What The Hell Happened To John Singleton?

Note:
This article was written prior to John Singleton’s death on April 28, 2019. The purpose of this article is to reflect on Singleton’s career.

He debuted in 1991 with one of the films that defined an era. His follow ups were not quite on the same level. But they were ambitious and showed that the talent was still there. Then he took to making films targeted at the popcorn crowd that seemed anonymous and lacked the depth and personality of his earlier films. Today, he’s more or less a director-for-hire making films in the Fast And The Furious series and Taylor Lautner movies.

What the hell happened to John Singleton?

Singleton was born on January 6 1968 in South Central (now South) Los Angeles. His early life in this crime ridden area of LA would impact much of his work.

After seeing Star Wars at 10, Singleton began thinking about a career as a filmmaker. Upon graduating from high school in the late 80s he enrolled in the Filmic Writing Program at The University Of Southern California. His teacher was Margaret Mehring who also taught many other writers including Stephen Chbosky who scripted the film adaptation of Rent and wrote and directed The Perks Of Being A Wallflower from his own book. While in school Singleton wrote several scripts (including Boyz N The Hood) and won a few writing awards.

Upon graduating in 1990, Singleton was getting offers to buy the Boyz script. One offer came from Columbia Pictures. Singleton agreed but with a condition: he had to direct the film.

Singleton had seen many black films helmed by white directors that were quite simply awful. This was a script based on his own life experience and he wasn’t about to hand it over to someone who had no idea what the nuances of this story where or how to get them to the screen. Impressed by his determination, Columbia agreed.

Boyz N The Hood was released in July of 1991.

At first greeted with fear of violence due to its uncompromising look at life in America’s inner cities, Boyz went on to become a hit with both audiences and critics. It came in on the heels of a “black film renaissance” that had theoretically been brought on by Spike Lee’s breakthrough in the late 80s. It went on to become one of the defining films of that era, one that introduced hi-hop and street culture to mainstream America that wouldn’t normally buy an NWA or Ice-T album. It launched Cuba Gooding Jr‘s career. proved that Ice Cube had screen presence as well as microphone presence and moved Laurence (then Larry) Fishburne from supporting player to more prominent roles (although Fishburne was and remains primarily a character actor).

It also got its writer/director two Oscar nominations: one for best Original Screenplay and one for best Director.  This made him the youngest Director ever nominated for an Oscar (he was 20) and the first African-American. He didn’t win either one (this was the year that Silence Of The Lambs swept the Oscars). But the exposure helped get him even more recognition.

As he moved on to his sophomore effort, Singleton joined the ranks of John Landis and Martin Scorsese as filmmakers who directed music videos  for the King Of Pop.

He helmed the video for Michael Jackson’s 1992 single “Remember The Time”. I’d wager that most people within 5 years of my age either way remember that video which featured Eddie Murphy. If you need a refresher here it is:

Singleton released his second film Poetic Justice in the summer of 1993.

172444__poeticjustice_l

Poetic Justice set out to show us other sides of the hood and show it from a more feminine perspective. It also tried to establish Janet Jackson as a movie star.

It didn’t quite work. The film was seen by critics and a significant portion of the public as a disappointment after Boyz, Jackson’s acting was dismissed and the film has come to be regarded as one of those “close but no cigar” ones.

I re-watched it not too long ago and truthfully I don’t think it’s that bad. It does have flaws (characters could be better developed) and Janet (Ms. Jackson although I’m not nasty I hope) is only adequate in the lead role. But it does do a good job of showing us these people and features a very good performance from the late Tupac Shakur. It isn’t a forgotten classic. But it’s worth a watch.

Higher Learning (1995)

After another two-year wait. Singleton returned in early 1995 with the college drama Higher Learning.

Unlike the relatively forgotten Poetic Justice, this one has developed something of a following over the years. And that’s deserved for it is a pretty good little movie. It has flaws sure (the female characters are kinda archetypal, subplots gets introduced and dropped with no resolution). But it’s an ambitious at times thought-provoking picture that features some great acting from Boyz alumni Fishburne and Cube as well as Singleton newcomers Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Jennifer Connelly and Michael Rapaport.

