor: Louisiana
Andrew Saxe	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tony Phillippe	....	second assistant director
Gary S. Rake	....	second assistant director
Maurice Sessoms	....	second second assistant director
Jonathan Starch	....	first assistant director
Rebecca Strickland	....	location first assistant director

Art Department
Anthony A. Altomare	....	lead graphic designer
Eric Breaux	....	set dresser
Leni Calas	....	property master
Paul Camarro	....	set dresser
Gabu Camilo	....	props
Monique Champagne	....	set decorator: second unit
John J. Ciccimarro	....	key carpenter
Kaem Coughlin	....	camera scenic artist
Eddie DeCurtis	....	set dresser
Peter DeCurtis	....	leadman
Mandie DeMeskey	....	assistant property master
Emily Gaunt	....	charge scenic
Deborah Greene	....	assistant set decorator
Gavin A. Holmes	....	carpenter
Michael Kall	....	carpenter foreman
Jon Kim	....	props
Joshua Louis	....	art department production assistant
Scotty Morris	....	leadman
Kate Noll	....	art department
Celia Parker	....	scenic artist
Pierre Rovira	....	construction coordinator
Rodney Sterbenz	....	on-set dresser
Will Watkins	....	art department coordinator
Will Zinser	....	art production assistant

Sound Department
David Briggs	....	dialogue editor
Rachel Chancey	....	foley artist
Rusty Dunn	....	sound effects editor
Mark Filip	....	sound effects editor
Alan Freedman	....	adr mixer
Lewis Goldstein	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lewis Goldstein	....	supervising sound editor
Richard Kamerman	....	sound intern
Nathan Lindsey	....	adr recordist
Teferra McKenzie	....	boom operator
Cate Montana	....	adr editor
Cate Montana	....	dialogue editor
Chris Navarro	....	adr mixer
Bill Orrico	....	first assistant sound editor
David Pastecchi	....	audio playback
Jeff Pullman	....	sound mixer
Tom Ryan	....	apprentice sound editor
Adam Sanchez	....	sound utility

Special Effects by
Donna Cutrer	....	weapons
Ken Speed	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Jennifer Basnyat	....	visual effects
Molle DeBartolo	....	digital intermediate coordinator
Garman Herigstad	....	motion capture director
Robert Lopuski	....	visual effects supervisor
Chris MacKenzie	....	smoke artist
Jun Ren	....	digital matte painter
Jun Ren	....	digital production manager
Noah Weinzweig	....	visual effects director of photography

Stunts
Bob Colletti	....	stunts
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunt coordinator
Sean Shyboy Davis	....	stunt actor
Samantha MacIvor	....	stunt performer
Naomi Peters	....	stunts
Stephen A. Pope	....	stunt coordinator
Jeremy Sample	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Gonzalo Amat	....	cinematographer: additional photography
Craig Carter	....	grip
Daniel Casey	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Radium Cheung	....	gaffer
Kathleen Corgan	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Howard J. Cournoyer	....	rigging gaffer
Bryan Delorenzo	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera: Louisiana
Robert Foster	....	camera operator: Louisiana
Chris Frumkes	....	electrician
Craig Paul Harris	....	electrician
Bernard James	....	additional electrician
David Landau	....	rigging electrician
Sal Lanza	....	key grip
Todd Lichtenstein	....	additional electrician
Eric Liebowitz	....	still photographer
Bill Lynch	....	additional electrician
Derek J. Manganelli	....	camera loader
Gerard Martin	....	film loader: Louisiana
Joe Mellon	....	grip
Charlie Nauman	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera: Louisiana
Ed Nessen	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Sebastien Nicolet	....	grip
Michael P. Prisco Jr.	....	best boy electric
Gay E. Riedel	....	electrician
Chris Scarfi	....	generator operator
Mark Schmidt	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Pierson Silver	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Barry Strickland	....	electrician: Louisiana
Jeff Taylor	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera: Louisiana
Phil Testa	....	stage rigging gaffer
Greg Travis	....	gaffer: Louisiana
Shawna Travis	....	electrician: Louisiana
Earl Woods	....	best boy electric: Louisiana
Alexander Yellen	....	first assistant camera: pick-ups

