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Source: Daniel Zuchnik / Getty Did you know  Drumline was inspired by the life of super producer Dallas Austin ? Or that director Charles Stone III ‘s only major credits before shooting  Drumline  were for  Paid In Full  and the Budweiser “Whassup” commercial ? The Undefeated interviewed Nick Cannon , Orlando Jones ,  Zoe Saldana  and more for an in-depth look at the making and legacy of   the classic HBCU coming-of-age story. Here’s how far the studio went to make sure a White character was included: Jody Gerson (Producer): The studio kept focusing on a white character. That we had to have a white character to market the movie. Dallas Austin ( Executive producer film and soundtrack, music supervisor):  I got a call from Fox. They said, ‘Dallas, we don’t know how to say this, but put white people in the movie.’ I said, ‘OK, how many white people do you want?’ They said, ‘We want somebody in the band. … We have to have a character, because now it’s turning into a black movie.’ Charles Stone III ( Director):  The studio wanted a white character in the midst of this ensemble of color in order to support or give us the amount of money we wanted. We needed $20 million to make it. They were offering us $15 million. Dallas: First, it was a $13 million movie, which is a lot for an urban film, so to speak, at that time. I was trying to tell them, it’s not an urban film, it’s a story … it’s a team story. We started going over $13 million, because nobody knew what it was like to film 300-piece marching bands. Charles Stone III:   In order for me to get the additional $5 million, I had to create a white character. Dallas:  I said, ‘Let me see how a white kid’s story would be inside of a black marching band without making it ridiculous.’ I go to Morris Brown College one day, and I see this kid. He’s one of the cymbal players, a white kid with red hair. I said, ‘Where’d you come from?’ He said, ‘In Atlanta, down the street. I’ve always wanted to be in the band because I grew up in the neighborhood.’ We followed that story into GQ’s character. Jayson Flore (GQ):  I got this appointment for Drumline … and Charles was like, ‘Hey, can you play the drum?’ … I wasn’t trained growing up, playing the drums, but I’m a musician. So I saw the question as, ‘Do you have rhythm?’ I’m like, ‘Fuck yeah, I got rhythm.’ It’s funny that I ended up getting the role where the guy has rhythm issues. Read the full feature here . Oral History of 'Drumline': 'In order for me to get the additional $5 million, I had to create a white character.' https://t.co/E6B1d6SOgF pic.twitter.com/h4WCpy4c2n — The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) October 22, 2017

Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana And More Remember ‘Drumline’ 15 Years Later