Although it was popular with a fairly large audience, Higher Learning was also under seen at the box office.

Two years passed and Singleton returned with the historic drama Rosewood.

Rosewood was the first Singleton film that he didn’t write himself. It was also the first since Boyz N The Hood to receive wide critical acclaim (as opposed to the mixed reviews for Poetic Justice and Higher Learning). However, those positive reviews did not translate into box office.

In some ways, I suspect that Rosewood suffered by being released too far on the wrong side of movie fashion. In 1997, historic dramas not having anything to do with theoretically unsinkable ships were pretty much out of time. That combined with the fact that it’s about an ugly incident many people don’t know about and those that do know about it would rather forget it, ultimately led to it getting overlooked. If you haven’t seen it, I’d say check it out.

After Rosewood failed, Singleton decided to branch out from ambitious dramatic films that few people were choosing to see. He teamed up with Samuel L Jackson for a reboot of one of the most iconic cinematic characters in the history of cinema.

“And they say this cat Shaft is a bad mutha
Shut yo mouth!”

images (1)

Singleton’s summer of 2000 reboot of the 1971 Gordon Parks directed Blaxploitation classic featured Jackson in the title role. His John Shaft is a nephew of Richard Roundtree’s Shaft and every bit the bad mutha that his uncle was in his glory days. Jackson’s Shaft is an NYPD cop who quits the force due to its bureaucracy and strikes out on his own. The movie has him going up against a rich racist prick played by Christian Bale who murdered a black college student.

While largely a popcorn movie, Shaft managed to get in a few statements about the justice system. Unlike its forebear it wasn’t a game changer. But it showed that John Singleton could make more mainstream films and still maintain his point of view. This would soon change sadly.

A year later, Singleton returned to the inner city with Baby Boy.

taraji_p__henson3

Coming nearly on the ten-year anniversary of Boyz N The Hood‘s release, Baby Boy was seen by some as a comeback and by others as a case of going back to the well one time too many. I personally have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I admire its ambition and it does feature a fantastic performance from (the underused as of late) Ving Rhames. On the other hand it never totally gels. It’s still worthwhile much like Higher Learning and Shaft. But it’s not quite on the level of Boyz or Rosewood.

After two films in two consecutive years we went back to the two-year wait between Singleton films. And when the next one came, the response from many of his fans who’d followed him from the beginning was WTF.

2-fast-2-furious-2003-21-g

2 Fast 2 Furious, an abysmal sequel to a mediocre original, featured Baby Boy‘s Tyrese Gibson and Paul Walker from the original. Vin Diesel opted not to return, possibly sensing what a massive pile of crud the final result would be.

Even many devotees of the series rank 2 Fast as its low point. If Shaft proved that Singleton could make a popcorn film with some real thought, 2 Fast proved he could direct an anonymous one that was indistinguishable from the corporate filmmaking mill.

In 2005 Singleton returned with two projects; one a directorial effort, one an edgy independent throwback to the types of films that were in vogue in the early to mid 1990s.

First up, We have the Urban Western Four Brothers.

FourBrothers

Although reviews were mixed Four Brothers did relatively well at the box office. Much of the criticism seemed to claim that the film glorified vigilante violence and that it was hypocritical coming from the director of Boyz N The Hood. I saw it as a popcorn film with some depth. By combining the tropes of the western with elements of a genre that he has firsthand experience with, Singleton was able to make an entertaining action film with some thought, much like Shaft.

Also in 2005, Singleton produced Hustle And Flow, an independent drama by debuting writer/director Craig Brewer.

hustle-flow-20050720061734255-000

Hustle was reminiscent of the type of gritty independent film that had been made a decade before. It used familiar tropes but presented them in an uncompromising manner and featured a fantastic lead performance from Terrence Howard (who’d played a supporting role in Four Brothers). Howard received an Oscar nomination and the movie received an actual Oscar for best song.

At the time Singleton sold Hustle And Flow to Paramount for distribution, they made an agreement to put out two additional features that Singleton planned to produce. But even after Hustle‘s success, Paramount backed out of putting out the other two films. This led Singleton to file a lawsuit. The issue was settled in late 2011 and the specifics have never been made clear to the general public.

In 2007, Singleton was involved in a car accident. While driving in Los Angeles he struck a pedestrian who was reportedly jaywalking, she later died at the hospital. Although it was later ruled to be an accident (no speeding or use of alcohol/drugs) the incident reportedly made Singleton an outcast in Hollywood.

Abduction-Movie-Stills-abduction-24016517-1361-2048

Abduction was to Four Brothers what 2 Fast 2 Furious was to Shaft and Baby Boy, an abysmal anonymous film with a horrendous script. Whereas Shaft and Four Brothers at least felt like Singleton films in some regards, this one felt like John Moore (A Good Day To Die Hard and other anonymous studio product) or Len Wiseman could have directed it.

Although it received largely negative reviews, Abduction was a modest box office success.

So what the hell happened?

Why did Singleton go from making artistically successful (if commercially unsuccessful) films to being a director-for-hire who makes commercial pablum with Twilight stars?

I’ve seen it suggested that the lawsuit and the accident more or less had led to him being exiled from Hollywood. There could be some truth here. Looking on IMDB I see no future projects in development for him and it’s now been almost 3 years since Abduction. However, 2 Fast, Four Brothers and Abduction were successful from a financial standpoint. Plus, if Hollywood really had exiled Singleton I strongly suspect he’d follow in Spike Lee’s footsteps and turn to outside sources.

A couple possible theories I’ve considered.

1: Singleton got tired of making ambitious dramatic films that few people were seeing. Unlike the aforementioned Lee who had long refused to be a team player in Hollywood, Singleton was more than willing to play the game.

2: Singleton feared being ghettoized (pun not intended) as a “Black issues filmmaker”. I can understand not wanting to be pigeonholed very well. And I have no issue with him wanting to branch out, with wanting to direct action movies or sci-fi movies or westerns or romances. Richard Linklater and Steven Soderbergh have proven it is possible to move between independent idiosyncratic features and big budget studio movies and offer up quality stuff in both arenas. But Linklater and Soderbergh have both been able to usually get decent scripts when they tackle mainstream movies and there’s less disparity between their commercial and non-commercial work. School Of Rock feels like a Linklater film as much as Waking Life and Dazed and Confused do. If I hadn’t known he’d directed it going in, I would have had no idea Singleton directed Abduction until I saw his name in the credits.

3: It is possible that the massive success of Boyz N The Hood may have been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it was a very good film that deserved to be seen and because it got his career going. And a curse because it created a legacy that may have been impossible to live up to.

Singleton was 21 when Boyz was released. Imagine if Scorsese had released Taxi Driver when he was only 21 or if Coppola had released The Godfather when he was only 21. It’s possible that the sheer expectations from having to follow up a masterpiece as their debut film may have ended their careers before they had a chance to begin.

With the possible exception of Rosewood, pretty much every film that Singleton has made since Boyz has been dismissed by at least one critic as “not being up to that level”. It’s possible that he may have gotten tired of having to live up to that and just settled for making movies targeted at markets rather than as a means of self-expression because that was the only way to get the albatross off.

However, even in spite of the disappointments of his most recent work, I still am not quite ready to count him out. There’s part of me that still holds out hope that he may find the resources within him to make maybe not a full-fledged masterpiece. But an artistically successful ambitious film that connects with me. He may still reach the early promise he showed.

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lebeau
Admin
10 years ago

First, let me welcome our newest contributor at Le Blog. Jeffthewhildman posted some great ideas for the Betrayed by… series. The series was essentially What the Hell Happened for directors. I have long intended to continue the series, but never had the time to devote to it. I frequently get requests to write WTHH articles about directors. But again, due to time constraints, that wasn’t going to happen any time in the near future. Jeff’s insightful comments made it clear to me that he was the right guy for the job. Jeff agreed to come on board and take WTHH… Read more »

lebeau
Admin
10 years ago
Reply to  jeffthewildman

As long as you guys don’t violate the terms of WordPress (which I’m not remotely worried about) you have the keys to the kingdom. Do whatever you want. I’ll probably do a little proof-reading/editing/linking when I read your stuff. But the content is 100% up to y’all.

