''For One Night'' is a 2006 American made-for-TV

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Ernest Dickerson Ernest Roscoe Dickerson (born June 25, 1951) is an American director, cinematographer, and screenwriter of film, television, and music videos. As a cinematographer, he is known for his frequent collaborations with Spike Lee ever since they were c ...

, written by Denetria Harris-Lawrence, and starring

Raven-Symoné Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman-Maday () (née Pearman; born December 10, 1985), also known mononymously as Raven, is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She has received several accolades, including five NAACP Image Awards, two Ki ...

as Brianna McCallister and

Aisha Tyler Aisha Nilaja Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of ''Ghost Whisperer'', Dr. Tara Lewis in ''Criminal Minds'', Mother Nature ...

as Desiree Howard. The film's premise is based on the true story of Gerica McCrary, who made headlines in 2002 by getting Taylor County High School in her hometown of

Butler, Georgia Butler is the county seat of Taylor County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 1,972 at the 2010 census. Geography Butler is located at (32.557, -84.239). The city is located along U.S. Route 19, which is the main route through the cit ...

, to integrate the prom after thirty-one years of segregation.

Plot

Inspired by the true story of an African American teenager who shook up a small town where high school proms had been

racially segregated Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internat ...

for decades. Amid the protests of the community and with the help of a newspaper reporter who returns to her hometown to cover the story, the two women are able to reverse decades of racist tradition and make history, at least for one night.

Production

''For One Night'' is based on events that occurred in Taylor County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

in 2002. It was filmed in the summer of 2005 in Jefferson, Louisiana shortly before Hurricane Katrina. This film is the first drama role in the career of Raven-Symoné and disengaged from the Disney Channel. In an interview with the film director,

said that she had to gain weight for the lead role, along with getting a Southern accent.

Cast

as Brianna McCallister *

as Desiree Howard * Jason Lewis as Mark Manning * Sam Jones III as Brandon Williams *

Gary Grubbs Gary Grubbs (born November 14, 1949) is an American character actor who has appeared in 178 credited shows and films since the 1970s and is still working steadily. He is best known as Captain Steven Wiecek in '' For Love and Honor'' (1983-1984) ...

as Mr. Thornton *

William Ragsdale William Ragsdale (born January 19, 1961) is an American actor known for playing teenaged vampire slayer Charley Brewster in the horror vampire film '' Fright Night'' (1985) and Herman Brooks in the television series '' Herman's Head'' (1991–9 ...

as Earl Randall * Harold Sylvester as Mr Howard, Desiree's dad *Donna DuPlantier as Aunt Marlene *

Joan Pringle Joan Pringle (born June 2, 1945) is an American actress known for her roles on '' General Hospital'' (1963), '' The White Shadow'' (1978), and ''Original Sin'' (2001). One of her best-known roles was that of vice principal (and subsequently princ ...

* Rhoda Griffis as Ginny Stephens *Daina Gozan as Sela Moody *Mills Allison as Ely Hardy *Caroline Jahna as Carla Thornton *James Aaron as Myron Dawson *Louis Herthum as Sheriff Taylor *Katie Seeley as Kelly Reynolds * Azure Dawn as Lily Dubois *Adam Powell as Paul Beaudine *Chuck Halley as Newspaper Editor

Soundtrack

The end of the movie (prom scene) features Raven-Symoné's song "Gravity".

Awards

*2007 - Nominated; Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special (Aisha Tyler)

Releases

*The film was released on iTunes. On July 31, 2012 the film was released in a package of 4 Lifetime movies on DVD titled 'Surviving High School'. In September 2012 it got its own DVD release through A&E Entertainment.

References

External links

* *
Gerica McCrary On How She Integrated Butler High School's PromCNN Article on GericaTaylor County's 1st Integrated Prom EVER
{{Ernest Dickerson 2006 television films 2006 films Films shot in New Orleans Films about race and ethnicity Drama films based on actual events Films directed by Ernest Dickerson 2000s high school films American high school films Lifetime (TV network) films 2006 drama films American drama television films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films