WILMINGTON — A film that set up in Wilmington and wrapped in the fall of 2022 dropped its trailer, with recognizable locations aplenty in its frames.
READ MORE: Hulu to release ‘The Supremes at Earl’s All You Can Eat’ in August
“The Supremes at Earl’s All You Can Eat” is based on the 2013 New York Times best-selling novel by Chicago writer Edward Kelsey Moore and directed by Tina Mabry (“Mississippi Damned,” “Pose”) and slated for release on Hulu on Aug. 23.
Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures released the film’s drop date and official poster in May and the trailer Tuesday. The story follows the lives of three friends — Odette, Clarice and Barbara Jean — through the early ’60s into the ’90s as they move through teenage growing pangs into adulthood and dealing with all of life’s sometimes messy encounters with family, career, health and self-doubt.
Dubbed The Supremes, the group of friends is portrayed by Uzo Aduba (“Orange is the New Black”), Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (“King Richard”) and Sanaa Lathan (“Love and Basketball”), who frequent their favorite restaurant, Earl’s Diner All-You-Can-Eat. Tony Winters (“National Champions”) takes on the father figure Big Earl.
“Look at y’all walking in all pretty and shiny,” he says in the trailer to a youthful group of teens. “The Supremes … of Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat.”
The young versions of the friends are played by Tati Gabrielle (“You”), Abigail Achiri (“The Underground Railroad”), and Kyanna Simone (“American Horror Stories”). The women settle into a booth that they continue to return to throughout the eras.
Most locals will recognize Earl’s as Rx Chicken and Oysters on Castle Street. It was transformed into a diner and includes a great deal of scenes in the trailer. However, Greenfield Lake, Thalian Hall, as well as Castle Street and homes located in historic downtown Wilmington are also identifiable.
Odette (Ellis-Taylor) is the narrator creating the through-line of the film: “Broken pieces, hot messes, bad omens … but love was our glue.”
The cast also includes Russell Hornsby (“Fences), Mekhi Phifer (“Divergent”), Julian McMahon (“Nip/Tuck”), and Vondie Curtis-Hall (“Blue Bayou”).
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