David
10 years ago

I really like the WTHH to directors idea, I may steal it if I have a good one come to mind. Many directors have fallen off and become journeymen and directors for hire. I feel like Singleton got exposed as a one trick pony. When he tried to break out of “black” or “ghetto” stories he had little success, or found that the film going audience sadly doesn’t want too much of that. He then retreated back into the same genre, to lesser results throughout his career. I compare him to the Hughes Brothers, whose Menace II Society came out… Read more »

lebeau
Admin
10 years ago
Reply to  David

I agree.
I see a difference between actors and directors. Especially auteurs who are writing and directing their own movies. A lot of directors only have so many stories in them. Eventually, they either run out of personal stories to tell or their success causes them to loose touch with what made their movies identifiable in the first place.
For actors, who have less control over the project as a whole, I feel like this is less of a factor.

David
10 years ago
Reply to  jeffthewildman

Yes, every director runs out of personal stories or inspiration to tell. After Raging Bull, Mean Streets, and Taxi Driver, even Scorcese ran out of personal stories. His movies no longer felt ripped from his soul. the difference is he has the talent to cultivate good scripts and do interesting things with them (tonally, cinematography, etc..) and coax excellent performances out of actors. That’s the hallmark of a great director. Good ones can at least put there stamp on things, or still make quality films (James Mangold, Gavin O’Connor come to mind). And then there are people like Singleton, Philip… Read more »

lebeau
Admin
10 years ago
Reply to  David

Yeah, but Scorceses are in short supply. How many directors are there that can stay relevant after they have run out of personal tales to tell? Very few. And the ones that do, (Woody Allen comes to mind) drift in and out of relevance as they struggle to find something new to say. For both actors and directors, I think there is a predetermined career arc. What goes up must come down. But I think for directors in particular, most are doomed to flame out once they have had some success. Outside of a handful of directors, you could do… Read more »

lebeau
Admin
10 years ago
Reply to  jeffthewildman

Great quote.

lebeau
Admin
10 years ago
Reply to  jeffthewildman

I have to admit I lost touch with Singleton after Shaft. I had no idea he directed Abduction. WTF?

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  lebeau

What Went Wrong With Taylor Lautner’s Career: http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/851268-What-Went-Wrong-With-Taylor-Lautner-s-Career It only was about five years ago that Lautner’s bulked-up body made its big debut in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. That film grossed $710 million worldwide and fueled buzz that Lautner, then just 17, could be the next big action star. Weeks after New Moon’s release, Paramount set him as the lead in its big-budget Max Steel, based on the Mattel action figure. He also signed on to the fighter-pilot action movie Northern Lights for a reported $7.5 million. Soon after, Lautner dropped out of Northern Lights when he was offered… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  lebeau

Why Hollywood won’t cast Taylor Lautner anymore http://www.looper.com/14377/hollywood-wont-cast-taylor-lautner-anymore/ His first star vehicle bombed Lautner was the marquee name in 2011’s Abduction, and the movie didn’t do well at all. The film was critically panned, earning a measly Metascore of 25 and only scored four percent on Rotten Tomatoes. That wouldn’t be so bad if the box office numbers were better, but it only made $28 million worldwide, not even breaking even on its $35 million budget. An agent told The Hollywood Reporter, “His first movie just wasn’t very good, and it didn’t justify what he was asking for at the… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  David

Maybe John Singleton also feel into the same trap that Cameron Crowe ultimately fell into in that he ran out of interesting personal stories that he could tell. But at the end of the day, I do agree that Singleton was more then likely a victim of his own success. “Boyz ‘N the Hood” set the bar so highly for such a young director (and we don’t even have to go into how he was the first African-American to get a Best Director Oscar nomination), that of course anything that he did following that was inevitably going to be compared… Read more »

lebeau
Admin
6 years ago

I do like “Four Brothers” quite a bit though (Sofia Vergara was in that film, as was Tarji P. Henson, back when they were pretty unknown).

