Head of State

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris Rock directs. Donald E. Thorin behind the camera. Marcus Miller scores. Stephen A. Rotter cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 23 years ago.
• 2Directed by Chris Rock, shot by Donald E. Thorin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Marcus Miller. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor Stephen A. Rotter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Chris Rock and Bernie Mac and Dylan Baker carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "The only thing white is the house.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0325537 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Classified under 10 themes, including "usa president", "washington dc, usa", "election campaign", "presidential election".

The technical file

Cinematography

Donald E. Thorin

Original score

Marcus Miller

Editing

Stephen A. Rotter

Production design

Steven J. Jordan

Costume design

Amanda Sanders

Makeup / hair

Debi Young

VFX supervisor

Randall Balsmeyer

Runtime

95 min · 1h 35m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$35,200,000

Box office

$37,788,228

Return

107% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

Head of State (2003) ↗

Also by

Chris Rock

• 
  Everybody Hates Chris

  2005 · ★ 8.1
• 
  Top Five

  2014 · ★ 6.1
• 
  Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo

  2015 · ★ 5.9
• 
  I Think I Love My Wife

  2007 · ★ 5.3
• 
  Misty Green

  2026

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Head of State - Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  3 Arts Entertainment

  US

• 

  DreamWorks Pictures

  US

Key crew

• ProducerAli LeRoi
• ProducerMichael Rotenberg
• EditorStephen A. Rotter
• ProducerChris Rock
• Art DirectionRay Kluga
• Second Unit DirectorAli LeRoi
• First Assistant DirectorH.H. Cooper
• ChoreographerFatima Robinson
• CastingKim Taylor-Coleman
• Production DesignSteven J. Jordan
• Executive ProducerEzra Swerdlow
• Costume DesignAmanda Sanders
• CastingVictoria Thomas
• CastingPat Moran
• Set DecorationJay Klein
• Second Assistant DirectorKaren Davis
• Stunt DoubleKym Washington Longino
• Stunt DriverPeter Bucossi
• Key Makeup ArtistDebi Young
• Title DesignerJay Johnson
• Visual Effects SupervisorRandall Balsmeyer
• SongsNate Dogg

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• usa president
• washington dc, usa
• election campaign
• presidential election
• politics
• ambition
• outsider
• political comedy
• candidate death
• replacement candidate

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2003-03-28PG-13

Also known as

International titles

• Head of State - Das weisse Haus sieht schwarzDE
• Um Pobretão na Casa BrancaBR
• Jefe de estadoMX