BLACK AND WHITE
Year: 2000
USA: Palm Pictures / Screen Gems
UK: Columbia Pictures
Cast: Scott Caan, Robert Downey Jr, Stacy Edwards, Allan Houston, Gaby Hoffmann, Kidada Jones, Jared Leto, Marla Maples, Joe Pantoliano, Bijou Phillips, Power, Raekwon, Claudia Schiffer, William Lee Scott, Brooke Shields, Method Man, Joe Pantoliano, Ben Stiller, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Elijah Wood
Director: James Toback
Country: USA
USA: 98 mins
UK: 99 mins
USA Rated: R for strong sexuality, graphic language, some violence and drug use (previously rated NC-17)
UK Certificate: 18 for sex, violence and strong language
USA Release Date: 7 April 2000
UK: Release Date: 17 November 2000
Synopsis
BLACK AND WHITE is a searing, comedic and exhilarating look at race, sex and hip hop in the melting pot that is Manhattan at the turn of the 21st century.
When Rich Bower (Oli "Power" Grant) decides to leave behind his life of crime and re-invent himself as a hip hop impresario, he is confronted for the first time by the internecine dealings of the white world. Documentary filmmaker Sam Donager (Brooke Shields) and her fascinatingly perverse husband (Robert Downey Jr) enter the scene as they follow a group of privileged uptown teenagers who, intrigued by Rich and his crowd, find themselves drawn to the hip hop lifestyle.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to all, NYPD detective Mark Clear (Ben Stiller) attempts to trap Rich Bower by blackmailing his childhood friend, Dean (Allan Houston), a popular college basketball player. When Dean's malevolent girlfriend Greta (Claudia Schiffer) tells Rich about the sting, she sets in motion a chain of events that will change everyone's lives forever.
BLACK AND WHITE features an eclectic cast of cultural icons, hip hop stars and athletes, as well as Power and Raekwon of the popular hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan in addition to appearances by Mike Tyson and "Rush Hour" director Brett Ratner as themselves. BLACK AND WHITE is the latest film from acclaimed writer/director James Toback. Based on his original screenplay and set in his hometown of New York City. The film is driven by a pulsing soundtrack from Loud Records / Palm Pictures.
