Show notes
In this episode of Criterion Cast, David Blakeslee interviews Thomas Golianopoulos about his new book The Life of Singleton: From Boyz n the Hood to Snowfall. The book provides an in-depth biography of director/writer/producer John Singleton, subject of John Singleton’s Hood Trilogy, a three-film box set recently issued by the Criterion Collection.
About the Book:
The Life of Singleton is the definitive account of film icon John Singleton’s life and times.
John Singleton became a living legend at just 24 years old when he earned Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Boyz N the Hood, the sleeper hit of the summer of 1991 and one of the decade’s most important films. Though he wasn’t victorious on Oscar night, it didn’t detract from his achievements. Singleton was the first Black person nominated for Best Director and remains the youngest person nominated for the award. But he wasn’t finished. Over the next three decades, he’d amass a Hall of Fame career featuring more classic films (Rosewood, Baby Boy), four number one hits (Poetic Justice, Shaft, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Four Brothers) and one of the top-rated series on cable television (Snowfall, which ran for six seasons).
In The Life of Singleton: From Boyz N the Hood to Snowfall, Thomas Golianopoulos reports on the life and death of John Daniel Singleton, from his time as a driven film student at USC to his last days on the Costa Rica set of Snowfall. Singleton was an American original, a Hollywood maverick, and a South Central icon — no one repped LA harder than him. He created indelible moments on the screen and inspired and mentored a generation of filmmakers.
Featuring nearly 400 original interviews and sharp analysis, The Life of Singleton takes readers behind the scenes of the filmmaker’s work and unwraps the complex man behind it.
John Singleton’s Hood Trilogy
The Criterion Collection
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