Head of State (film)
| Head of State | |
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Theatrical Release Poster
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| Directed by | Chris Rock |
| Produced by | Michael Rotenberg Chris Rock Ali LeRoi |
| Written by | Chris Rock Ali LeRoi |
| Starring | Chris Rock Bernie Mac Lynn Whitfield |
| Music by |
Marcus Miller DJ Quik |
| Cinematography | Donald E. Thorin |
| Edited by | Stephen A. Rotter |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | DreamWorks Pictures |
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Release date
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March 28, 2003 |
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million |
| Box office | $50 million |
Head of State is a 2003 comedy film directed, written by, and starring Chris Rock and co-starring Bernie Mac. It marked the directorial debut of Rock, who had previously worked as a writer, producer and actor.
The film's title refers to one of the key functions of the President of the United States, as the American head of state. This was the last film by cinematographer Donald E. Thorin, who died in 2016, having not worked on a film in thirteen years.
Mays Gilliam is the alderman for the 9th Ward in Washington D.C.. After learning he is likely to lose his job and getting dumped by his girlfriend, Kim, Mays is surprisingly chosen as the party candidate for the presidency after his party's original presidential and vice-presidential nominees die in a plane crash and he is lauded as a hero for saving a woman from an explosion. Assuming the election was already lost to sitting vice-president Brian Lewis, the party decided to pick a likable but unwinnable minority candidate to improve their chances in the next presidential election.
At first, Mays feels he will not be able to succeed as President because he would be representing the entire African-American populace, and does not want to do anything to mess it up. However, Mays begins to rise in the polls after his brother persuades him to speak out for what he believes. He begins to talk about issues such as welfare, money, society, etc.
After Lewis runs a series of attack ads including one saying Mays supports cancer, Mays begins to fight back using what he claimed was "kissing" his opponent (taken from Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd cartoons). A part of this strategy includes dubbing a videotape of Osama bin Laden saying he hates America but loves Brian Lewis. This strategy gains Mays even more points in the polls.
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