Skip to content
MovieCove
George Tillman Jr.

George Tillman Jr.

Producer, director and writer · Born January 26, 1969 (57) · Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

George Tillman Jr. (born January 26, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He attended John Marshall High School in Milwaukee, where he took Mass Communications magnet classes. He graduated from Columbia College in Chicago in 1991 with a major in Film and Video. Tillman is most notable for directing the films Soul Food (1997) and Men of Honor (2000). He is also the producer of the Soul Food: The Series on television and the three films in the Barbershop series: Barbershop, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and Beauty Shop. He also directed the 2009 biopic Notorious about the New York-born rapper Notorious B.I.G.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 26, 1969 (57)
From
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Works as
Producer, director and writer
Titles
21 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 27% in 30 days

What are George Tillman Jr.'s films like?

Across their 17 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.

Genres

Comedy8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 46th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Biography3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 71st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 92nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
37%
Society
22%
Bonds
17%
Morality
13%
Survival
7%
Power
3%
Ideas
2%
Community6 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 16 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 7 · Serious 4 · Dark 5

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 13 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 7 · Intense 4

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 8 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 4

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 11 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 10 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 3

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 13 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
11
Warm
8
Tense
7
Melancholic
5
Joyful
4
Other
15

How their films linger

Hopeful13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy8
  • Bittersweet7
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch George Tillman Jr.'s films?

As of October 24, 2026, 19 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (9).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for George Tillman Jr.'s titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

27 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page.

  • Big George Foreman(2023)

    Director · Screenplay · Screenstory

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The Crossover(2023)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all shows

  • On the Come Up(2022)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • For Life(2020)

    Show 13 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all shows

  • The Hate U Give(2018)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Mudbound(2017)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Luke Cage(2016)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all shows

  • This Is Us(2016)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • Barbershop: The Next Cut(2016)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • The Longest Ride(2015)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete(2013)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Faster(2010)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Notorious(2009)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Nothing Like the Holidays(2008)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Roll Bounce(2005)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Barbershop(2005)

    Show 10 episodes · Producer

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all shows

  • Beauty Shop(2005)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Barbershop 2: Back in Business(2004)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Barbershop(2002)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Men of Honor(2000)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Soul Food(1997)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Make Some Noise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Nanny Cam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • Talent Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • The Defender (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • The Thanksgiving Text (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Untitled Adewumi Family Project (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Executive Producer

Career shape

A full career of 26 titles, 20 of them dated from 1997 to 2023.

Biggest box office

Men of Honor (2000)

$82M worldwide

Highest rated

Mudbound (2017)

Midcredits 93rd

Most popular right now

Faster (2010)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing14 of 26: 8 only directing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score78thWriting2 of 26: 0 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing16 of 26: 12 only producing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score47th

26 titles, 6 with more than one role — producing and directing overlap on 4 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · crew2000s8 · crew2010s7 · crew2020s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do George Tillman Jr.'s films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 67th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 67th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Approval · how many liked their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Reach · how many have seen their films

93rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Midcredits score across 21 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser12
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · producer

Barbershop (2005)

89th percentile spread · 30% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

This Is Us (2016)

Midcredits 98th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 67/100 and the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 16 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is George Tillman Jr.'s work okay for kids?

Across up to 10 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity and profanity run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore8 titles41–84 · median 57 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity10 titles17–59 · median 44 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity9 titles31–82 · median 64 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs8 titles29–68 · median 41 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles24–86 · median 49 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does George Tillman Jr. work with?

People who share at least 2 of George Tillman Jr.'s MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Robert Teitel shares the most, 15.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers