For his debut film about a Memphis family with a legacy barbecue business, director Prentice Penny relied on a secret sauce: contributors from Memphis. 

“As soon as we touched down, people were so accommodating,” said Penny about making “Uncorked,” the Netflix original released March 20. 

Scenes are set in locations including Joe’s Wines & Liquor and East End Skating Center, and the film’s geographic footprint extends across Shelby County, even making quick mention (as “Hustle & Flow” had in the past) of a land beyond Memphis in Germantown. Local experts, such as former Food Network personality Gina Neely and Ryan Radish, wine director for Enjoy A|M Restaurant Group (Catherine & Mary’s, The Gray Canary), were consulted.

Familiar faces are cast as extras, some with speaking lines. Memphis-based actor Princeton Echols shares scenes with lead actors Mamoudou Athie, Courtney B. Vance and Niecy Nash.

‘Uncorked’ gives Netflix viewers a taste of wine, ribs, Memphis

Originally, Echols was a production assistant, working in the locations department.

“Completely separate from that, I heard about a big cattle call of auditions that were going on at Hattiloo Theatre. So, I just went up there,” he said.

“I called my boss and asked, ‘Will this mess up my job, if I audition for this part?’ ”

The production manager encouraged him to give it a shot. In his words, “She said, ‘Audition for the experience.’ ”

He found out he’d gotten the part of the character Newton the day before his production job required him to pick up Niecy Nash from the airport. Within days, Echols would go from being Nash’s chauffeur to her on-screen son-in-law.

“My first day of shooting was the day I was supposed to pick up Courtney B. Vance. So, I couldn’t pick up Courtney B. Vance, because I had to shoot that day,” Echols said, laughing.

It’s a leap to an internationally distributed feature film for Echols, 32, a native of Coldwater, Mississippi, who produces and stars in his own regular series of Downtown Memphis dinner theater performances.

Penny wrote “Uncorked” about a young man trying to balance his father’s wishes for him to continue the family business and his own ambitions to travel to Paris and study to become a master sommelier.

“Prentice is a very intentional director. He knows how to work with very seasoned veteran actors, and he knows how to work with first-timers and newer actors,” Echols said of the director.

“He treated everybody on-set with care. He created a very healthy and courageous atmosphere for everybody to operate in their gifts, and still be able to work in a professional environment.”

Penny and his sound department also paid close attention to making Memphis music a focal point for the film.

“Working on a (film) like this, we just become more aware sonically of what you want it to feel like,” Penny said.

“From the moment that we knew that it was going to be in Memphis, I was like, ‘All the music has to be in Memphis. All of it!’ ”

The finished product includes both native Memphians and artists who draw direct inspiration from Memphis’ innovations in both hip-hop and soul. Depending on which character from the film’s family is driving the narrative in a given scene, the music is used as a device to draw the audience closer to the character’s psyche.

Thus, the struggle between a father and son that plays out in a black American household in Memphis, is boiled down to the audible discord between former Stax girl group Barbara & The Browns and rap kingpin Yo Gotti.

Memphians Adrian Ford, 26, and Marco Pavé, 27, each have two songs featured in the film. Both artists say the film, still in Netflix’s top 10 watched programs after its first week, translates into increased following for their music.

Ford says he got his first message from a new fan early the morning of the film’s release.

“I was like, ‘Bruh, it’s 8 a.m. Where are you in the world that you’ve already seen this movie and are already doing the research on the music?’ ” Ford jokes.

He says he’s not sure how Penny’s music supervisor became aware of his music. The songs featured, “The Ways” and “We Straight,” come from his July 2017 album “Summer Nights.”

“I had just gotten done driving Uber, and I got this random e-mail, and I was like, ‘What the hell?’ ” Ford said.

“I hope I can find the person someday, so I can say, ‘Thank you!’ ”

Singer She’chinah Hampton, who sings along with Ford on “The Ways,” says she’s also reaped the benefit from heightened interest around the song, the first track she recorded as an artist.

“When (Ford) told me they were looking at the song for the movie, I didn’t really think twice about it,” Hampton said. “I know scenes get cut all the time, so I really didn’t believe it, until I put (the movie) on.”

Ford, Hampton and Erlee, who raps on “We Straight,” watched the film together over wine, hearing their music in the scenes for the first time.

Hampton says appreciation from admirers on social media has renewed her interest in a more chilled-out, ambient sound she’d moved away from in the years since she recorded the song. 

“That sound that everyone is talking about makes me want to collaborate more with Ford,” Hampton said. 

Pavé, whose given name is Tauheed Rahim II, came to the project when he reached out to Penny directly, proposing that his music would be a fit for the production.

“My mindset was, ‘Ain’t nobody coming to my city doing no movie on that level without including me in it,’” Pavé said.

Calling the encounter “serendipitous,” Pavé says that Penny had already heard his name as someone who might be worth considering for the film’s soundtrack.

Pavé’s 2018 single “Sell” is used in the background of a pivotal romantic scene in the film. However, he’s best heard in the film’s credits, which make use of his 2017 track “One Hunnid.”

The artist says he’s already seen more than 10,000 hits for the latter track through the app Shazam, which allows listeners to use their smartphone to track down the source of a song on radio, film, television or in a public space.

Released just as cities around the globe adhere to shelter-in-place policies to slow the spread of COVID-19, Pavé said he’s confident more people are watching and listening because of the circumstances.

“It’s not about the music, per se. It’s about the movie,” Pavé said. “But with that many people watching it, they are automatically listening to the music.”