John Singleton

May 13, 1996

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Singleton is probably one of the brightest young directors in the film industry at the moment. Born in Los Angeles on January 6, 1968, he attended USC and won several awards for his film writing before he undertook the violent coming-of-age tale, Boyz N the Hood. The film received major studio backing, a high film budget and was showcased at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991.

The movie became one of the most highly praised films of 1991, and was certainly one of the best of the 1990's. It also became one of the highest grossing films ever made by a black filmaker. Unanimously praised, Singleton also went on to become the first black director and youngest filmaker to receive an Academy award nomination for Best Director (he also received a nomination for his original screenplay). His post Boyz work has included the Michael Jackson video Remember the Time, the Janet Jackson vehicle Poetic Justice and Higher Learning, a college tale that received mixed reviews, but did quite well at the box office.

Singleton has been compared to another prominant black film director, Spike Lee. However, the major differance between the two is that Lee hammers messages into your brain with a sledge, while Singleton does it rather subtly. I have respect for both Lee's and Singleton's work, but of the two, I like Singleton's a lot more.

My rating on a scale of 1 to 10: 8

Editor's note: Roger got a chance to meet and visit with director Singleton during a trip to Los Angeles and Hollywood. Check out the story and picture at the top of the movie review page for the week of May 27, 1996.
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