Hollywood Tonight Presents "Life Support" official production notes from HBO.

HBO FILMS’ LIFE SUPPORT, STARRING QUEEN LATIFAH AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY JAMIE FOXX, DEBUTS MARCH 10

Film was inspired by a true story

Directed By Nelson George; Written By Nelson George And Jim McKay & Hannah Weyer; Executive Produced By Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Shelby Stone, Jaime Rucker King, Marcus King And Shakim Compere; Produced By Mark A. Baker

All so staring:
Anna Deavere Smith, Wendell Pierce, Evan Ross, Rachel Nicks, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Gloria Reuben, Tony Rock And Tracee Ellis Ross!

HBO Films’ LIFE SUPPORT, starring Oscar® nominee and platinum-selling recording artist Queen Latifah (“Chicago”), debuts SATURDAY, MARCH 10 (8:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO, with a special Black History Month sneak preview on HBO On Demand the week of Feb. 26. Shot at various Brooklyn locations, LIFE SUPPORT is a moving and candid look at the African-American community’s HIV crisis through the eyes of a survivor who is a mother, a former addict and an AIDS activist.

Other HBO playdates: March 10 (4:30 a.m.), 12 (2:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.), 18 (2:15 p.m., 11:00 p.m.), 22 (1:00 p.m., 8:30 p.m.), 24 (8:30 a.m., 4:00 p.m.), 27 (10:00 a.m., 7:30 p.m.) and 29 (4:30 p.m., 12:30 a.m.), and April 1 (1:00 p.m.) and 17 (2:40 a.m.). HBO2 playdates: March 15 (10:00 a.m., 9:00 p.m.), 20 (noon, 11:30 p.m.), 25 (8:00 p.m.) and 30 (6:30 p.m.).

Inspired by the life of his sister and their family, director Nelson George (executive LIFE SUPPORT -- 2 producer of HBO’s “Everyday People”), in his feature-length directorial debut, co-wrote the screenplay with the writing team of Jim McKay & Hannah Weyer (HBO’s “Angel Rodriguez”). LIFE SUPPORT is executive produced by Oscar®-winning actor Jamie Foxx (“Ray”), Queen Latifah, Shelby Stone (HBO’s “Lackawanna Blues”), Jaime Rucker King (“Ray”), Marcus King (“Jamie Foxx: Unpredictable”) and Shakim Compere (“Beauty Shop”); Mark A. Baker (HBO’s “Oz”) produces. HBO Films vice president Sam Martin is the creative executive in charge of production for HBO. Also appearing in LIFE SUPPORT are Anna Deavere Smith (“The West Wing”), Wendell Pierce (HBO’s “The Wire”), Evan Ross (the upcoming “P.D.R.”), Rachel Nicks, Darrin Dewitt Henson (“Soul Food”), Gloria Reuben (“ER”), Tony Rock (“All of Us”) and Tracee Ellis Ross (“Girlfriends”).

“The impact of HIV on women in the African-American community is a crisis at the heart of contemporary American life that no one is talking about,” notes HBO Films president Colin Callender. “We are proud to be working with Nelson George on his directorial debut on a story that is so personal and so timely.” As reported in the May 15, 2006, issue of Newsweek, “Twenty-five years after the virus was first documented in gay white men, HIV has increasingly become a disease of color…African-Americans make up just 13 percent of the U.S. population but account for an astounding 51 percent of new HIV diagnoses. Black men are diagnosed at more than seven times the rate of white men, black females at 20 times the rate of white women.”

LIFE SUPPORT uses a mix of actors and real people from the HIV/AIDS community to tell the story of HIV-positive Ana Wallace, who channels her energy and regret over her past drug addiction into working for Life Support, an AIDS outreach group. Wallace’s obsessive passion for her job puts her health at risk, and her stubbornness threatens to drive her already fractured family away. When her mother announces that she’s selling her home and moving south, and plans to take Wallace’s daughter with her, Ana is forced to confront her past mistakes and learns a poignant lesson about loving and letting go.