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  David

NINE DIRECTORS WHO WASTED THEIR GREAT POTENTIAL http://cassavafilms.com/list-of-9/nine-directors-who-wasted-their-great-potential John Singleton. At 43, Singleton has a Hollywood career that many would kill for. Not only does he keep working, which is enviable enough, but most of his recent films have made money (including a Shaft remake and a Fast and Furious installment). But this is the man who, at just 23, directed the critically adored Boyz N the Hood and became the first African American ever nominated for a Best Director Oscar. (Even Spike Lee hasn’t yet accomplished this.) But the entitled young Singleton exhausted his Boyz momentum with several pretentious,… Read more »

Higgins
Higgins
10 years ago

Good article! By the way, Lebeau, how do you become a blogger on the site?

lebeau
Admin
10 years ago
Reply to  Higgins

I don’t have a process for people to become contributors. Usually, I select people based on comments I like. When I see comments that border on articles, I think “This person has something to say.”
I don’t add contributors all that often. I recently added Dave and Jeff. But prior to that, I added contributors at a rate of less than one a year.

Higgins
Higgins
10 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

OK, Thank you for telling me

Shemp
10 years ago

This is a comment on Singleton’s “Higher Learning” but NOT an “attack” on Singleton’s work as a whole (or even on him, really): [SPOILER ALERT} In the movie alert a [male] character date-rapes Kristy Swanson’s character. She’s understandably upset at him — he calls her dorm room to talk to her afterwards. Swanson’s [black] roommate answers the phone — if I recall correctly, she “runs interference” for her, basically saying “She doesn’t want to talk to you.” He gets agitated and uses the n-word at her. Swanson’s roomie takes umbrage at this and takes her [black] boyfriend to a party/gathering… Read more »

Mastro
Mastro
9 years ago
Reply to  Shemp

I haven’t seen Higher Learning in a while- but when I did I dislike a lot about it. I went to a university with a decent African American population- and I really didn’t remember the Neo-Nazis plotting against them. No Nazis at all. I also remember a scene where a group of tough blacks beat up the Neo- Nazis. It was obviously a scene that was meant to get an audience cheering- but since I think Nazis on campus is an entirely made up problem- it basically looked to me that Singleton wanted to show blacks beating up whites. A… Read more »

Mastro
Mastro
9 years ago
Reply to  Mastro

Oh- this is also a movie that has a “message ” that is obviously tacked on to a larger movie that has the exact opposite message. It has a “we can live together” message at the very end- but revels in interracial violence throughout the film- and clearly makes the Nazis (subtle, eh?) the antagonists to the blacks-
Basically its a popcorn movie for the inner city that is pretending to be Do The Right Thing. Its not- its basically an exploitation flick.

lebeau
Admin
9 years ago

I’ve liked quite a few of John Singleton films (I viewed “Higher Learning” on VHS in 1995 with friends without putting any thought into who the director was; I was aware during my second viewing), but “Four Brothers” is the last film he helmed that I enjoyed quite a bit. I think “Hustle and Flow” is fantastic, but that really isn’t a John Singleton film (I just wanted to mention that film).

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

10 Movies That Changed Your Mind About Directors You Hated: http://whatculture.com/film/10-movies-changed-mind-directors-hated.php/2 Four Brothers – John Singleton When John Singleton burst onto the scene with the seminal and viscerally affecting Boyz n the Hood big things were expected, but for whatever reason he spent the next 6 years or so working on poor follow-ups and with Michael Jackson. He did then enjoy something of a pick-up with Rosewood, but Shaft, Baby Boy and 2 Fast 2 Furious were basically dross compared to his debut. But then the formula worked again, just as it had for Boyz n the Hood with Four… Read more »

gluserty
9 years ago

I really enjoyed “Four Brothers”; I viewed it numerous times when I had HBO (NOT Horrible Body Odor, but the premium channel).

