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Twenty-three-year-old writer-director John Singleton made his feature film debut with BOYZ N THE HOOD shortly after graduating from the University of Southern California (USC) film school, where he won the Jack Nicholson Writing Award two years in a row.
Part of Singleton's inspiration for making the film came when an executive from Orion Pictures came to talk to his class at USC. Singleton told the executive that he didn't like that the movie COLORS (1988) wasn't about South Central Los Angeles at all but was about "two white cops". When the exec defensively said that Ice-T wrote the music for the film, Singleton said to a lot of applause "Well, Ice-T didn't write the fucking script!"
During an internship at Columbia Pictures, Singleton submitted the script for BOYZ IN THE HOOD to executive Stephanie Allain, who brought it to the attention of studio chief Frank Price. Columbia initially offered him $100,000 for the script and “to walk away,” but Singleton refused the money and insisted he should direct the project himself. Singleton later recalled his reaction as being, "Hell, no, I'm not gonna let somebody from Idaho or Encino direct a movie about living in South Central Los Angeles. They can't come in here and cast it and go through the rewrites and know exactly what aesthetics are unique to this film." Despite his lack of experience, Price was reassured by his confidence and eventually greenlit the picture with Singleton as director.
The lead character, “Tre Styles” (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) was largely autobiographical. Like Singleton, Tre first lived with his mother in Inglewood, CA – an area then controlled by the “Bloods” gang – before moving in with his mortgage broker father “Furious Styles” (Laurence Fishburne) in a “Crips”-controlled neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles. Singleton completed the script in only three and a half weeks. The writer-director recalled two major notes from Columbia: to add a fight scene between “Doughboy” (Ice Cube) and “Ricky Baker” (Morris Chestnut) before the film’s climax, and to show Tre explaining to Furious at the end of the film that he had not participated in the “retribution killing.” Singleton complied with the former note, but not the latter.
Depending upon the account, Singleton first met Ice Cube either at a rally for Louis Farrakhan, at a rap concert, or while Singleton was working as an intern on “The Arsenio Hall Show” (syndicated, 1989--1994). Regardless, months after they met, Singleton gave Ice Cube the script, urged him to audition, and Ice Cube came on board. Singleton originally wanted the members of Ice Cube’s group, N.W.A., as part of his character’s entourage in the movie. Cube's departure from N.W.A. over a salary dispute resulted in a feud and forced Singleton to recast the roles for Cube's entourage.
John Singleton had been a production assistant and had provided security for the set of the television series “Pee-wee's Playhouse” in 1986. Singleton would periodically present his script to stars Paul Reubens and Laurence Fishburne and ask for their opinion. This would eventually lead to Fishburne winding up being cast in the film. Fishburne reportedly suggested Angela Bassett and Tyra Ferrell for the roles of “Reva Styles” and “Mrs. Baker.”
The film’s budget was cited as $5.7 - $6 million in various sources. Principal photography began 1 October 1990 in South Central Los Angeles, where three gang members served as consultants, weighing in on wardrobe, vocal emphasis, and dialogue changes to ensure authenticity. On-set security was provided by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Fruit of Islam, a religious organization well respected within the black community. The crew was predominantly African-American, and many of the background actors were neighborhood locals plucked from crowds of spectators.
While filming, in order to maintain a sense of realism, John Singleton never warned the actors about when shots would be fired. Their reactions are real. The film was shot in sequence. Singleton noted that the camera work gets better as the film goes on and he finds his foothold as a director. Singleton wrote a similar sentiment into the script for a scene when Furious is cutting Tre's hair, and tells him "I'm not getting old, I'm getting better."
Morris Chestnut (Ricky) almost got his leg run over by Ice Cube's Chevy Impala during a scene where “Ferris” (Raymond D. Turner) shoots his Mac-11 in the air. You can see Ricky running to Tre's car and slipping and sliding on the street. Luckily he managed to crawl away in time, and Singleton used the take due to its authenticity. Singleton made a cameo appearance in the film as a mailman delivering letters to Doughboy's mother while Doughboy and Ricky argue on the front lawn.
