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PEOPLE & ARTS Thursday 2 May 2019
John Singleton, maker of 'Boyz N the Hood,' dies at 51

By JAKE COYLE ise" won instead.) from my perspective — an
HILLEL ITALIE "I think I was living this film authentic black perspec-
Associated Press before I ever thought about tive."
NEW YORK (AP) — Director making it," Singleton told Singleton was married
John Singleton, who made Vice in 2016. "As I started to twice, and had five chil-
one of Hollywood's most think about what I wanted dren. Besides his career
memorable debuts with to do with my life, and cin- in movies, Singleton also
the Oscar-nominated "Boyz ema became an option, directed the memorable,
N the Hood" and continued it was just natural that this Egyptian-themed video
over the following decades was probably gonna be for Michael Jackson's "Re-
to probe the lives of black my first film. In fact, when I member the Time," which
communities in his native applied to USC film school included Eddie Murphy
Los Angeles and beyond, they had a thing that asked and Magic Johnson. He
has died. He was 51. you to write three ideas cast hip-hop artists and
Singleton's family said Mon- for films. And one of them other musicians in many of
day that he died in Los An- was called 'Summer of '84,' In this Feb. 24, 2008 file photo, director John Singleton arrives at his films, including Ice Cube
geles, surrounded by fam- which was about growing the 80th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. in "Boyz N the Hood," Ja-
ily and friends, after being up in South Central LA." Associated Press net Jackson and Shakur in
taken off life support. Earlier In 2002, "Boyz N the Hood" "Poetic Justice" and Tyrese
this month, the director suf- was added to the National Lee said, "We'll miss you but of-age story "Baby Boy," a Gibson in "Baby Boy."
fered a major stroke. Film Registry by the Library your films will live on." Jor- remake of the action film Most recently, Singleton,
Singleton was in his early of Congress, which called dan Peele, the Oscar-win- "Shaft" and an installment who regretted turning
20s, just out of the Univer- it "an innovative look at ning "Get Out" and "Us" film- in the "Fast and Furious" down the chance to di-
sity of Southern California's life and the tough choices maker, called him "a brave franchise, "2 Fast 2 Furious." rect on the first season of
School of Cinematic Arts, present for kids growing up artist and a true inspiration." More recent projects in- "The Wire," turned his focus
when he wrote, directed in South Central Los Ange- "His vision changed every- cluded the FX crime drama largely to television. He di-
and produced "Boyz N the les." thing," said Peele. "Snowfall," which he helped rected episodes of "The
Hood." Based on Singleton's Singleton's death Monday None of Singleton's sub- create. Starring Damson People v. O.J. Simpson:
upbringing and shot in his followed a turbulent week sequent movies received Idris, "Snowfall" returned American Crime Story" (for
old neighborhood, the low- during which his family the acclaim of "Boyz N the Singleton to the Los Ange- which he was nominated
budget production starred members made opposing Hood" and he was criti- les of his youth and the de- for an Emmy), "Empire" and
Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ice court filings regarding his cized at times for turning structive effects of the rise "Billions." He co-created
Cube and centered on health. Singleton had been characters into mouthpiec- of crack cocaine. and executive produced
three friends in South Cen- in intensive care in a Los es for political and social "Drugs devastated a gen- "Snowfall," directing three
tral Los Angeles, where col- Angeles hospital since he messages. But he attracted eration. It gave me some- episodes.
lege aspirations competed had a stroke on April 17. talent ranging from Tupac thing to write about, but "There's hardly any prec-
with the pressures of gang Singleton's passing prompt- Shakur to Don Cheadle I had to survive it first," edent for a guy like me to
life. "Boyz N the Hood" was a ed widespread praise for a and explored themes of Singleton told the Guard- have the career that I've
critical and commercial hit, filmmaker who, as his "Shaft" creative expression ("Poet- ian in 2017. "It made me had," Singleton told Variety
given a 20-minute standing star Samuel L. Jackson said, ic Justice"), identity ("Higher a very angry young man. in 2017. "Because I grew up
ovation at the Cannes Film "blazed the trail for many Learning") and the coun- I didn't understand why I the way I grew up, I'm an
Festival and praised as a young film makers," while try's racist past, notably in was so angry, but I wasn't in-your-face kind of guy.
groundbreaking extension "always remaining true to "Rosewood," based on a someone who took my an- I developed that as a de-
of rap to the big screen, a who he was and where he murderous white rampage ger and applied it inward. I fense mechanism to survive
realistic and compassion- came from." against a black community turned it into being a story- in the streets. I do that in
ate take on race, class, Ava DuVernay called him in Florida in 1923. teller. I was on a kamikaze Hollywood in the service of
peer pressure and family. "a giant among us." Spike He also made the coming- mission to really tell stories my passion."q
Singleton would later call it
a "rap album on film."
For many, the 1991 release Daniel Radcliffe to return to
captured the explosive
mood in Los Angeles in the
months following the vid- London stage in Beckett play
eotaped police beating of
Rodney King. "Boyz N the
Hood" also came out at a Associated Press appeared at the Old Vic
LONDON (AP) — Daniel in 2017 in Tom Stoppard's
time when, thanks to the
efforts to Spike Lee and oth- Radcliffe is returning to the "Rosencrantz and Guilden-
London stage in a Samuel stern Are Dead."
ers, black films were starting
to get made by Hollywood Beckett double bill. The Old Vic's 2019-2020
The Old Vic Theatre says season will also reunite
after a long absence.
Singleton became the first the former "Harry Potter" Claire Foy and Matt Smith,
star will appear alongside stars of the first two seasons
black director — and at 24
the youngest — to receive Alan Cumming in a pro- of "The Crown," as a couple
duction of Beckett's bleak grappling with the fate of
an Academy Award nomi-
nation, an honor he would comedy "Endgame" that the planet in "Lungs."
opens in February. It will The theater also plans to
say was compensation for
the academy's snubbing be performed along with stage Lucy Prebble's "A In this Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 file photo, Daniel Radcliffe par-
Beckett's rarely produced Very Expensive Poison,"
Lee and "Do the Right Thing" ticipates in the "Miracle Workers" panel during the TBS presenta-
two years earlier, and was short play "Rough For The- based on the killing of for- tion at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour at The
mer Russian agent Alexan-
atre II."
nominated for best screen- Langham Huntington on in Pasadena, Calif.
play. ("Thelma & Lou- The 29-year-old Radcliffe der Litvinenko.q Associated Press