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

10 Most Underwhelming Summer Movies Of All Time http://whatculture.com/film-tv/10-most-underwhelming-summer-movies-of-all-time?page=3 2 Fast 2 Furious With Paul Walker the only cast member encoring from The Fast And The Furious, the makers of this sequel (easily the weakest in the franchise) went in a very different direction and served up a camp classic. What’s the last thing you expect to see in a movie where the female contingent is represented by Eva Mendes, Devon Aoki plus dozens of other “babes” in various stages of undress? How about Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson tussling on the floor, their legs wrapped around their opponent, each… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton on Sony Hack: Jokes by Amy Pascal, Scott Rudin Aren’t “Racist”: http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php?t=810747 In the summer of 1991, I had my first encounter with producer Scott Rudin. We sat for a moment, making small talk, then he comes with it: “Well, the tracking this weekend says your movie is going to kill my picture, so I wanted to meet you and see who you were.” The pictures opening that weekend were Regarding Henry and my first film, Boyz N the Hood. Rudin and I had a short lunch, where I learned we shared a mutual love of theater and… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Earlier in the year, he said this: http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/810747-John-Singleton-on-Sony-Hack-Jokes-by-Amy-Pascal-Scott-Rudin-Aren-t-quot-Racist-quot?p=20459792&viewfull=1#post20459792 “As part of “The Hollywood Masters” interview series, the director criticizes “so-called liberals” in the studios and adds: “You’ve got a lot of black executives at the studio who are afraid to give their opinion about what black culture is. “John Singleton criticized the major studios March 19 for refusing to let African-Americans direct black-themed films. “They ain’t letting the black people tell the stories,” the Oscar-nominated director-writer told students at Loyola Marymount University, expanding on a theme he addressed in a Dec. 18 Hollywood Reporter op-ed piece. “[Studio executives say] ‘We’re… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

10 Great Directors Who Haven’t Made Anything Good For Years: http://whatculture.com/film/10-great-directors-who-havent-made-anything-good-for-years.php/4 John Singleton 1991’s Boyz ‘n the Hood is about as close to a perfect portrayal of life in the Los Angeles gang scene as it’s possible to get. It was unflinchingly honest, deeply personal, and showed a mainstream American audience a side to life in the country that they were largely in denial about. It catapulted the careers of its stars and made director John Singleton not only the first African-American to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar, but the youngest ever nominee. Since then, his career has… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton Leaves Tupac Biopic Claiming The Studio Isn’t ‘Respectful’ Of The Rapper’s Legacy:
http://uproxx.com/smokingsection/2015/04/john-singleton-out-as-director-for-tupac-biopic/

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Why Can’t They Figure Out a Proper Tupac Shakur Film?
http://deadline.com/2015/04/tupac-shakur-film-john-singleton-1201406395/

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Top 10 One-Hit Wonder Movie Directors:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX2tkT2cFsE
John Singleton is #7 on this list.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Take the money and run with it: 11 directors changed by Hollywood success: http://www.avclub.com/article/take-money-and-run-it-11-directors-changed-hollywo-219799 John Singleton John Singleton burst onto the filmmaking scene with 1991’s Boyz N The Hood, a critical and commercial success that some thought would herald a second coming of the kind of personal, introspective, and dangerous black cinema that audiences hadn’t seen since the ’70s. Boyz N The Hood garnered Singleton a best director nomination (a first for a black director) as well as a nomination for his screenplay. Singleton’s next feature, Poetic Justice, while perhaps a little more romantic, was very much in the same… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Films that you personally think, genuinely hurt a director’s career:
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=10338302&postcount=71
Having to work on trash like that was not the end of his career, it was a result of not having much of a career anymore. No one film ruined his career, it’s just that Hollywood has no interest in funding the type of social issue dramas Singleton used to make, so he now works on bland Hollywood pap to pay the rent.
Abduction however seems to have pretty much ended Taylor Lautner’s career and we should be thankful to anybody involved in the film for that.

lebeau
Admin
8 years ago

John Singleton had something to say, but whether he has to say nowadays, I guess no one in Hollywood really wants to hear it.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Episode #114 – Abduction
http://www.flophousepodcast.com/2012/11/episode-114-abduction/
Crazy holiday scheduling has yet again kept us from providing detailed show notes for this episode. We apologize. It won’t become a habit. As a peace offering, here is a link to a picture of a castle freak. iframe height=”220″ scrolling=”no” …

