Honey Production Information

Costume consultant and stylist O’Neal McKnight adds, “We got key accessories that make Honey urban fabulous. To define it, urban fabulous is Mary J. Blige, Eve… it’s about girls that come from the inner city and are beautiful, confident in their own skin, stylish and very cutting edge.”

The costume department built thousands of costumes for Alba and the 70 dancers who perform in the film. Matheson explains, “Dancers have such specific requirements because they have to be able to move. Most of Jessica’s costumes were built as well. Honey’s a free spirit, she doesn’t follow the crowd and her clothing has to reflect that.”

Costumes were hand painted, fabrics were pieced together like a collage, and pictures of Rick James and Diana Ross were printed on her t-shirts. Matheson’s hunt for the right look took her to Harlem, where she noticed that a lot of the women wore gold bamboo hoop earnings. “We found the neighborhood jeweler and had a pair made for Honey, as well as a ring that says ‘Honey.’ The character wears it all the time.”

Matheson knows that people sometimes put more care into the way they dress than they are willing to admit. “They care about their color palette, the color of their sneakers, the color of their shirt and how it all goes together,” comments the designer.

McKnight continues, “In the urban community, it’s all about uniform. The football jersey needs to match the sneakers, the baseball hat has got to match the jersey.” McKnight’s extensive contacts with several urban fashion companies in New York were instrumental in getting support from such labels as Phat Farm, Sean John, Rock Well and Snooze People.

On the challenges of costuming large casts, Matheson says, “On a movie like this where there are so many people and so many costumes, you have to be like a rubber band, able to bounce back very quickly.”

She specifically recalls dealing with an audition scene and reflects, “In the scene, everybody auditions with a top hat and wearing character shoes, which are high-heeled dance shoes. Bille decided to add 40 dancers. We had about 40 minutes to run around Toronto to find 40 more top hats—that had to be aged, by the way—and 40 more pairs of character shoes. Crew were going to the stores asking for the hats and shoes and the staff kept saying, ‘We don’t have that anymore—the people on Honey bought them all.’”

Universal Pictures Presents A Marc Platt / NuAmerica Production: Honey, starring Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, Joy Bryant and Lil’ Romeo. The original score is by Mervyn Warren. The costume designer is Susan Matheson. The film is edited by Mark Helfrich, A.C.E., and Emma E. Hickox, A.C.E. The production designer is Jasna Stefanovich. The director of photography is John R. Leonetti. The executive producer is Billy Higgins. Honey is produced by Marc Platt and Andre Harrell; written by Alonzo Brown & Kim Watson; and directed by Bille Woodruff. ©2003 Universal Studios. www.honeymovie.net

JESSICA ALBA (Honey Daniels) marks her first starring role in a major studio film with Honey. She most recently starred in James Cameron’s Dark Angel, Cameron’s first project since the history-making Titanic and his first television venture. Jessica made a stellar debut in FOX’s one-hour drama, starring as Max, a genetically-enhanced human prototype who escapes from her government captors only to live out her life in the underground of 21st Century Seattle. In the series’ first season, she was nominated for a Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award. She won the TV Guide Award as Breakout Star of the Year—voted on by readers of the popular magazine—and Jessica was voted Favorite TV Actress at the 2001 Teen Choice Awards.

Alba fell in love with acting at a very early age, becoming active professionally at the age of 12, studying with local Los Angeles acting coaches. Shortly thereafter, she landed her first jobs in the feature film world in Camp Nowhere and in a scene that ended up on the cutting room floor in Leaving Las Vegas. Soon thereafter she was offered a lead role at the age of 14 in an update of the classic family series Flipper, which ran for two seasons in syndication. At 16 Jessica left Los Angeles for the East Coast to study with the Atlantic Theater Company and founders William H. Macy & David Mamet. A flurry of film activity followed her return to Los Angeles, including supporting roles in the studio films Idle Hands and Never Been Kissed with Drew Barrymore. She also traveled to London to star in the independent feature Paranoid for acclaimed British director John Duigan, and to Malaysia to film the title role in The Sleeping Dictionary with Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer and Noah Taylor.

L’Oreal recognized Jessica’s talent and beauty, engaging her in a worldwide endorsement contract in early 2001. She has graced the covers on Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, Glamour, Seventeen and numerous other publications around the world, and has been on the oft-buzzed-about Maxim “Hot 100 List” more times than any other actress…all by the age of 22. Although many describe her as an “exotic beauty,” Alba was raised in a traditional American family in California. Her mother is from Florida with a French-Danish heritage, while her father is a Californian with Mexican-Indian and Spanish lineage.

MEKHI PHIFER (Chaz) has captured the attention of critics and audiences alike with performances that cross all cinematic genres, from gritty urban dramas to heartwarming romantic comedies. He most recently starred opposite Eminem, Brittany Murphy and Kim Basinger in Curtis Hanson’s highly acclaimed 8 Mile. He also starred in the feature Paid in Full and in the feature film O, based on Shakespeare’s Othello, where he starred opposite Julia Styles and Josh Hartnett.

Born and raised in New York, Mekhi Phifer’s acting career began when he auditioned at an open casting call for Spike Lee’s Clockers and was selected for the leading role. Working alongside Harvey Keitel, John Turturro and Delroy Lindo, he garnered critical acclaim for his compelling performance as Strike, a young New Jersey drug dealer involved in a murder cover-up. Following his impressive film debut, he appeared in the comedy spoof High School High.

In the hit thriller I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, he co-starred with Jennifer Love Hewitt, Brandy and Freddie Prinze, Jr. He also starred in the successful family drama Soul Food, opposite Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox and Nia Long. Additional films include Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, Tears of a Clown, An Invited Guest (winner of the Audience Award at the 1999 Urbanworld Festival and the Grand Prize at the Acapulco Film Festival) and The Imposter.

In June of 2002, Phifer was honored by the American Black Film Festival, receiving the organization’s “Rising Star” award.