The Help was a surprise hit in the summer of 2011 and it cleaned up at the box office as well as during award season the following year. The film tells the story of women of color who serve as maids to a white family in the south during the 1960s.
The film blends real life with fiction in an attempt to capture a portrait of the region during that time. Though the film was somewhat controversial, it was a launching point for several stars' careers.
International Co-Production
The world of film finance is complicated and it is becoming more and more complicated every year. Traditionally, films are financed by one large studio, but in special cases additional funding can be raised elsewhere.
In the case of The Help, as reported by the BFI, the film was a three-way co-production between interests in the U.S, India, and the United Arab Emirates. Considering the fact that the film was a tremendous hit, the financial gamble of the production seemed to be a worthy investment.
Blending Fiction And Non-Fiction
Though the lives of the characters was, at most, loosely based on the lives of real people, many of the film's historical events really happened. One of the most important moments in the novel and film is the assassination of Medgar Evers, a civil rights leader from Mississippi.
The assassination is essentially used as the crux of the story and is what spurs the characters to come forward and tell their stories. What makes The Help such an interesting story is the blending of both fiction and non-fiction into its narrative.
Taylor And Stockett Connection
Writer and director Tate Taylor had a special connection to the source material of The Help that would lead him to eventually direct the film adaptation. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Taylor was a childhood friend of author Kathryn Stockett and actually optioned the rights of the book before it was even published.
The novel is drawn from Stockett's own personal experience growing up in Mississippi and she included details from her own life. Meanwhile, Tate's connection to the material made him distinctly qualified to direct the film.
Controversy And Regret
Though the film was a tremendous hit, all was not positive for The Help upon its release. Audiences may have gone in droves to see it but many critics, especially from communities of color, were upset with its portrayal of history. Most notably, actress Viola Davis was quoted in the New York Times as expressing regret over her participation in the movie when she said she "betrayed myself and my people".
The crux of the controversy hinges on the question of perspective. Because a majority of the production team was white, the authenticity of the narrative is questioned. Though the film was a big leg up for several performer's careers, there is regret in having participated.
Unconventional Summer Blockbuster
Summer is typically the time when Hollywood dumps its biggest tent pole movies on audiences and is when they make a majority of their money for the year. However, The Help arrived at the tail end of the summer of 2011 and dethroned several sure-fire hits. According to Box Office Mojo, The Help grossed over 100 million dollars in only twenty-one days.
That feat is impressive considering it was only one of two films to accomplish that feat in the month of August 2011. Quirky drama-comedies aren't typically gigantic blockbusters but The Help proved to be one of the biggest sleeper hits of the year.
Box Office Movie Marathon
Not only did The Help gross a tremendous amount of money during its theatrical run, it also reigned supreme longer than any film in years. As reported by Box Office Mojo, The Help was the number one film in the U.S for twenty-five days straight, the longest such streak since The Sixth Sense's thirty-five day streak in 1999.
Longevity is important when it comes to box office success and The Help proved that its big opening weekend wasn't a fluke. Traditionally, films see a large drop off after their first weekend but The Help saw very slight declines over its month in theaters.
Disney And Dreamworks
The Help's production was a long time coming and it took quite a while for the funding to be secured. However, production isn't the only complicated part of the filmmaking process and distribution also offers unique challenges. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film was financed and produced by Dreamworks but distributed by the Walt Disney Company.
Disney has several subsidiaries and The Help was distributed internationally by their Touchstone imprint which usually handles dramas. The connection is interesting because Disney and Dreamworks usually go head-to-head when it comes to the production of their respective animated feature films.
The Real Mississippi
One of the demands that author Kathryn Stockett had for the adaptation of her novel was that the production film on-location in Mississippi. The film's location was so integral to the story that the author didn't want any Hollywood fakery to portray her home state. Therefore, as reported in the local newspaper, many of the locations featured in the film were actual locations in town.
One integral spot, Brent's Drugs was recreated for the film and is an actual store in Clarkesdale Mississippi. The authenticity of the locations is what lends the film a lot of its visual interest. There is something specific about the Deep South that couldn't be recreated on a studio set.
The Inspiration For Minny
Sometimes an actor's appearance in a film is a clever bit of casting that helps to elevate the project. However, sometimes an actor was intended for the role all along and even had a hand in it. According to Entertainment Weekly, author Kathryn Stockett was inspired to write the character of Minny when she met Octavia Spencer.
Spencer would eventually be cast in the role once the film began pre-production and she went on to be one of the most memorable characters in the film. Having a part written specifically for an actor is usually a recipe for success and in the case of The Help, it certainly was.
Good For Mississippi
The United States' Deep South region is often neglected by the world of Hollywood and not many films are produced there. Mississippi in particular isn't known as a hotbed for film production, therefore The Help was a big boon for the state, artistically speaking. According to the Associated Press, The Help was the largest production in Mississippi since the Coen Brother's classic film O Brother Where Art Thou? from 1999.
By shooting the film on location, the state's locales were given a chance to shine and interest in Mississippi increased. On top of that, the production helped to infuse money into the local communities by hiring locally for some of the crew roles.