Director and co-writer Nelson George got the idea to make a film inspired by his family – and more specifically, his sister Andrea’s life – about five years ago. “I was following Andrea around for a month or two to different AIDS events. At one event in Bed-Stuy for World AIDS Day they were giving testimonials at a support group. When they finished, everyone went to the rooftop carrying red balloons, and they released them one by one in the name of someone who had died. It was very emotional. I knew right then and there that I would work some of that into the film, and it later became the ending of LIFE SUPPORT.”

Says Queen Latifah, “What appealed to me about the project is that I could relate to the story. I spent a lot of time in Brooklyn during my teenage years, and I was very fortunate to come through that time period healthy, and to change my life and get back on course. I can relate to the character of Ana in that respect.” For George, Queen Latifah was the perfect choice to play his sister and represent the women he met with HIV. “Latifah embodies the spirit these women have. I think this is one of the first roles she’s had that has allowed her to project the totality of her being.

She embodies a certain strength and dignity in her work, and it seemed like it was a natural fit. She’s a phenomenal talent. “As I began doing more and more research for the film, I realized that this story was far larger than my own family and the film I started out to make. All of the amazing women I met at these support groups – this is their story. They are part of the group that accounts for 51% of new diagnoses, and some of the locations where we shot have some of the highest rates of infection in the country. I wanted to give a voice and a face to people who appear to be just statistics, but are far more than that.”

Discussing the casting of LIFE SUPPORT, George says, “What’s interesting about this project is that we cast several real people, not professional actors, to take on a few of the roles, and some of the exchanges weren’t scripted at all. It’s very interesting to observe reality versus fiction being shot. It’s a chance we took by casting nonprofessional actors, but these women are used to making presentations before groups who are hostile about their message, so they’ve formed big personalities. They come across on screen.”

George observes, “I think Evan Ross is going to be a star. I auditioned what felt like a million people for the role of Amare, and he came in and just cut right through. It was like, ‘Whoah! This kid is the truth!’ It was only after I suggested that we hire him that I found out that he is Diana Ross’ son. But forget the pedigree – he’s genuinely got the goods.

Executive producer Shelby Stone has known Tracee Ellis Ross for years and knew that while she is a tremendously gifted comedienne, she is also a wonderful dramatic actress. Says Stone, “We needed somebody who could stand up to Queen Latifah in a believable way. In one show-stopping scene, Tracee was able to do that.” And so, Evan and Tracee, who are siblings in real life, became siblings on screen as well. Notes George, “Rachel Nicks is perfect as Kelly. I wanted someone who looked very feminine but was also sporty, who was a little progressive, and of course, who could act. I felt Rachel had the best combination of acting skills and the kind of look I like for the role. Would you believe I cast her the day before she graduated from Juilliard?

“Gloria Reuben coming aboard is interesting because she has a strong history of AIDS activism going back to her ‘ER’ days, being one of the first characters in prime time to have the virus. She was actually working on a project right across the hall from us and was interested in auditioning. I was familiar not only with her acting, of course, but her real-life work with HIV, so I actually expanded Sandra’s part for her.”

Jamie Foxx, one of the executive producers on the project, says he was attracted to the film first and foremost because “LIFE SUPPORT confronts the epidemic of HIV in the African-American community, but unlike most films on HIV, it is not about dying from the virus, but living with it, and how the past continues to live with you. The film is overtly a story about living with HIV, but it is also about the struggle to forgive.” Executive producer Shelby Stone points out that “this is not a ‘hood’ movie. It’s a working-class poor movie, and that’s a very important distinction. These are people who are building families and working and having a life. Maybe not in the best neighborhoods, but with a lot of dignity.”

Adds Nelson George, “The most important message to take away is that we need to reconnect with HIV right here in the States. It’s killing a lot of people, it’s altering the lives of the people it hasn’t killed, and it’s totally preventable. If this film reopens that dialogue, we’ve done good.” LIFE SUPPORT was shot close to where Nelson George grew up. “This film is formed by my past, so it’s great to have my past in many of the shots.”