John Singleton, director of powerful inner-city drama 'Boyz N the Hood,' dies at 51
Source: Washington Post
John Singleton, a screenwriter and film director whose powerful 1991 debut, "Boyz N the Hood," earned him two Oscar nominations and was considered groundbreaking for its humane depiction of the lives of young black men on the violent streets of South Central Los Angeles, died April 29 at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 51.
His family confirmed the death in a statement, according to the Associated Press. The filmmaker, who had hypertension, was hospitalized after having a stroke on April 17.
Mr. Singleton was the first African American and the youngest-ever Academy Award nominee for best director. He wrote the "Boyz N the Hood" screenplay, which was also an Oscar contender, as a student at the University of Southern California. In college, he had won scriptwriting prizes, which led to a three-picture deal with Columbia Pictures and $6.5 million to make "Boyz N the Hood."
He was 22, had never made a movie before and insisted on directing the film. He proved persuasive in negotiations with studio executives. "I'm a writer first, and I direct in order to protect my vision," he told the New York Times. "It's my story, I lived it. What sense would it have made to have some white boy impose his interpretation on my experience?"
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-singleton-director-of-powerful-inner-city-drama-boyz-n-the-hood-dies-at-51/2019/04/29/a6d3fd58-67aa-11e9-8985-4cf30147bdca_story.html
I just saw an article about an hour ago that he had had a stroke last week (apparently the week before last) and that his family planned to remove him from life support today.
Damn.
edbermac
(15,943 posts)nini
(16,672 posts)Way too young.
irisblue
(33,018 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,360 posts)and couldn't get through the whole thing. It was that depressing.
Kind of Blue
(8,709 posts)So many heavy movies. But then I'll remember him for the awesome Remember the Time music video.
BumRushDaShow
(129,360 posts)Last edited Mon Apr 29, 2019, 06:15 PM - Edit history (1)
I still have it on VHS when it aired on TV! Iman was awesome and Michael Jordan was hilarious.
Kind of Blue
(8,709 posts)He casted the video perfectly! I hope this is the long version. Goodness, I remember thinking the relatively short dance number was on the One with practically every move. Good storytelling only Singleton could do.
Thanks! Sweet to remember his light-hearted side, too!
On Edit: VHS! I just found a VCR this weekend that I was thinking of taking to electronics recycling. Now I'm not too sure. I'd have to get rid of the heaps of tapes, too, with so many gems and memories.
BumRushDaShow
(129,360 posts)That is the long version - ~ 9 minutes. I remember taping it when it aired on cable (I think I taped it from BET but it also aired on MTV).
It's been almost 30 years ago. (made in 1992 - that was the also the year that I took my Mom to Egypt too).
ETA - I even bought blank DVDs and a combo DVR/VHS machine to try to transfer the stuff to DVD. It was going to be a project for me and I still haven't gotten around to doing it.
Kind of Blue
(8,709 posts)I can't believe I'm saying it but "back in those days" it was like that's what a video should be. 30 years-Whew! and yet 51 is too soon to go.
I remember you saying a few years ago how your Mom took you to many lectures and, seriously, what a way to show your appreciation. Just magnificent!
Yeah, I can't do it! My transfers will never happen though I like doing stuff like that
Haggis for Breakfast
(6,831 posts)was as true to the history books as could be. A tragedy that never should have happened. ONE LIE destroyed an entire town and dozens of people died, though we will never know the full toll as no official investigation was launched until decades later, mostly in response to Singleton's film.
Rosewood was burned to the ground and never re-populated. No survivors of the race riot that took place there in 1923 ever returned.
BumRushDaShow
(129,360 posts)if it weren't for his film. I remember getting about an hour into it and had to turn it off. It was like when I read Chancellor Williams' book "The Destruction of Black Civilization" (which I did finish), which to me was the most depressing (non-fiction) book I had ever read.
Haggis for Breakfast
(6,831 posts)I have often wondered if the investigation wasn't promulgated because of this movie. Good point.
BumRushDaShow
(129,360 posts)and that one got a lot of press too. The choreography and sets/makeup were incredible. And of course it was a MJ extravaganza with his dancing (he had several like that including "Black or White" and the most well known - "Thriller" ). He elevated the genre.
And yup - we went to a bunch of different events including one with Dr. Ivan Van Sertima. We went to Egypt with Dr. Molefi Asante (it was actually his very first trip and he took his mother too, but he ended up going many times after as a yearly tour trip).
My mom had drawers full of tapes too (quite a bit of taped from CSPAN) that she also kept but eventually started purging them before she passed... only keeping the ones she seemed to like the most (I have those now). It's hard to get to them now with so much else going on.
Dr Hobbitstein
(6,568 posts)Boyz, Poetic, and Higher Learning.
BumRushDaShow
(129,360 posts)That was an excellent movie.
I knew he had a bunch out there but these early media reports are only showcasing a few. At one point, it was mainly him and Spike Lee with a steady contemporary catalog of films, with Forrest Whittaker eventually joining the fray. Now there are more up-and-comings like Lee Daniels and Ryan Coogler.
Last edited Mon Apr 29, 2019, 09:48 PM - Edit history (1)
Loved that movie as well as most of his work.
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)yaesu
(8,020 posts)Kind of Blue
(8,709 posts)This is so sad.
BumRushDaShow
(129,360 posts)There aren't that many black directors of such high caliber.
Moostache
(9,897 posts)I am shook.
Luke Perry's death was like a sledgehammer and I heard about John Singleton last week but was initially hopeful he would pull through, sadly, there was never a good report and each bit I heard was worse for him too.
As I am rapidly approaching 50 myself and I suffer from hypertension (genetic - my entire family does on both sides) and Type II Diabetes, I am literally getting panicky hearing about people dying who I (wrongly? rightly?) assumed would have access to health care options beyond my means.
Getting old is bad enough without these gut punches from well-known persons dying too soon...
TexasBushwhacker
(20,209 posts)Of course, anyone can have a weak blood vessel or a blood clot.
oldsoftie
(12,584 posts)TexasBushwhacker
(20,209 posts)Champion Jack
(5,378 posts)jb5150
(1,182 posts)ancianita
(36,130 posts)Last edited Mon Apr 29, 2019, 07:22 PM - Edit history (1)
Mark Wahlberg, Terrence Howard, Tyrese Gibson and Andre Benjamin from Outkast -- a great story about catching the guys who killed their mom. Great Thanksgiving dinner scene, too.
I'll miss Singleton. He was a great director.
yardwork
(61,698 posts)SunSeeker
(51,657 posts)iluvtennis
(19,868 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,640 posts)...his daughter said he was fine and that his wife or someone else was just trying to gain control by claiming his stroke left him brain dead.
I don't know what the truth is now.
BumRushDaShow
(129,360 posts)I think the decision was made over the weekend to remove him from life support and his death pretty much proved that something wasn't working any longer to sustain him without artificial means.
Apparently there is a dispute between his mother and his daughter regarding conservatorship of the estate... but those articles were from a few days ago. I suppose she wanted something on the record for when it comes time to settle the estate.
JohnnyRingo
(18,640 posts)I was having a hard time remembering exactly what the deal was, but I guess it's settled now. Except for the contested will and everything.
Thanx for refreshing my memory.
BumRushDaShow
(129,360 posts)because that was what was being reported extensively about 3 - 4 days ago. Then the story shifted Sunday night, per what I eventually heard early Monday morning, and now this....
Apollo Zeus
(251 posts)Came out in 1991 and really showed the powder keg and the dynamics of South Central LA. A relevant and powerful film.
Today, 4/29, is the anniversary of the 1992 Rodney King verdicts and the start of the riots.