Leo
Leo
8 years ago

Bad Movie Beatdown: 2 Fast 2 Furious
http://blip.tv/film-brain/bad-movie-beatdown-2-fast-2-furious-5052958
With the fifth movie coming, Film Brain takes a look at the second in the series.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Fox Didn’t Think John Singleton Was Qualified Enough to Direct Empire
http://www.vulture.com/2015/11/fox-didnt-want-singleton-for-empire-at-first.html

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

“Boyz n the Hood” director John Singleton not “worried” about white #Oscars http://bit.ly/1Qj2PHI

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton said “I got to be a part of this” when he heard about The People v. O.J. Simpson http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2016/03/john-singleton-the-people-v-oj-simpson-interview The Boyz n the Hood director, who reunited with Cuba Gooding Jr. on American Crime Story, says of directing the FX event series: “When they announced that they were going to do the show, I called up, and I was like, ‘I got to be a part of this. I lived in Los Angeles. I lived in these times, I was living when this was happening.’ I was really passionate about it, and we all hooked up. They said,… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton on directing The People v. O.J.: “I wanted to make sure I didn’t shoot it like a legal drama”
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2016/03/01/cuba-gooding-jr-john-singleton-on-the-race-card-in-the-people-v-o-j-simpson/
The Boyz n the Hood director says of shooting last night’s The Race Card episode, which focused on Johnnie Cochran vs. Christopher Darden: “They were more like cowboys…and I had to put them in adversarial positions, like gunslingers, but they were using the law as a weapon.”

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton’s FX Snowfall drama undergoing major changes
http://deadline.com/2016/04/snowfall-john-singleton-fx-pilot-rewrites-cast-changes-reshoots-1201739752/
The 1980s cocaine-epidemic drama pilot, forcing reshoots and casting changes.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton Reveals Inspirations for His FX Cocaine Drama ‘Snowfall’
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/john-singleton-fx-cocaine-drama-snowfall-1011777

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton Wants ‘Snowfall’ To Be The ‘Ghetto Version’ Of ‘Game Of Thrones’
http://uproxx.com/tv/john-singleton-snowfall-interview/

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Remember When “Booty Call” Outgrossed “Rosewood” At The Box Office 20 Years Ago This Month? http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/1146329-Remember-When-quot-Booty-Call-quot-Outgrossed-quot-Rosewood-quot-At-The-Box-Office-20-Years-Ago-This-Month …and the sh**storm that surrounded that? If you don’t, I’ll gladly jog your memory. Back in February 1997, there were two Black movies that were set for release around the same time. One was a film that was going to chronicle a tragedy that chronicled the ugliness of America which was forgotten () in the history books–a film that was supposed to remind folks of the promise that John Singleton had as a director since his previous film underperformed critically (in comparison to his… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton Talks About Dropping Out Of The Tupac Biopic ‘All Eyez On Me’
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSOq5LNF7Eb/

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton Tried to Re-Write Tupac Movie to Include Tupac Getting Raped in Jail + Scene of His Mom Having a Threesome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgBGX5OT-ao

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton Trashes ‘All Eyez On Me’, L.T. Hutton & Benny Boom –“It was worse than the Aaliyah biopic!”
http://thejasminebrand.com/2017/06/22/john-singleton-trashes-all-eyez-on-me-it-was-worse-than-the-aaliyah-lifetime-movie/

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

John Singleton ‘All Eyez on Me’ Script Leaks Online http://m.tmz.com/#article/2017/06/25/all-eyez-on-me-script-john-singleton-tupac-prison-rape-scene/ “All Eyez On Me” filmmakers and famed director John Singleton are beefing over the version of the movie Singleton wanted to make — and now we have the script at the center of the feud. TMZ obtained several pages from a 2014 draft written by Singleton, and it includes a scene where prison guards lock Tupac in the library, and turn the other way while other inmates assault him. When you read it … there’s a clear insinuation Tupac gets raped. ‘Eyez’ producer L.T. Hutton referred to this scene while… Read more »

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