Drumline (2002): 15 Shocking Facts You Totally Missed

Drumline (2002): 15 insane behind-the-scenes facts you never knew Devon Miles is based on Dallas Austin, the Grammy-winning producer behind TLC, Boyz II Men and Michael Jackson. Austin pitched the concept at 20 years old and the project sat in development hell for nearly a decade. T.I. auditioned for the lead role, found out he'd have to learn drums, and walked out. Lil Wayne also auditioned. Kerry Washington almost got Zoe Saldana's role. Nick Cannon slept with drumsticks tied to his hands every night for two months during training and still has the scars. The director is the same person who created the Budweiser Whassup campaign. The rival school Morris Brown brought their real marching band and was genuinely competing, not acting. Cast members later said the tension nearly boiled over on set. The fraternity shown in the film is real. Kappa Kappa Psi symbols, colors and chants were used with full accuracy because the filmmakers knew the HBCU community would know immediately if anything was wrong. Fox spent a decade asking "what's so interesting about marching bands?" The film earned close to triple its budget and an A+ CinemaScore. And the bonus: Beyoncé's Coachella performance, widely called one of the greatest live shows in modern history, was built around HBCU marching band culture. She said that world inspired her. Many people in that global audience had first encountered it in 2002 watching Nick Cannon play a fictional school called Atlanta A&T. Drumline planted the seed. It took 16 years to fully bloom. ⏱ Timestamps in the chapters below 👇 Comment which fact blew your mind