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The idea for the screenplay came from an idea Singleton proposed when applying to film school at USC, and Singleton was still a recent graduate when he got the go-ahead to make it.
![morris chestnut boyz n the hood morris chestnut boyz n the hood](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/28/e8/6f/28e86f37ea6baa28b85a0143e5db8968.jpg)
in his first major role.īoyz n the Hood is the story of a group of teenagers in South Central, centering on Tre (Gooding) - whose father (Fishburne) and girlfriend (Long) are keeping him on the straight and narrow - and two of his friends (Cube and Chestnut), who are drawn toward the neighborhood’s gangs. The film starred Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long, Regina King, Angela Bassett, and Cuba Gooding Jr. Singleton shifted American cinema from the start of his careerĪ native of South Central Los Angeles, Singleton burst onto the scene with Boyz n the Hood in 1991. And though he rose to early fame, in the 27 years following his historic nominations, the director, writer, and producer went on to do something even more significant: He kept making good movies.Īnd with his films, he endeavored to do something that was radical in Hollywood then, and still radical in Hollywood now: Telling black stories to America. And for the first time in its 64 years, the Academy had finally nominated an African-American filmmaker for Best Director.īut Singleton - who died April 29 at age 51, almost two weeks after suffering a debilitating stroke - was no flash in the pan. At 24, he was the youngest nominee in Oscar history. When John Singleton snagged two Oscar nominations in 1992 for writing and directing his debut feature Boyz n the Hood, he made history twice over.