John Singleton on the set of BOYZ N THE HOOD
BOYZ N THE HOOD debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on 13 May 1991, as part of the “Un Certain Regard” series. Following rave reviews and positive word-of-mouth, Columbia added two more screenings at the festival. Of the festival reviews, the 15 May 1991 Hollywood Reporter called it a “booming, heart slam of a film,” and the 14 May 1991 Daily Variety commended it as a “smartly made dramatic encyclopedia of problems and ethics in the black community.”
Despite early enthusiasm for the picture, the Coalition Against Media Racism in America (CAMRA) called for a boycott of BOYZ N THE HOOD, and Spike Lee’s JUNGLE FEVER, Bill Duke’s A RAGE IN HARLEM, and Mario Van Peebles’s NEW JACK CITY (all 1991), claiming they were a “spate of violent, stereotypic and inflammatory films…launching the second era of Blaxploitation.” Coalition members included Southern California chapters of the NAACP, the Nation of Islam, the Coalition Against Black Exploitation, and the Rastafarian Community.
Following 1988’s COLORS and 1991’s NEW JACK CITY, which saw violent incidents among moviegoers and outside theaters showing the films, BOYZ N THE HOOD was expected to be another “gang film” that would likely attract gang members. Columbia remained adamant that it was not a gang film, and instead carried a “strong anti-violence message.” Nevertheless, the studio acknowledged the need for preventative security measures and offered to pay for exhibitors’ extra security costs, while some theaters refused to show the film altogether. A San Francisco police Gang Task Force arranged a 13 June 1991 advance screening for 350 youths involved with gangs, followed by two days of counseling which stressed the film’s anti-violence message. Columbia arranged similar screenings in conjunction with youth counselors and organizations dealing with gangs.
The Los Angeles premiere took place on 2 July 1991 at the Cineplex Odeon in Century City. Ten days later, a nationwide release took place on 829 screens. As feared, opening night shooting incidents occurred at several Los Angeles-area theaters, including the Universal City Cineplex Odeon, Upland Mann’s theater, and Chino Movies Eight complex. Shootings also took place in Riverdale, IL, where a man was killed; Seattle, WA; Long Island, NY; Jersey City, NJ; and Minneapolis, MN, where seventeen-year-old Jitu Jones was shot and eventually died one week later. On 2 August 1991, a fifteen-year-old girl was shot and killed, and three others wounded, in a drive-by shooting outside a San Bernadino, CA, theater showing the film, bringing the death toll to three, with roughly thirty-five people wounded since the film opened.
As a result of opening weekend violence, BOYZ IN THE HOOD was pulled from nineteen theaters, but Columbia maintained plans to expand to roughly eighty more screens on 19 July 1991. Singleton spoke out against accusations that the movie was to blame for the incidents, stating, “I didn’t create the conditions under which people shoot each other…there’s a whole generation of people who are disenfranchised.” Singleton also argued that to pull the film from theaters would be “an act of ‘artistic racism.’”
The film was a critical and box-office success, with final grosses cited as over $60 million. The film also set an overseas record as the “most lucrative black-themed film to ever open” in Paris, with 11,954 admissions on 23 screens in its first day.
The Columbia TriStar Home Video release of the film included a two-minute public service announcement from John Singleton, asking viewers to make a $10 phone call to a 900-number, with proceeds going toward the United Negro College Fund.
In March 1992, Alejandro Phillips, who was paralyzed by a shooting outside a San Francisco theater, sued Columbia Pictures, claiming the studio’s advertising campaign “downplayed the anti-violence message” and “lured gang members to theaters.” Phillips sought an unspecified amount for lost earnings and medical expenses. Columbia was also sued by William Harrison, a real estate broker whose property was filmed without his permission for a scene in which a dead body is discovered. Harrison claimed to be a devout Christian who experienced “emotional distress” from the incident, and sought a multi-million dollar settlement. The outcomes of both lawsuits could not be determined.
John Singleton received Academy Award nominations for Directing and Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen), making him the youngest person and first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing. Singleton was visibly angry when he lost the directing Oscar to Jonathan Demme for SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. He lost the writing Oscar to Callie Khouri for THELMA & LOUISE.