Casting Department
Brent Caballero	....	local casting
Hank Langlois	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Arlynn Abseck	....	key set costumer
Aneikit Bonnel	....	costumer
Alex Bovaird	....	costume coordinator
Mary Gierczak	....	costumer
Eileen Goh	....	costumer
Olivia Mori	....	assistant costume designer
Lauren Press	....	assistant costume designer
Brenda Rousseau	....	stitcher
Elisa Santiago	....	costumer
Liz Staub	....	costume supervisor
Wendy Talley	....	set costumer: Louisiana
Deirdre N. Williams	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Mitchell Ferm	....	digital intermediate producer
Joe Gawler	....	senior digital intermediate colorist
Chris Gennarelli	....	colorist
Saar Klein	....	additional editor
Tom Mayclim	....	digital intermediate scanner and recorder
John Potter	....	mastering colorist
Richie Roefaro	....	colorist assistant
Jackeline Tejada	....	assistant editor (post-production)

Music Department
John Carbonara	....	music editor
Marshall Chess	....	executive music producer
Howard Drossin	....	orchestrator
Steve Jordan	....	music producer
Steve Juliani	....	music preparation
David Low	....	orchestra contractor
Beth Rosenblatt	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Mac Alsfeld	....	driver: Mr. Brody/ Mr. Wright
Richard Burch	....	driver: insert car
Rick Damazio	....	transportation coordinator
George Mills	....	production driver
Jack Prince	....	transportation captain: LA unit
Monica Williamson	....	driver

Other crew
Md. Moinuddin Ali	....	production assistant
Adam Babin	....	key production office assistant: Louisiana
Caroline Berberich	....	production assistant intern
Jason Block	....	post-production accountant
Carla Borras	....	assistant: actor
Janice Brabaw	....	first assistant acccountant
Benton Collinsworth	....	set production assistant
Diana A. Delatorre	....	executive assistant: producer
Cord Dueppe	....	key office production assistant
Lisa Falzarano	....	background production assistant
Nicole Feder	....	assistant to director
Kerin Ferallo	....	production coordinator
Rosa Garces	....	second assistant accountant
Jennifer Gaston-Gates	....	first assistant accountant
Kenneth Gifford	....	production assistant
Orit Greenberg	....	location scout
Matt Grimm	....	assistant to producer
Duck Grossberg	....	data manager
Chris Hadlock	....	production coordinator: Louisiana
Micah Haley	....	assistant to cast
Kristina Hall	....	production intern
Tal Harris	....	production intern
Sally May Homer	....	production assistant
Melissa Kalbfus	....	script supervisor (as Melissa Kalbfus Paliocha)
Richard Keeshan	....	assistant production coordinator
Mary Knauf	....	set production assistant
Michelle Kowalski	....	office production assistant/runner: Louisiana
Ronnie Kupferwasser	....	location manager
Ben Ledoux	....	assistant locations: Louisiana
Robert Lopuski	....	title designer: main title sequence
SiddeeQah Na'Imah Malik	....	production assistant (as Siddeeqah Na'Imah Malik)
LeRoy McCarthy	....	assistant location manager
Marisa Murphy	....	second assistant accountant
Brendan O'Rourke	....	assistant location manager
Sandy Parker	....	script supervisor: Louisiana
Johnnie Ruth Richey	....	production secretary: Louisiana
Stephan Roux	....	assistant locations
Patrick Russell	....	production executive
Lora Sorrentino	....	production assistant
Ken Speed	....	armorer
Desiree Stevenson	....	base camp production assistant
Brian Wiggins	....	production assistant
Aaron L. Williams	....	stand-in
R. Bryan Wright	....	location manager: additional photography
April Freeman	....	consultant: product placement (uncredited)

Thanks
Steven Gorelick	....	special thanks
Etta James	....	special thanks
Roman Polanski	....	special thanks
David W. Schoner Jr.	....	special thanks
Emmanuelle Seigner	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• LightWave Entertainment (Louisiana Unit)
• Parkwood Pictures
• Sony Music Film

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2009) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2009) (UK) (theatrical)
• TriStar Pictures (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Base FX (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Columbia Records  soundtrack
• Comp Edge Media  product placement consulting (as April Freeman)
• Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing  special thanks (vintage clothing rentals)
• Hollywood Trucks  entertainment transportation
• Music World Music  soundtrack
• Sony Pictures Stock Footage  stock footage

Also Known As:

Cadillac Rock (Greece) (DVD title) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44889) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:11 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Company:

LightWave Entertainment

Trivia:

Arranger Riley Hampton, who orchestrated all of Etta's Chess hits, including "At Last" is not mentioned anywhere in the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Alan Freed introduces "Surfin' USA." The song came out in 1963, when Freed was out of the radio business.

Quotes:

Muddy Waters: You alright? Damn it.
Little Walter: I had no business being that pretty anyway.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Watchmen/Shuttle/12 (#1.2)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Juke

This is mostly fiction and an insult to the artists and the history of Chess Records.

