had affairs with other men, after being told by the sheriff and the townspeople. Officially the final death toll was eight people, two white and six black. Other accounts by survivors and several African-American newspapers estimated a higher death toll. Cast Production Minnie Lee Langley, a survivor, served as a source for the set designers, and Arnett Doctor, son of a survivor, was hired as a consultant. Recreated sets of the towns of Rosewood and Sumner were built in Central Florida, far away from Levy County, where the events took place. The film version, written by screenwriter Gregory Poirier, created a character named Mann, who enters Rosewood as a type of reluctant Western-style hero. Composites of historic figures were used as characters, and the film offers the possibility of a happy ending. Asked about why he decided to tackle this subject, Singleton said: "I had a very deep—I wouldn't call it fear—but a deep contempt for the South because I felt that so much of the horror and evil that black people have faced in this country is rooted here ... So in some ways this is my way of dealing with the whole thing." The production spent $11.7 million filming in Central Florida, with Singleton saying it accounted for 70% of the film's budget. Critical reception On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "In some respects, Rosewood struggles to present a full picture of the real-life tragedy it dramatizes, but it remains a harrowing depiction of white supremacy and violence." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert gives the film 3.5 stars out of 4, stating that "... What makes it more is the way it shows how racism breeds and feeds, and is taught by father to son. ... it's not easily summarized in ads and does not obviously appeal to either blacks (since it documents such a depressing chapter) or whites (depicted as murderous or ineffectual). Perhaps it will appeal to people looking for a well-made film that tells a gripping, important story. Now there's a notion." Stanley Crouch of The New York Times