Singleton was also nominated for a Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. The film won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture, and was named one of the ten best films of 1991 by the National Board of Review. On 30 Nov 1993, Daily Variety quoted President Bill Clinton as saying BOYZ N THE HOOD was a movie “a lot of elementary-age kids in the inner city” should see for its unromantic depiction of gang life. The film was deemed “culturally relevant” by the U.S. Library of Congress in 2002, and added to the National Film Registry.
Stanley Clarke’s score claimed one track on the Qwest Records song-track CD release of the film’s music. That track and two others appeared on a 1995 composer compilation CD from Epic Soundtrax called "Stanley Clarke At the Movies."
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Posted: |
May 3, 2019 - 12:12 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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After the success of BOYZ N THE HOOD, John Singleton signed a three-year contract with Columbia Pictures, and as of early May 1991, he was writing POETIC JUSTICE with the goal of finishing by summer. Production was planned for the fall or spring of 1992. Singleton was inspired to write the screenplay after considering the impact of murder in the black male community, and the ways in which it affected girl friends and families. The script was reportedly based on actual events, and was started in February 1991. Singleton intended to write his own poetry for the film, but instead chose the poems of Maya Angelou, whose words influenced his own life. Angelou has a supporting role in the film as “Aunt June.”
Singleton had written the role of “Justice” with Janet Jackson in mind. After striking up a friendship with the singer, Singleton asked her opinion of his screenplay, and surprised her by offering her the lead role. Singleton wanted Jackson to gain ten pounds to change her appearance, and asked her to watch Italian neo-realist films “to convince her that she didn’t have to be glamorous.” In the film, Jackson plays a South Central Los Angeles beautician who retreats from the world after her boyfriend’s murder. Tupac Shakur plays a mailman who attempts to break through to her. When the 1992 Los Angeles riots occurred during filming, Shakur left the set to participate in the protest. He returned to the set in time to complete filming.
According to Shakur, Janet Jackson requested that he have an AIDS test before his kissing scene with her. He angrily refused. In a 2011 Vibe magazine article about Shakur, John Singleton claimed that the whole thing was a publicity stunt concocted by Shakur, Jackson and himself. But producer Steve Nicolaides and Shakur's brother, Mopreme Shakur, confirmed the incident in the article.
Principal photography began on 14 April 1992. Locations included the streets of South Central Los Angeles, and the cities of Cambria, San Mateo, and Oakland, CA. A news item in the 20 July 1993 Los Angeles Times announced a $12 million budget.
Maya Angelou and John Singleton on the set of POETIC JUSTICE
After unfavorable test screenings in December 1992, Time reported that Singleton was currently reshooting several scenes. In March 1993, the completed film was two hours and thirty minutes, but Singleton agreed to Columbia’s request to cut forty minutes, and the released film runs 110 minutes.
The film was released on 23 July 1993 on 1,273 screens. However, the Universal City Cineplex Odeon Theater delayed its screening until Wednesday, 28 July 1993, fearing opening weekend violence. Fending off allegations of racism, the theater owners stated that they did not want to repeat the opening of BOYZ N THE HOOD, in which eleven people were injured by multiple shootings in and around three Los Angeles theaters.
Columbia Pictures offered to provide additional security for the opening weekend of POETIC JUSTICE, but Cineplex Odeon would not reconsider. A statement by a theater representative, expressing the desire for an “upscale demographic,” angered Sandra Evers Manly of the NAACP, and she called the comment “racist.” On 28 July 1993, the Hollywood Reporter announced that the Los Angeles City Council had passed a motion to condemn the Cineplex Odeon, and requested an investigation by the county District Attorney to determine if the theater was in violation of civil rights legislation. Cineplex Odeon’s president, Allen Karp, continued to argue that patron safety was the only factor in his decision.
The 30 July 1993 Daily Variety reported five incidents of violence throughout the country related to POETIC JUSTICE, including one murder in Las Vegas, during the film’s opening weekend. POETIC JUSTICE earned $11.7 million in box-office receipts on its opening weekend, and finished its run with $27.5 million in domestic grosses.
