Q & A John Singleton

By Sora Song

At Sundance, Paramount and MTV Films paid $9 million for Hustle & Flow, about a pimp with a mid-life crisis, and gave producer John Singleton an additional $7 million for two future films

Did you expect this kind of response to your movie?

Well, we knew we had made a great film. We were just looking forward to going to Sundance and showing it.

You had to make Hustle with your own money. Why did the studios reject it?

I think people working at the studios now are afraid of what's cool and hip. It's kind of cool to have it happen this way, that no one wanted this picture and that we fought hard to make it on our own. It's poetic justice for everyone to have to come back and tell us why they think they should be a part of putting the picture out. I think it has kind of embarrassed the industry and shown them that they need to trust us to make cool pictures.

In your past films, you have used relative unknowns who later found success--Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube. Was that the plan?

I always seek out new talent. I've rarely had the luxury of working with movie stars. I've always had to find the next movie stars.

And now you're working with Mark Wahlberg on your next film, Four Brothers.

Yeah, yeah. And he is a movie star.

So you'll continue to seek new talent?

My goal is basically to raise money and bring in new filmmakers and give them a chance, like I was given a chance ... All you have to have is a good story, some great actors, a little bit of money, and you can make a great film.