Picture Partners By David Heuring UNIT PHOTOGRAPHY BY QUANTRELL D. COLBERT. PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMAZON STUDIOS. Cinematographer Joe " Jody " Williams reteams with director Craig Brewer on Coming 2 America. This page: Cinematographer Joe " Jody " Williams (right) discusses a setup with Eddie Murphy (center) and director Craig Brewer (left). Opposite page: Murphy and Arsenio Hall as King Akeem and Semmi. Cinematographer Joe " Jody " Williams and director Craig Brewer first met on the set of the Fox drama Empire, developing a rapport that would eventually lead to their most recent project, Coming 2 America. The feature serves as a sequel to the 1988 romantic comedy Coming to America (AC Aug. '88), directed by John Landis and photographed by Woody Omens, ASC. Brewer's directorial credits include Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan, Footloose (2011) and Dolemite Is My Name. Williams gained extensive experience as an operator on Empire before moving to director of photography on the series. AC spoke with Williams and Brewer about why their collaboration clicks, and how it translated from the hit television show to a major motion picture. American Cinematographer: Tell us about your creative partnership on Empire, and how it brought you to Coming 2 America. Craig Brewer: One of the greatest learning experiences I've had in my career was working on Empire. After working as a producer and writing and directing about 10 episodes, I felt like I was learning how to be a director for the first time. 18 / APRIL 2021 p.18-23 Picture Partners Coming 2 America V3 DONE.indd 18 3/9/21 1:02 PM