Pretty much everything in this movie is the work of fiction. It reminds me of one of those Simpsons episodes where a TV studio does a biopic and makes up half the story for 'dramatic effect'. But this is even worse- honestly it was bad enough that the stories were fictional, but they are also just an insult to the people (for some strange reason(!) though all except the white studio owner that is, who was a hopeless romantic, who was also apparently the pioneer of the Chicago blues...all things to all men. He was a saint, everyone else, the musicians were anything but(!)) Let's get some facts clear- Leonard Chess set up the company with his brother, after working at another company Aristocrat Records. It was here they worked with Muddy Waters. So no- Muddy didn't meet Little Walter on the street and bring him into his house. And no, little Walter didn't have the hots for Muddy's wife Geneva. Although Leonard Chess was very much hands on when he started the company, by all accounts the guy who really pioneered the classic sound of the records was Willie Dixon. Who is criminally underused and treated as a one trick pony who could only write blues songs. He left in the late 50's to work at Cobra records after being underpaid by Chess- listen to those Cobra records and those at Chess- they sound pretty similar right? That's because Willie Dixon was the pioneer- Leonard Chess was the man stuck in the past.

One example of the film's dreadful portrayal of the individuals is the fictional scene where Muddy Waters meets Leonard Chess (ignoring their prior recording work at Aristocrat records). Little Walter is going to shoot another harp player who has hit him, and Muddy stands in his way. Yet the only story remotely like this in REALITY is when a friend of Little Walter's told his wife to leave a club, and she sat by Howlin' Wolf and refused to go. Little Walter was performing on stage, and had seen Howlin' Wolf get his gun out. He jumped down stage and told Wolf that if he was going to shoot his friend, he'd have to shoot him. He later arranged a meeting between his friend and Wolf, who in fact became friends despite the altercation. Which is why this movie is so frustrating- the REAL lives of these people is nothing short of fascinating, exciting and a great background to their music. By all accounts Little Walter was a bit of a loose cannon, but he was also a real person- not a one-dimensional madman who was out to destroy himself and everyone else around him. The story told in the movie is everything that is wrong with Hollywood- overblown, turgid and full of dreadful 'emotional' scenes (everything with Brody and Beyonce is so clichéd and hammed up that its cringe worthy). While the story here is just dull, the real stories have managed to fill biographies dedicated to each of these artists.

Some more inaccuracies; Little Walter never shot someone just for touring under his name- once again he was no angel, but neither does it seem was he a murderer as the movie suggests. Howlin' Wolf actually stayed with Muddy Waters when he first moved to Chicago- and sometimes they were friends, others professional rivals. Yet Muddy is chosen to be some kind of protagonist who we are supposed to feel sympathy for when another man tries to take his crown. Even worse some of the MORE fascinating characters (with all due respect to Leonard 'bore fest' Chess and Muddy Waters) of Bo Diddley, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Ike Turner or Jackie Brenston are completely ignored. Because these people were irrelevant- Chuck Berry invented Rock N Roll music all on his lonesome and no one else laid the groundwork for that (an especially contrived piece of storytelling when you consider that these guys recorded their seminal records at Chess.) But worst of all is the love story. The entire second half of the movie is dedicated to Etta James and Leonard Chess. Who by the way never had any kind of love affair- and neither did they speak like buffoons to each other about their 'feelings'. Etta James had already been a successful star before Chess- her career if anything went down hill when she joined. One of the more annoying things is that the actors do their own singing- few of them are up to the task. Beyonce is simply dreadful as Etta James vocal imitator. On a microcosm it is a perfect representation of why this is an awful movie. Beyonce's voice is overblown, she has no ability to control her vocal range without trying to jump from top to bottom every two seconds, and ultimately all the soul she tries to put on is clearly just that- put on. She doesn't have the understatement of Etta, the ability to lull you into a false sense of security before taking her voice from 0-60 in a second, and neither does she have that almost primal quality that Etta had back then. Like this movie, Beyonce's performance is overblown and lacks any character or soul.

I understand that some liberties might be taken with a story. For example, for what it is the Temptations biopic is enjoyable- yes there are discrepancies and some things that should have been more central to the story, but it did a good impression of the music and the stories behind them. Cadillac Records however is like the He-Man Masters of the Universe of music biopics- it has little to do with the source material except sharing the names and likenesses of the characters, but any representation of the source material is superficial at best. And that's the only word that really can describe this movie- superficial. You have been warned.