After countless supporting roles, Terrence Howard took the lead in Hustle & Flow by rising writer/director Craig Brewer. The story of a pimp who dreams of hip-hop stardom sounds trite, but critics were surprised by a "top-class drama" that didn't glamorise the ghetto lifestyle. It won the Audience Award at Sundance 2005 and Howard went on to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Hustling For Money

For a year, Howard didn't even look at the script because he wanted to get away from playing pimps and drug dealers. In the featurette Behind The Hustle he reveals that it was the first line of dialogue that finally hooked him on the project as well as the passion of the filmmakers. Regarding the portrait he painted, Brewer explains, "This is not your golden goblet, jewel encrusted, covered in silk threads and Kangols and all that pageantry" - in fact, Howard sums it up nicely, calling DJay "a pimp in a midlife crisis." We also hear from the rest of the cast, including Paula Jai Parker who underwent a brutal regime of pole dancing that left her bruised and battered. "John put me in the crunkiest strip club in Memphis," she explains, "And then he said, 'Go learn!'".

The 'John' Paula speaks of is none other than Boyz 'N' The Hood helmer John Singleton who dipped into his own pocket to get the film made. The featurette By Any Means Necessary reveals that over 50 producers turned it down because a) it's about a pimp b) Craig Brewer is white. Among the feedback from the studios were suggestions like, "Can it be about a plumber?" at which point Singleton decided he'd had enough and broke the cardinal rule of filmmaking, 'Never use your own money'. Ironically, the story of getting the film made runs parallel with the story in the film - although Singleton never did any pimping as far as we know...

Crazy And Drunk = Crunk

Naturally music was a vital part of the mix. Creatin' Crunk listens in on jamming sessions with composer Scott Bomar and his band of veteran Memphis musicians who create that authentic 70s vibe. "Memphis is the Mesopotamia of modern music," raves Brewer - tracing hip-hop music through the sound of the blues. Even Isaac Hayes (who plays Arnel) drops in to check on progress and for comedy value there's a Country & Western rendition of the Oscar-winning song It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp!

In his audio commentary, Brewer recalls pitching the film to Hayes as: "Truck Turner grows up" (referring to one of his early blaxploitation flicks). He hardly stops for breath between dispensing scraps of behind-the-scenes trivia and citing a wide range of influences that includes Irish musical pic The Commitments. He explains that Hustle took a mere 23 days to shoot, but he allowed himself certain indulgences (on Singleton's dollar, of course), eg shooting with two cameras so the actors could improvise more freely. He also explains the roots of the project and DJay's weird Shirley Temple hairstyle. (Apparently it was Howard's idea.)

Similarly strange is an Easter egg hidden in the first extras menu. Just click in the region around DJay's neck and you'll be treated to rapper Ludacris (aka Skinny Black) running around the woods with a gun, blathering like a madman. Well, you've gotta have a hobby... Finally, footage from the Memphis premiere sees Brewer completely overwhelmed by legions of screaming fans. (Thankfully Ludacris is not among them.) It's a neat finish to what is a modest but inspiring set of extras. In the end it seems, the hustle paid off.

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