Stanley Clarke’s score claimed one track on the Epic Soundtrax song-track CD release of the film’s music. That track and one more appeared on a 1995 composer compilation CD from Epic Soundtrax called "Stanley Clarke At the Movies."
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Posted: |
May 3, 2019 - 12:50 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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John Singleton wrote, directed, and co-produced 1995’s HIGHER LEARNING in which people from all different walks of life encounter racial tension, rape, responsibility, and the meaning of an education on a university campus. The film is based on Singleton’s college experiences while attending USC.
The idea for the film came about when director Jonathan Demme approached Singleton about making a movie about college racial issues when they were in pre-production for BOYZ N THE HOOD, which was then being developed at Orion Pictures with Singleton directing and Demme producing. When the deal with Orion fell through, Singleton took the idea and began to develop it while at Columbia Pictures.
Originally, Singleton wanted Leonardo DiCaprio to play “Remy,” while Michael Rapaport was originally going to play “Scott Moss.” DiCaprio was cast, but was ultimately unable to be in the film because of a scheduling conflict with THE QUICK AND THE DEAD (1995). So Singleton had Rappaport play Remy once Cole Hauser was cast as Scott Moss.
Singleton wanted Sidney Poitier to play “Prof. Maurice Phipps,” who becomes a mentor to “Malik Williams” (Omar Epps), but he was not available. Singleton's second choice was Samuel L. Jackson; the studio preferred Laurence Fishburne, who had worked successfully with Singleton in BOYZ N THE HOOD, and Singleton relented. Dustin Hoffman also sought the role of the professor. Hoffman wanted the plot to revolve around the professor and the student, but Singleton didn't want that, so Hoffman wasn't cast.
Singleton also originally wanted Gwyneth Paltrow to play “Kristen” and Juliette Lewis to play “Taryn,” but neither was available. Kristy Swanson and Jennifer Connelly got the respective roles. Tyra Banks (who played “Deja”) and John Singleton were in a relationship at the time the film was made.
HIGHER LEARNING opened on 11 January 1995. The film grossed $38.3 million in the U.S. Stanley Clarke’s score claimed one track on the Epic Soundtrax song-track CD release of the film’s music. That track and two more appeared on a 1995 composer compilation CD from Epic Soundtrax called "Stanley Clarke At the Movies."
On a personal note, the son of a work colleague of mine was murdered in the theater parking lot after attending a screening of HIGHER LEARNING. The crime was never solved, the family moved cross-country to escape the memories, and I could never bring myself to watch the film.
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ROSEWOOD is a dramatization of an actual 1923 racist lynch mob attack on an African-American community in Florida. John Singleton directed the film from a script by Gregory Poirier.
Jon Voight plays “John Wright,” a white shopkeeper in the predominantly black town of Rosewood. Ving Rhames takes the role of “Mann,” a World War I veteran who wants to settle in a town where blacks are prospering. Trouble starts when “Fannie Taylor” (Catherine Kellner), a housewife in the neighboring white town of Sumner, claims that she was beaten and raped by a black stranger. Fannie’s lie becomes an excuse for Sumner’s residents to lynch blacks and burn Rosewood to the ground. It is John who helps Mann get a few black women and children to safety.
Though most of the film is based on true events, the film's main character, Mann, is mostly a fictional creation. He is likely based upon a report in the week following the massacre by the Chicago Defender newspaper, that a soldier named Ted Cole appeared and fought against the lynch mobs. This claim was never repeated, nor verified.
John Singleton cited SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) as a movie that was a major reason he sought out this specific film to direct. 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."
Although the 1997 film received good reviews, the depressing subject matter was not conducive to a large box office take, and the film earned just $13.1 million in the U.S.
After Wynton Marsalis' score was rejected, he was replaced by John Williams. Williams’ score was released by Sony Classical, with an expanded release coming from La-La Land in 2013. Marsalis released his score as an album called "Reeltime" in 1999.
