John Singleton

John Singleton
Singleton at a Canadian Film Centre event, 2013
Born	John Daniel Singleton (1968-01-06) January 6, 1968 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film director
Spouse(s)	Akosua Busia (1996–1997)

John Daniel Singleton (born January 6, 1968) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. A native of South Los Angeles, many of his early films consider the implications of inner-city violence like the critically acclaimed and popular Boyz n the Hood, Poetic Justice, Higher Learning and Baby Boy. He branched out into mainstream territory with the blockbusters 2 Fast 2 Furious, Four Brothers and Abduction.

Early life

Singleton was born in Los Angeles, the son of Sheila Ward-Johnson, a pharmaceutical company sales executive, and Danny Singleton, a real estate agent, mortgage broker, and financial planner.^[1] He attended Pasadena City College and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He graduated from USC in 1990, and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.^[2] Singleton was enrolled in the University of Southern California's Filmic Writing program under Margaret Mehring^[3] and her now famous curriculum. The program was designed to take students directly into the Hollywood system as proficient writer/directors.

Unlike the other standard USC programs for screenwriting, film production, or the Peter Stark Motion Picture Producing and critical studies programs, Mehring designed her FILMIC writing program to teach a select group of students how to be authors of their visions.^{[citation needed]} Other students included Helen Childress (writer of Reality Bites), Stephen Chbosky (writer of TV’s Jericho), and Ms. Childress’ husband Carlos Brooks (writer/director of Quid Pro Quo). Singleton was always present in the Apple computer writing lab, working on his screenplays during late nights and early mornings.^{[citation needed]} However, his ability to direct was correlated to an early beginning in music videos, which culminated in the EFX driven Michael Jackson “Remember the Time” MTV video. ^{[citation needed]}

Career

Singleton's 1991 film debut Boyz n the Hood received Academy Award nods for Best Screenplay and Director.^[2] At age 24 he was the youngest person ever nominated for Best Director, and the first African-American to be nominated for the award. Singleton also directed the video for Michael Jackson's 1991 single "Remember The Time", starring actor Eddie Murphy.

In 1997, his film Rosewood was entered into the 47th Berlin International Film Festival.^[4]

In 2005, Singleton teamed with Craig Brewer and financed the independent film, Hustle and Flow, once it was clear that most other major backers would not clear it for release.

Personal life

On October 12, 1996, John married Ghanaian actress Akosua Gyamama Busia, an actress and the daughter of Ghana's second Prime Minister Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia. Together, they welcomed a baby girl named Hadar Singleton on April 3, 1997 who has appeared in Tears of the Sun (2003) and other productions. John also has a daughter named Justice Maya Singleton (born on October 17, 1992) with ex-companion Tosha Lewis, as well as a son, Maasai Mohandas Singleton (born April 3, 1994). He has six children in total.

Accident

On August 23, 2007, Singleton was involved in an automobile accident in which he struck a jaywalking pedestrian, Constance Russell, 57, of Los Angeles.^[5] Staying on the scene until police arrived, Singleton was not under the influence of alcohol or other substances, and was released after being questioned. Russell died later in the hospital. The case was turned over to the District Attorney but no charges were filed.^[6][7]

Filmography

Director

• Boyz n the Hood (1991) (Oscar nomination)
• Poetic Justice (1993)
• Higher Learning (1995)
• Rosewood (1997)
• Shaft (2000)
• Baby Boy (2001)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
• Four Brothers (2005)
• Abduction (2011)

Producer

• Higher Learning (1995)
• Shaft (2000)
• Baby Boy (2001)
• Hustle & Flow (2005)
• Black Snake Moan (2007)
• Illegal Tender (2007)

Screenwriter

• Boyz n the Hood (1991) (Oscar nomination)
• Poetic Justice (1993)
• Higher Learning (1995)
• Shaft (2000)
• Baby Boy (2001)

Actor

• 8 Mile (Cameo Appearance) (2002)
• The Game (TV Series) (2013)

Further reading

• Barboza, Craigh (January 2009). John Singleton: Interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-60473-116-3. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 

References

External links

• The Films of John Singleton
• John Singleton at the Internet Movie Database
• Singleton Dated Tyra Banks

v t e Shaft Films Shaft (1971 film) Shaft's Big Score Shaft in Africa Shaft (2000 film) Television Shaft (TV series) Novels Shaft (1970) Shaft Among the Jews (1972) Shaft's Big Score (1972) Shaft Has a Ball (1973) Goodbye, Mr. Shaft (1973) Shaft's Carnival of Killers (1974) The Last Shaft (1975) Characters John Shaft Crew Author/Writer: Ernest Tidyman Directors: Gordon Parks John Guillermin John Singleton Theme Composer: Isaac Hayes Related articles "Theme from Shaft" 1971 soundtrack 2000 soundtrack