George Tillman Jr.

Wisconsin-born director/producer George Tillman Jr. learned the ropes of filmmaking at Columbia College in Chicago before diving headlong into a professional career. He made his first big splash as a director with the 1997 family drama Soul Food, and later found even greater success in the producer's chair with the successful Barbershop movie franchise. In 2009, Tillman returned to directing with the Notorious B.I.G. biopic Notorious.