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Turning to a more commercial project, John Singleton co-wrote, co-produced, and directed the 2000 remake of SHAFT, which was based on a character created by Ernest Tidyman for the 1971 film of the same name. In the new film, New York City police detective “John Shaft” (Samuel L. Jackson), nephew of the original detective, goes on a personal mission to make sure the son (Christian Bale) of a real estate tycoon (Philip Bosco) is brought to justice after a racially-motivated murder. The original Shaft, Richard Roundtree, played Shaft's uncle, although Roundtree is only six years older than Samuel L. Jackson.
Singleton's original idea was for the main character to be the son of John Shaft and that the two Shafts would work together. But no studio was willing to finance the project. Paramount Pictures producer Scott Rudin demanded the main character be changed to be Shaft's nephew, and for Richard Roundtree's participation to be reduced.
John Singleton wanted Don Cheadle as Shaft, but Scott Rudin insisted that a major box-office draw should play the role. Wesley Snipes was also considered. According to an interview with Samuel L. Jackson, he and John Singleton often argued over the direction of the film. After one particular argument, Singleton refused to come out of his trailer.
Samuel L. Jackson and John Singleton also had numerous disagreements with co-writer Richard Price and co-producer Scott Rudin over lines in the script that they found racially and sexually offensive. One scene, to which Jackson objected, featured Shaft tossing a candy bar at a sexual partner when she wants him to take her out for dinner. The lines were deleted from the script.
Isaac Hayes, the composer of 1971’s SHAFT, Gordon Parks, the director of that film, and John Singleton, director of this version, all have cameos in the film.
John Singleton on the set of SHAFT (2000)
The $46 million film did not perform up to expectations at the box office, grossing $70 million in the U.S. Foreign receipts added an additional $37 million. John Singleton had planned a sequel, where Shaft battles drug lords in Jamaica. But the film's lackluster box-office returns, and Samuel L. Jackson's disappointment with the film, stopped any plans of a sequel--at least until this June, when Jackson returns to the role (as John Shaft II), under director Tim Story.
David Arnold scored the film, interpolating Isaac Hayes’ original Shaft Theme into his music. LaFace Records released a CD of the film’s hip hop and R&B songs, but Arnold’s score did not get a release until 2014, when La-La Land issued it.
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BABY BOY exposes immature young men like “Jody” (Tyrese Gibson), still living with their put-upon mothers, refusing accountability for their children, and living on borrowed cash and favors rather than getting a job.
Jody spends his days hanging around with bad boy “Sweetpea” (Omar Gooding, Cuba's little brother) but his womb-like existence is suddenly threatened when his mum's (A.J. Johnson) new boyfriend (Ving Rhames) moves in, and his girlfriend's volatile ex, “Rodney” (Snoop Dogg), appears, fresh from prison.
Tyrese Gibson and John Singleton on the set of BABY BOY
Writer-producer-director John Singleton originally wrote the role of Rodney for Ice Cube. Singleton also revealed that he wrote the script with Tupac Shakur in mind for the lead role of Jody. It was eventually filmed with Tyrese Gibson in his place and released in 2001, five years after Shakur's death.
BABY BOY was the last feature film written by John Singleton, as he did not write any of his later feature-length directorial projects. The $16 million production showed a small profit, grossing $29.4 million worldwide. David Arnold’s score for the film was released by Varese Sarabande.
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2 FAST 2 FURIOUS is a 2003 action film directed by John Singleton and written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas. It is the second installment in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise. The film follows “Brian O'Conner” (Paul Walker) and “Roman Pearce” (Tyrese Gibson) who team up to go undercover for the U.S. Customs Service to bring down drug lord “Carter Verone” (Cole Hauser) in exchange for the erasure of their criminal records.
2 FAST 2 FURIOUS was a sequel to THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (2001), and plans for a second installment were developed immediately following the box office success of the first entry. Early treatments for a sequel initially featured the returns of both stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker; however, the former declined, instead opting to star in THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK (2004). As a result of this, Universal Studios delayed the start of filming to allow for script rewrites, which subsequently allowed for the franchise's long-running characters of “Roman Pearce” and “Tej Parker” (Ludacris) to be introduced.
