Hustle & Flow was financed by filmmaker
John Singleton, also produced by
Stephanie Allain, Preston Holmes and executive produced by Dwight Williams. Singleton was impressed by Brewer's first feature,
The Poor & Hungry, shot in
Memphis, Tennessee. Ten years after the release of
Hustle & Flow, Brewer re-teamed with
Terrence Howard and
Taraji P. Henson on their acclaimed television series,
Empire. The first episode he directed, "Fires of Heaven", aired October 7, 2015. Brewer would go on to direct ten more episodes in the series' run. Brewer's subsequent project,
Black Snake Moan, began filming in September 2005 and stars
Samuel L. Jackson,
Christina Ricci, and
Justin Timberlake.
Black Snake Moan was partially filmed in
Stanton, Tennessee. Production completed on
Black Snake Moan in October 2005 and it was released on March 2, 2007. His first big-budget film, a remake of the
1984 film,
Footloose was released on October 14, 2011 after Brewer and the two stars of the film,
Kenny Wormald and
Julianne Hough, completed a national press tour promoting the film. In 2012, Brewer was executive producer of
Katy Perry: Part of Me. That same year, Brewer premiered a documentary he directed about
Indie Memphis and filmmakers called
Indie Origins. In 2014, Brewer was elected President of Indie Memphis for two years. A year later, Brewer released a video made in conjunction with the
Memphis Grizzlies on the city's adoration of player
Marc Gasol; Brewer himself makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the video. Brewer is also the creator of
$5 Cover, an MTV drama series about Memphis musicians. The 15-episode show was broadcast online and on MTV, and featured Memphis musicians playing themselves and their original songs. Other TV projects include an episode of
The Shield and the pilot to
Terriers. Brewer returned to directing TV pilots with
Boomerang for
FOX, starring
Felicity Huffman. It was not picked up. In January 2014, Brewer signed a deal with
Paramount Television to executive produce, write and direct two TV drama pilots. In late May 2015, one of these shows was revealed to be a television adaptation of the film
Urban Cowboy; Brewer wrote the pilot and directed it, but the pilot was not picked up by FOX. In late February 2013, Brewer's theatrical follow-up to
Footloose was announced as
Gangster Princess of Beverly Hills, based on the true-life crime escapades of Lisette Lee, a young woman who claimed to be the heiress of Samsung. Brewer will write and direct. A year later, Brewer was also attached to potentially direct a new version of
The Idolmaker, with Justin Timberlake producing. Brewer wrote a draft for Warner Bros.' 2016 film
The Legend of Tarzan, directed by
David Yates. In June 2018, Brewer began directing a
Netflix feature,
Dolemite Is My Name. Based on the life of
Rudy Ray Moore, the film stars Academy Award nominee
Eddie Murphy as Moore, a '70s comedian who puts up the money to make an action film based on a character from his stand-up material. The film is written by
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Other cast members include
Wesley Snipes,
Craig Robinson and
Mike Epps. The film was released in 2019. In January 2019, it was announced that Brewer would direct Eddie Murphy in
Coming 2 America. Production began in August 2019. Due to
the COVID-19 pandemic closing theaters worldwide the film was released through
Amazon Prime Video, on March 5, 2021. The film became a huge success for Amazon, topping the
Nielsen ratings ahead of every other TV show or movie on major streaming subscription services. In December 2021,
Deadline broke the news that Brewer would be reteaming with
Footloose actor
Dennis Quaid in a biopic on the life of African-American country singer
Charley Pride titled
American Pride. Quaid will co-produce the film with Brewer and co-star as singer/songwriter
"Cowboy" Jack Clement. The film will be written by
Empire writer
Dianne Houston. In December 2023,
Deadline reported that Brewer would direct select episodes of the
Peacock miniseries
Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, starring and produced by
Kevin Hart. The series reunites Brewer with past cast members
Samuel L. Jackson from
Black Snake Moan and
Terrence Howard and
Taraji P. Henson from
Hustle & Flow and
Empire. In October 2024,
Variety reported that Brewer would write and direct a narrative feature adaptation of the documentary
Song Sung Blue, starring Academy Award nominees
Hugh Jackman and
Kate Hudson. The film follows the true story of Milwaukee couple Mike and Claire Sardina, down-on-their-luck musicians who became local icons by performing as "Lightning & Thunder". In June 2025,
Deadline Hollywood reported that Brewer would direct and co-write a
biopic on the life of rapper
Snoop Dogg (who previously appeared in Brewer's
Dolemite is My Name). The film will be co-written by
Joe Robert Cole and produced by Dogg and
Brian Grazer. == Filmography ==