Akeelah and the Bee is a 2006 English-language Drama movie written and directed by Doug Atchison and produced by Laurence Fishburne, Sid Ganis, Nancy Hult Ganis, Danny Llewelyn and Michael Romersa under the banner of Lionsgate Films in collaboration with 2929 Entertainment, Starbucks Entertainment, Out of the Blue Entertainment, Reactor Films and Cinema Gypsy Productions. Eleven year-old Akeelah Anderson's life is not easy: her father is dead, her mom ignores her, her brother runs with the local gangbangers. She's smart, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school's principal, Akeelah participates in a spelling bee to avoid detention for her many absences. Much to her surprise and embarrassment, she wins. Her principal asks her to k coaching from an English professor named Dr. Larabee for the prestigious regional bee. As the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee looms, Akeelah could provide her community with someone to rally around and be proud of -- but only if she can overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life. She also must get past Dr. Larabee's demons, and a field of experienced and privileged fellow spellers. Written by Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Akeelah and the bee stars Laurence Fishburne in the title role along with an ensemble cast including Angela Bassett, Keke Palmer, Curtis Armstrong, J.r. Villarreal, Sean Michael Afable and Sahara Ware. The music was composed by Aaron Zigman. Cinematography was done by David Mullen and editing by Glenn Farr. The movie has a running time of 112 minutes. It was released on 31st August 2006. The Film was successful at box office. Akeelah and the Bee was made on a budget of $8 million and it was a super hit at box office gross of $18 million. Distribution rights for the film were acquired by Lionsgate Films.