In August 2002, John Singleton, who had praised the first film, was announced to direct the second in place of Rob Cohen, who left the franchise after directing the initial installment. Regarding the first film, Singleton is reported to have said: "When I saw THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, I was like, 'Damn, why didn't I think of that?' Growing up in South Central L.A., we had street races all the time."
Singleton originally wanted rapper Ja Rule to reprise his “Edwin” character from the original film. Ja Rule was offered $500,000 for the role, which was much more than the $15,000 he had been paid to appear in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS. According to Singleton, "Ja got too big for himself. He turned it down. He turned down a half a million dollars. ... He was acting like he was too big to be in the sequel. He wouldn't return calls." This led Singleton to create the “Tej Parker” character, and hire Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, a relatively little known rap artist at the time as a substitute.
John Singleton and Paul Walker on the set of 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS
Principal photography began in Miami in October 2002, with the majority of filming being done on location in Miami and South Florida. To keep the feel of the movie interesting, Singleton often encouraged the actors to improvise during filming. Many of the humorous moments on screen are ad-libbed.
Star Paul Walker was a car enthusiast; he competed in the Redline Time Attack racing series in which he raced on the AE Performance Team driving a BMW E92 M3. The first car Walker drives in this movie, was in fact not his own racing car in real-life. Instead it belonged to technical advisor Craig Lieberman and was repainted for the movie. Although Walker had a love for street racing, he did not personally handpick all of the racing cars in the movie as is often suggested. The vehicles were first picked by Universal and then some final decisions were made by Lieberman and the other advisors. The Mitsubishi vehicles used prominently in the film were originally going to be Dodge Neon SRT4 variants before Lieberman stepped in. Walker performed several of the car stunts in the film himself.
Despite mixed reviews, the film has in later years been considered by some as the most underrated movie of the Fast and Furious franchise. Derek Lawrence of Entertainment Weekly called it "the forgotten Fast and Furious gem" and praised the chemistry between Walker and Gibson, and John Singleton's direction. The $76 million film grossed $237 million worldwide, topping the initial installment by nearly $30 million. None of David Arnold’s score appeared on the UMG/Def Jam South soundtrack release.
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Turning to a more commercial project, John Singleton co-wrote, co-produced, and directed the 2000 remake of SHAFT,
I loved this film, honestly, and felt it was a very good follow up and continuation of the Shaft series. I'm thrilled a sequel is finally coming.
David Arnold's score is also excellent, a less likely composer for such a film one could not imagine, but he pulled it off.
The cast was great and Singleton's direction was crisp. A shame to lose him at such a young age, he had a ton of talent.
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John Singleton acted as the sole producer for the 2007 crime drama, ILLEGAL TENDER. In the film’s prologue, decent Bronx drug-dealer and dad (Manny Perez) is betrayed and murdered while his wife is in the hospital giving birth to their son. She flees with her child and her husband's money-laundered assets, and we flash forward a couple of decades to a new world: roomy Connecticut digs and a luxe car for college-age “Wilson” (Rick Gonzalez), who idly plays hip-hop about '80s ghetto-hood. Mom “Millie” (Wanda De Jesus) has an adorable second son, whom Wilson dotes on when he's not with his steady girlfriend “Ana” (Dania Ramirez) from school. Eventually, though, Wilson starts wondering where the family’s money is coming from.
Franc. Reyes directed the film, which was shot in just 28 days on locations in New York and Puerto Rico. The film was screened for distributor Universal Studios less than two weeks after shooting ended.
ILLEGAL TENDER received mostly negative reviews and earned $3.1 million in U.S. theaters. The film’s score, by Heitor Pereira, is available only on iTunes.
Director Franc. Reyes and producer John Singleton on the set of ILLEGAL TENDER
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John Singleton returned to directing with the 2011 action drama ABDUCTION. In the film, young “Nathan” (Taylor Lautner) lives the life of an wild teenager, riding down the backroads of Pennsylvania balancing on the hood of a pick-up truck, drinking too much at parties, and waking up the next morning shirtless on the front lawn. He is also an exceptional athlete, dominating the wrestling team and being trained in mixed martial arts by his father (Jason Isaacs) who pushes him remorselessly. Dealing with more than his fair share of angst, he makes regular visits to his shrink (Sigourney Weaver) to discuss a recurring dream involving a woman being attacked. In the midst of all of this, while working on a school project with “Karen” (Lily Collins), his crush of a neighbor, he stumbles across what he believes to be his baby picture on a web site featuring abducted children. He begins a clandestine search for the truth of his past.
