ATL

Theatrical Release Date: 2006 03 31 (USA)

UPC: 012569763715

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Mild Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content]

Summary: A tightly knit group of working-class Atlanta teens spend their time bonding over hip-hop and roller skating while pondering life after high school in director Chris Robinson's coming-of-age comedy drama that draws inspirations from the real-life childhoods of Dallas Austin and Tionne Watkins. For a kid growing up on the south side of Atlanta, the Cascade roller-skating rink is the place to be seen, and it's the place where the orphaned high school senior Rashad (Tip Harris) and his little brother Ant (Evan Ross) go every weekend to forget their financial troubles, hang with their friends and get their groove on. But outside the rink, the brothers have problems they can't avoid: Ant is being recruited into the posse of charismatic drug dealer Marcus (Outkast's Antwan Andre Patton, aka Big Boi). Meanwhile, Rashad's three best friends -- including the ambitious Esquire (Jackie Long) -- are pulling him in different directions, and his new girlfriend New-New (Lauren London) may not be as "street" as she seems. As Rashad tries to hold on to his little brother, he also comes to the realization that if he's ever going to make something of himself, he's going to have to step out of his skates and into the real world. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Director – Black Reel Awards Best Screenplay – Black Reel Awards

Features: ccT.I. What You Know music video
Additional scenes
In the Rink - A Director's Journey: join director Chris Robinson in making his feature-filmmaking debut and in exploring Atlanta's growing music scene with rapper T.I.
Theatrical trailer
Languages: English & Espa?ol
Subtitles: English, Fran?ais & Espa?ol (feature film only)

ATL

Format: DVD

Release Date: 07/18/2006

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 107 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- ATL
1. Credits [2:42]
2. Man of the House [2:50]
3. School Troubles [3:02]
4. Poetry and Waffles [4:35]
5. Cascade Sunday Night [4:58]
6. Poolside Patter [6:34]
7. Movers and Skaters [4:55]
8. Don't Fall [1:57]
9. Ready to Work [3:15]
10. Stolen Goods [4:10]
11. What New-New Sees [3:33]
12. I Believe You [4:55]
13. The Come Up [2:11]
14. Close Contact [4:08]
15. Who Gets the Booty? [3:36]
16. It's Who You New-New [4:34]
17. Ghetto Wannabe [1:58]
18. Ant Arrested [3:18]
19. Unwanted [2:08]
20. Escape From Mess [4:15]
21. Driven Apart [5:57]
22. Judged by Her Address [3:08]
23. Proud Man [5:14]
24. Team Minus One [4:08]
25. Bang! [4:46]
26. Let Love Fly [2:48]
27. Dreaming All Along [2:47]
28. End Credits [4:18]

Derek Armstrong

Watching just a few frames of ATL, it's easy to tell that director Chris Robinson has a music-video background. Often that would be a backhanded compliment at best, but here it's genuine. With Crash, his long-time collaborator, serving once again as Robinson's DP, ATL boasts all the style of the best hip-hop videos, but none of the insult -- it doesn't condescend, push products, or fetishize. Robinson and screenwriter Tina Gordon Chism are instead interested in the sociology of youth culture, and the atmosphere that springs from it. In fact, Chism's dialogue about teen language patterns does for urban Atlanta youths what Donnie Brasco's analysis of the phrase "forget about it" did for wise guys. The camera furthers the idea that the filmmakers are inside the content, rather than viewing it externally, and ATL shows a fondness for details that speak volumes -- a montage of dental bling, or a throwaway moment from the nightly operations of the local roller rink. If ATL is only an average coming-of-age story (with Antwone Fisher -- yes, that Antwone Fisher -- receiving story credit), that's because some substance must take a backseat to all this beautifully crafted style. ATL is also propelled by a perfectly interwoven stream of hip-hop, lending extra electricity to the visuals. Rapper Tip "T.I." Harris makes a credible debut in the lead role, but his scowl on the poster is a little misleading. Like Dazed and Confused -- which has a similar ensemble structure and looseness to its plot -- ATL is a lot more about how teens have fun than how they perpetrate and intimidate. Even when things get heavy, the film stays as light as a carefree youth on roller skates -- which also helps it function as a ballad to the city whose abbreviated moniker serves as its title. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Cameron Gipp  Actor 
Brandon Bernard Benton  Actor 
Nick Hudani  Actor 
Jorge Luis Abreu  Actor 
April Clark  Actor 
Markice Moore  Actor 
Gregory Oliver  Actor 
Jazze Pha  Actor 
Laparee Young  Actor 
Brandon Gibbs  Actor 
Saladin Suluki  Actor 
Antonio Barfield  Actor 
DeShawn Ingram  Actor 
Kenya Tyson  Actor 
Jae Blaze  Actor 
Alvin Lee Fleming  Actor 
Roderick Mosley  Actor 
Deon Ramone  Actor 
Kelvin Broadnax  Actor 
James Jones  Actor 
Tasha Smith  Actor 
Monique Harris  Actor 
Ayesha Ngaujah  Actor 
Onira Satterwhite  Actor 
Dancia Garner  Actor 
Lisa Quinones  Actor 
Monica  Actor 
Greg Andrews  Actor 
Tae Heckard  Actor 
Jameelah Nuriddin  Actor 
Almario Thomas  Actor 
Pierpont Geer IV  Actor 
Tony Lance Sailor, Jr.  Actor 
Lauren Mitchell  Actor 
Adam Boyer  Actor 
Marie McAdoo  Actor 
Vanessa Petrosky  Actor 
Hakiem Ayele  Actor 
Leslie Howell  Actor 
Virginia Turner  Actor 
Wayne Hardnett  Actor 
Zoe Myers  Actor 
Christopher Ray Robinson II  Actor 
Kyle Dutcher  Actor 
Toria Morris  Actor 
Ric Reitz  Actor 
Bart Hansard  Actor 
Steven R. Ewing  Actor 
Margo Moorer  Actor 
Ashley Ragland  Actor 
Safiya Brawner  Actor 
Paul Antonio Johnson  Actor 
Douglas B. Wynn  Actor 
Will Smith  Producer 
Timothy M. Bourne  Executive Producer 
Timothy M. Bourne  Producer 
James Lassiter  Producer 
Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins  Executive Producer 
Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins  Producer 
Aaron Zigman  Composer (Music Score) 
Jody Gerson  Producer 
Dallas Austin  Producer 
Tina Gordon Chism  Screenwriter 
Chris Robinson  Director 
Tip "T.I." Harris  Actor 
Lauren London  Actor 
Lonette McKee  Actor 
Antwan Andre Patton  Actor 
Evan Ross Naess  Actor 
Keith David  Actor 
Jackie Long  Actor 
Albert Daniels  Actor 
Jason Weaver  Actor 
Khadijah Haqq  Actor 
Malika Haqq  Actor 
Tyree Simmons  Actor 
Mykelti Williamson  Actor 
Khadijah  Actor 

Country: USA