George Tillman Jr.

George Tillman, Jr. is a critically acclaimed screenwriter, director, and film producer who has been involved in powerhouse projects like "Barbershop", "Soul Food", "Men of Honor", and "Notorious". In addition to directing features, Tillman has directed numerous television projects including Starz' "Power", Netflix/Marvel's "Luke Cage", and NBC's dramedy "This is Us".

Tillman's career kicked off in 1994 when he directed his first feature film, "Scenes for the Soul". Since then, he has worked on over twenty films, which all received wide releases. Following the success of his first film, Tillman began to write a script, "Soul Food", loosely based on his own life. "Soul Food" began production in 1996 with a cast that included Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Mekhi Phifer, Michael Beach, Irma P. Hall, and Brandon Hammond. Modestly budgeted at $7 million, "Soul Food" opened to both critical and financial success, grossing over $43 million domestically.

Tillman’s next directorial effort was "Men of Honor", an epic story inspired by the life of Carl Brashear, a man who battled the obstacles of racism, a lack of education, and the loss of his leg to become the United States Navy's first African-American Master deep sea diver. The film starred Oscar-winning actors Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Robert De Niro with an ensemble cast that included Charlize Theron, Michael Rapaport, Lonette McKee, Glynn Turman, and Hal Holbrook. Made on a $34 million budget, the film went on to gross $85 million worldwide.

After the success of "Men of Honor", Tillman ventured into producing. In addition to his role as Executive Producer of the beloved "Soul Food: The Series" for Showtime Networks, Tillman co-produced the beloved MGM "Barbershop" franchise films, which grossed over $200 million worldwide, "Roll Bounce" with Bob Teitel, and acted as Executive Producer on 2017’s "Mudbound", which went on to receive four Academy Award nominations.

Tillman returned to the director's chair in 2007 to direct the edgy telling of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s life in the biopic NOTORIOUS. The film starred Jamal Woolard as Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean "Puffy" Combs, Oscar-nominated Angela Bassett as Voletta Wallace, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur. The film grossed $36 million, Fox Searchlight’s biggest opening at the time.

He has since directed the thriller "Faster" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the romantic drama film "The Longest Ride", based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name, and "The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete". The film was critically acclaimed. Mister and Pete explored the hardships experienced by two young boys living alone in extreme poverty in a housing projects in Brooklyn. The cast includes Jennifer Hudson, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright, Skylan Brooks, and Ethan Dizon. The film was distributed by Lionsgate.

Tillman’s latest feature film is the critically acclaimed THE HATE U GIVE that opened to rave reviews in October 2018. The HATE U GIVE is the adaptation of The New York Times’ young adult best-seller novel "The Hate You Give (Thug)" written by Angie Thomas, which was released by 20th Century Fox. The story follows a 16-year-old African American girl struggling to find her voice after the horrific shooting death of her friend by a white police officer.

Most recently, Tillman directed the pilot for the highly successful TV show FOR LIFE on ABC, which is a legal and family drama about an imprisoned man who becomes a lawyer, litigating cases for other inmates while fighting to overturn his own life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. The show opened to rave reviews and received the highest audience testing scores ABC had ever received. Currently, he is in pre-production for a new film with Sony and is set to move into production for this movie in 2021.