Posted by | Cyrena Rose
Director Tim Story‘s filmmaking career places him atop all other black directors. He is the highest grossing black director; the 5 studio movies he helmed have collectively grossed close to $900 million worldwide! Still, he is relatively unknown & the success of Think Like A Man did not place him on Hollywood’s A-list.
According to a story posted on the L.A.Times Story’s latest film, Think Like a Man, made on a meager $12-million budget, is now a significant comedy hit, having grossed $82 million domestically in its first 24 days of release. Making a comedy with a 7-to-1 box-office-to-budget ratio is a rare feat, the kind of success that normally catapults a director onto the A-list of comedy filmmakers.
Check out Story’s film creds:
- Think Like A Man (2012); grossed $82 million worldwide ona $12 million budget
- Hurricane Season (2010); went straight to DVD
- First Sunday (2008) Producer
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007); grossed $290 million worldwide on a $130 million budget
- Fantastic Four (2005); grossed $330 million worldwide on a $100 million budget
- Taxi (2004); grossed $69 million worldwide on a $25 million budget
- Barbershop (2002); grossed $70 million worldwide on a $12 million budget
Why then, with his unmeasured accomplishments as an African-American director, is Tim Story not an A-lister? L.A. Times reports he’s still working at a disadvantage because he’s a black filmmaker at a time when the people who run today’s studios are overwhelmingly white and not especially well-versed or even particularly curious about African American culture.
Hopefully, sooner than later, Tim Story will get the respect he deserves as a director and will become a familiar name along with Tyler Perry, Antoine Fuqua, Spike Lee, John Singleton and F. Gary Gray!
What are your thoughts?