There was a bidding war for Tiffany Mason's screenplay, which was featured in the 2010 “Blacklist,” a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year. Lionsgate won the competition with a bid of $1 million. The studio rushed to start principal photography in July 2010, due to Taylor Lautner's schedule to begin work on the last two Twilight films for Summit Entertainment. Writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff was hired to work on the screenplay, and John Singleton signed on to direct in March. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Lee Stollman, Roy Lee, and Doug Davison produced the film, and Jeremy Bell and Gabriel Mason executive produced. Lautner's father, Dan Lautner, also produced, the first film from their Tailor Made Entertainment label.
John Singleton shot the film in and around Pittsburgh, PA, on a budget of $35 million. A chase scene at PNC Park was filmed on August 22, 2010, during an actual Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game. (The Pirates beat the Mets 2-1.) Singleton decided to film a chase scene there, which was not in the script, with a small crew and with Taylor Lautner doing his own stunts.
Jason Isaacs, director John Singleton, and Taylor Lautner on the set of ABDUCTION
ABDUCTION received mediocre reviews, with Lautner’s performance being taken to task. Nevertheless, the film ultimately earned $28 million domestically and $54 million internationally for a total of $82 million, well above its $35 million budget. Only 4 minutes of Edward Shearmur’s score appeared on the soundtrack released by Epic Records.
ABDUCTION would prove to be the final feature film directed by John Singleton, before he turned his attention to television.
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Posted: |
May 3, 2019 - 11:29 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In 2017, John Singleton created and executive produced the television series “Snowfall”. This series is a well-researched history lesson on America’s war on drugs, and more specifically the scourge of crack cocaine in Los Angeles in the 1980s. The series provides a step-by-step accounting of how the C.I.A. enabled certain cocaine smugglers as a way of indirectly funding the contra war against the Sandinistas in Central America, how desperate experimentation led that powder to be turned into crack cocaine, and how the cool, capitalist aspirations of a few visionaries turned the drug into an epidemic.
The series’ three main protagonists are “Franklin Saint” (Damson Idris), an ambitious 19-year-old from South Central looking to tap into the American dream; “Lucia Villanueva” (Emily Rios), who’s trying to stake a claim in her father Manuel’s (Manuel Uriza) massive cartel; and “Teddy McDonald” (Carter Hudson), a disgraced C.I.A. agent seeking career redemption.
Actor Eric Womack and director John Singleton on the set of “Snowfall”.
Although the series was created for Showtime, that network passed after a pilot was made. At that point, Dave Andron joined the project as co-creator and showrunner. A second pilot was shot with some different actors, whereupon FX picked up the series. It premiered on that network on July 5, 2017. It has been renewed for its third season, which is set to premiere on July 10, 2019. John Singleton wrote and directed two of the show's episodes.
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Posted: |
May 3, 2019 - 11:48 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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On 26 August 2003, John Singleton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in Motion Pictures. It is located at 6915 Hollywood Blvd.
While in high school, Singleton learned "that the film business was controlled by screenplays". After graduating from Blair High School in Pasadena, California in 1986, Singleton was accepted to the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television's prestigious Film Writing Program. During his four-year studies there, he won three writing awards. These achievements in writing earned Singleton a contract with the powerful Creative Artists Agency during his sophomore year at USC. When it came time to film his first screenplay (BOYZ N THE HOOD), Singleton believed only he could direct it, and he did.
Singleton had a laser focus on showing Black life in America through his films. Rapper and actor Ice Cube who worked with Singleton on BOYZ N THE HOOD and HIGHER LEARNING said: "There are no words to express how sad I am to lose my brother, friend and mentor. He loved [to] bring the black experience to the world." Farewell, John.
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