Acclaimed film director and producer John Singleton has released the first exhaustive book chronicling his 18-year journey through the entertainment industry.
John Singleton: Interviews contains introspective interviews, profile stats, and behind the scenes filming information on the director’s entire filmography.
At a mere 23- years old, Singleton shocked the film industry with the South Central, coming of age 1991 classic Boyz N the Hood.
The film earned the young director two Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.
Further into the 90s and the 2000s, Singleton was instrumental in showing that Hip-Hop artists could be viable in dramatic roles.
The Los Angeles native worked with Ice Cube in Boyz N the Hood and Higher Learning, the late Tupac Shakur in Poetic Justice, Snoop Dogg in the satire Baby Boy, and Andre 3000 in Four Brothers.
While not the first director to portray Hip-Hop stars in his or her films, USA Weekend Magazine editor Craig Barboza argues that Singleton “became the first to translate the politics and passion of the music into an artfully woven story that didn’t speak down to its audience.”
As a producer, Singleton also helped cultivate the well-received films Hustle and Flow and Black Snake Moan.
John Singleton: Interviews is available now in paperback for $22 and unjacketed cloth for $50.
Singleton is currently working with Marvel Studios and Columbia pictures to direct the film adaptation of super-hero Luke Cage.