Willoughby AvenueWhat do you get when you take one critically acclaimed director, a handful of virtually unknown (albeit very talented) actors, a sprinkle of Hollywood cool kids, a dose of the flyest things about 1990s hip-hop culture and a smattering of Molly?
You get one dope movie… literally. Dope—premiering tonight at New York City’s American Black Film Festival—is the latest offering from Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood, Brown Sugar), which follows a group of misfit kids indoctrinated in ’90s hip hop culture who walk to the beat of their own drum.
Malcolm, Diggy and Jib are just trying to get through their high school years, while navigating the rough streets of Inglewood, California, and rocking out in their own punk band when a chance visit to a hot party for one of the neighborhood “D Boys” sets them on an unforgettable journey.
Dope became a darling of the Sundance Film festival this year, starting a bidding war that launched major buzz around the film. But none of this was a shock to director Famuyiwa, who says he knew he had something good.
“I felt confident in the script from the very beginning, even when there was a lot of people who thought this was really crazy and didn’t get it,” he says. “So for me it was always about, if we can get it made we can get it out there and get people watching it, I felt like we were doing something that people were ready for and wanted to see. But personally, I felt it was me. I wanted to express something and honestly didn’t care whether it was widely received, because I just felt it was something that needed to be said, or I needed to say.”
Famuyiwa may have known he had a great story to tell, but without the right cast and producing team in place, this little film could have ended up being buried during the summer rollout of superheroes, dinosaurs and talking teddys.
Enter producers Forest Whitaker with his Significant Productions and Pharrell Williams with his i am Other Entertainment, who joined forces with Famuyiwa and took careful time finding the perfect cast and music for the project. Williams not only co-produced the film, but also was on hand to produce and track all the original music for the kid’s band, Awreeoh.