By Tonisha Johnson

What inspired you Anthony to take on this role?

Anthony Anderson: It was just time for me to move my career in a different direction. I had done 26 films up until this point. 24 of them all comedy. And before I got type cast as the fat funny guy. And it thought, let me just switch this real quick. Let me just take myself out of this and let me just sit back until something needs to come across my desk like Hustle & Flow. Or until I create something like this. At the same time I was making that conscious choice, Hustle & Flow had come across my desk. I was like, ok, this is the direction that I’m moving into. So that’s why I did it.

And you Elise?

Anthony Anderson: She ain’t had nothing else to do last summer.

Elise Neal: John and I had worked together before on Rosewood. And John had just called me up and said, I ‘m going to be sending this script over to you. I don’t know what part your going to be playing yet but I definitely know your going to be part of what people who have a voice of Memphis to be apart of the movie. And I was born and raised there. I read it and I wanted to be Lexus. I wanted to be something different. I’m always playing the supportive wife or the supportive girlfriend. And I wanted to stretch myself with this film if I had opportunity.

Anthony Anderson: Ok…if you consider being a ho a stretch.

Elise Neal: I did. (laughing)

Anthony Anderson: I know how you used to get your early work.

Elise Neal: Anyway. You have to just keep talking. So, umm. I said that’s what I want to play and he said that’s not going to happen. I decided to approach this in a way to find more ways to make her more special than the average person. And make her more about her relationship with her husband. And not make it more about losing him with the growth that he wanted but try to support him and to really make a change in herself to allow her to grow with him and oppose to him wanting to leave her or change too much.

But that was a very strong role you had to play; a supportive wife of a husband who spends his day in a whorehouse.

Elise Neal: Exactly. And…

Anthony Anderson: This is my bottom bitch. DJay ain’t the only one with a bottom bitch. Write about that.

Elise Neal: I can’t follow that comment (laughing). I really feel like you should write about that.

Anthony Anderson: I mean, I ain’t said I was no pimp or nothing. But he ain’t the only one that had a bottom bitch in his corner.

Was their every a chance taking on this film knowing it was an independent film?

Anthony Anderson: No. That’s why I took it. When you do independent films, you really get to do the work. One you don’t have the studio breathing over your neck. Telling you what you can and cannot do because their writing the check. This was a labor of love for all of us involved. We were doing this because we were all friends. There was a script that we wanted to do and a story that we wanted to tell. Very seldom are you able to assemble a cast the way we did and tell a story as gritty and as real and as much heart to it as Hustle & Flow. I jumped at the opportunity to do it because you really don’t act much for the most part in a lot of these Hollywood films. It’s become about making commercial films. And sometimes you loose the component of being an actor because there’ such spectacles. And that’s not to take anything away from the films that they make in Hollywood but they’ve become spectacles now. This is the bare bones of what acting is all about. There was no vanity there. We’re all sharing a trailer. Were working six day weeks on a 24 day shoot to make this happen. And that’s why you jump at the opportunity to make films like this. Not all of them come out like this either.

What was the rehearsing like for this movie?

Elise Neal: I didn’t really have much rehearsal. Only what we decided amongst ourselves what we’d take time to do. Like he said, we didn’t have money to fly us in a week early and break down scenes and break down characters. But again, that’s why they assembled the cast that they did. They trusted us prior to giving us the roles. They knew they only had enough time to just begin shooting. And they felt they had the right people who were going to make it strong without a lot of rehearsal time.

Anthony Anderson: Yeah. Rehearsal in a film is luxury. You’re afforded that luxury in an independent film.

How long did it take to shoot some scenes?

Anthony Anderson: Umm. You know. Umm…shit. Aaah, I don’t know. Sometimes we…on an average film you shoot 2, no more than 4 pages of dialogue a day. And that’s a lot to do 4 pages of dialogue. Sometimes we shot 9 pages of dialogue a day. You know, so that’s how we were working. We would spend a day in the studio and maybe shoot 3 or 4 scenes out of the film maybe that day.

Elise Neal: Hot!

Anthony Anderson: That’s how we were working. That sweat you saw on the film…that was real sweat. This is the first time were I’m working on the film were you’re supposed to be hot and sweaty, were the director would yell cut and be like, could somebody dry him off? That was real. That’s how we were working on this.

How was it working with Craig? A new director; him coming aboard.

Anthony Anderson: I felt, if he could write this. Then it would be no problem for him to direct this. And first day of shooting, if I had any worries, they went away. But I wasn’t worried at all because not only did we have a great writer/director in Craig, but we also had a great producer/director in John Singleton. So, there wasn’t any trepidation on my part with regards to 'can this guy pull this off'. Because if he did stumble on anything, I knew John had his back and John was capable to make it work. But he didn’t. Craig kept it moving. This is all Craig up on that screen. This wasn’t a ghost director, you know, John pulling the strings. That was Craig’ vision and Craig’ work up there.

Elise Neal: A lot of first time directors are not as confident in the material because it’s not their words. Craig always made us feel very comfortable and a full explanation of what he wanted from us in a way a 2 or 3 time director would. And that makes it a lot easier for someone to work for you.

Anthony Anderson: Sometimes too much of an explanation (laughing). Like…yell action!

Elise Neal: A lot of Hustle & Flow is small pieces of his life. Of his own reality. And he’s so close to it that you felt that in talking to him before every scene. To make sure that you got that. And you were very comfortable?

Anthony Anderson: Mmm Hmm.

Anthony, were you familiar with crunk music prior to your role?

Elise Neal: He don’t know what crunk music is.

Anthony Anderson: I guess I wasn’t (laughing). No. I was familiar with it. I have family in Memphis. I got family in the south. Just cause I’m not a Memphian like some people next to me. Crunk didn’t come out of Memphis.

Elise Neal: Hey, hey, hey know. Careful. I didn’t say that it did.

Anthony Anderson: Well, you poppin' your gum and your rock candy, like, hmm, this our shit! You don’t know nothing about that. You from Compton. You got Eazy E!

Where does crunk come from?

Anthony Anderson: It came from crank up your stereo and crank up your car. And if your car is already cranked; you crunk.

Elise Neal: You have to excuse us. This is how we are. Crunk music definitely developed in the south. The sound. The energy. Memphis music has been making an impact for a century.

Anthony Anderson: A century? That’s a hundred years.

Elise Neal: Almost a hundred years. Ok. Almost a century.

Anthony Anderson: Ok so, this is 2005. So, back since 1905 (laughing). Staxx wasn’t around back then. Staxx wasn’t around back then.

Elise Neal: No. Staxx wasn’t around back then.

Anthony Anderson: We just got over the reconstruction period.

Elise Neal; I mean just Staxx and Elvis. And our music has always had an impact. And I’m just happy to see it be put on the screen.

Anthony Anderson: So did Eazy E. And there was gangsta rap back in 88’.

Elise Neal: I’m talking about the movie.

Anthony Anderson: I’m just giving a history to rap cause you couldn’t give a history to crunk.

What gives you more pleasure; doing the comedic side or the dramatic side? Which do you enjoy?

Anthony Anderson: I enjoy both and I believe that was what my energy was created to do. To entertain. So, that’s my life. You guys were just fortunate enough to get the comedic stuff for the last 6 or 7 years. Now you’re going to get the converse of that hopefully in the next few years. And get to see me enjoy that as well. Because if you enjoy what I did making you laugh, just hold on and wait till you can see what I can do on this side.