FILM · 2005 · USA
Hustle & Flow
25 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (25)
- #001
To prepare for his role, Terrence Howard interviewed 123 pimps and 78 prostitutes over two and a half years. He also lived with four different pimps, including a month spent in a Memphis brothel.
- #002
Craig Brewer added several touches from his personal life to the script. His wife worked at a strip club and then became pregnant. He had to turn off the air conditioning to make the edit, or the breaker would trip. He had actually seen a black pimp and a white prostitute with braids trying to conduct business in a car near a local hotel.
- #003
Djay says the word "mane" 221 times.
- #004
During filming in Memphis, Anthony Anderson and assistant director Wayne Witherspoon were arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a woman Witherspoon had allegedly lured to a production trailer. The charges against both were later dismissed by the presiding judge.
- #005
The gold watch belonging to Djay's late father actually belonged to Craig Brewer's late father and mentor, Walter.
- #006
The film is dedicated to Sam Phillips, who discovered Elvis Presley and founded Sun Records. Phillips's do-it-yourself aesthetic inspired Craig Brewer to write the film.
- #007
The producers persuaded star Terrence Howard to live in Memphis for a while before production began, so he could learn the dialect and soak up the setting.
- #008
The film was financed by John Singleton.
- #009
The performances of Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson amount to an almost prequel to Empire (2015), particularly as backstory for their television characters.
- #010
Distribution rights were sold to Paramount Pictures/MTV Films for $9 million at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, a festival record.
- #011
Garrett Hedlund auditioned for the role of Shelby but was considered too good-looking.
- #012
Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson and Paula Jai Parker are all graduates of Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- #013
The original title was "Hook, Hustle & Flow."
- #014
Djay shoots a member of Skinny Black's entourage. In real life, that actor was discovered by Ludacris; the two collaborated on his first rap album, "Incognegro."
- #015
Terence Howard was paid only $12,000 for his role in this film.
- #016
Djay's prison uniform reads SCDC, which stands for Shelby County Department of Corrections.
- #017
After the film won the Oscar for Best Original Song, host Jon Stewart joked that Three 6 Mafia were ahead of Martin Scorsese in Oscar wins. Scorsese would later win an Oscar for directing The Departed (2006).
- #018
Terrence Howard and Ludacris also appeared in Crash (2004), which was released on May 6, 2005.
- #019
When DJ Qualls's character says Djay's necklace is nice and that he wants it, it is a nod to his own name.
- #020
Terrence Howard is the second actor to be nominated for an Oscar for playing a pimp; the first was Morgan Freeman for Street Smart (1987) (Best Supporting Actor).
- #021
As of 2026, this is the only performance for which Terrence Howard has been nominated for an Oscar.
- #022
The film won the Audience Award at the 2005 Nashville Film Festival.
- #023
Lindsay Roberts briefly appears as Harper, reprising the role she played in Craig Brewer's first film, The Poor & Hungry (2000).
- #024
Anthony Anderson and Elise Neal both appear in the Scream films. Neal played Hallie in Scream 2, while Anderson played Vice Perkins in Scream 4.
- #025
Terrence Howard and Anthony Anderson had previously appeared together in Big Momma's House (2000).
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work