Boyz n the Hood
1991 film
Bill Simmons · Sean Fennessey · Van Lathan · Logan Murdock
Aired June 29, 2021
‹ All people
Pacific Heights
Forrest Gump
Boyz n the Hood
Boyz n the Hood
Boyz n the Hood
Boyz n the Hood
Boyz n the Hood
Boyz n the Hood
Higher Learning
Higher Learning
Forrest Gump
Film credit
Ice Cube
Also referred to as Cube, O'Shea Jackson
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 3
- Movies in this archive
- 4
Rewatchables episodes featuring Ice Cube’s films
Displaying all 3 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot
Drake mailing a letter while Carter’s curtain opens behind him is nominated. The falling ice cube and the rotating doorway shot are additional choices.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:56Read transcript
- Drake mailing a letter while Carter’s curtain opens behind him is nominated. — Chris Ryan
- The falling ice cube and the rotating doorway shot are additional choices. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Harry Anderson, John Travolta, Sean Penn, several Bubbas and Jennys, Terry Gilliam, and Joe Pesci form the casting tree.
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:53Read transcript
- Zemeckis reportedly wanted Harry Anderson, who was unavailable, while John Travolta declined Forrest and later called that a mistake. — Bill Simmons
- Travolta’s later Michael and Phenomenon are read as attempts to recover the benevolent-simple-man role; Sean Penn claimed he was a second choice. — Bill Simmons
- David Alan Grier, Dave Chappelle, Ice Cube, and Tupac Shakur connect to Bubba; Chappelle later sought Hanks collaboration after regretting the miss. — Bill Simmons
- Jodie Foster, Demi Moore, and Nicole Kidman reportedly declined Jenny, and Terry Gilliam declined directing.
- Joe Pesci as Lieutenant Dan is embraced as an extraordinary visual and comic alternate.
Who Won the Movie?
Singleton
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:44:29Read transcript
- Singleton receives explicit support for his breakthrough and Oscar nomination, with Fishburn reluctantly set aside. — Van Lathan
- Cube is a strong alternative for his transformed career; Regina King is another nominee rather than a settled unanimous result. — Van Lathan
- Later Oscar winners and nominees in the cast are reviewed.
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- John Singleton
Picking Nits
A football game showing Ricky’s ability is wanted, perhaps using the conflict there; budget may explain its absence.
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:21Read transcript
- A football game showing Ricky’s ability is wanted, perhaps using the conflict there; budget may explain its absence. — Bill Simmons
- Fishburn’s seven-year age gap and young Ricky’s athleticism are noted; actual Tecmo Bowl play is wanted but could undermine the gun/video-game tension. — Logan Murdock
- Ricky stops to urinate, separates, walks while scratching a ticket and runs straight despite athleticism; the alley choice and shotgun range are criticized. — Van Lathan
- Trying to outrun Trey is offered as a rationale, but groceries and scratch cards undermine urgency; a response calls this victim blaming.
- Ice Cube’s song in Doughboy’s world creates a celebrity paradox, compared with the corrected Ocean’s12 and other musician-actor films.
- Trey should not lie to his father about sex; Furious is believed to see through it.
Apex Mountain
Singleton
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:02Read transcript
- Singleton is the choice, while renewed appreciation of Higher Learning, Rosewood, Baby Boy and Poetic Justice is acknowledged. — Sean Fennessey
- Cube is debated against Friday and his musical peak; Friday is ultimately favored as his apex. — Bill Simmons
- Matrix beats this for Fishburn overall, but Larry Fishburn specifically qualifies; the burger restaurant is another candidate. — Bill Simmons
- Cuba’s Oscar period beats this; characters named Stiles qualify over Teen Wolf, while Bassett’s long prime resists a single apex. — Bill Simmons
- Pouring out a40 is nominated; invention is doubted and popularization considered, with Detroit hats another candidate.
- Alicia Rogers is considered with Class Act as an alternative; Nia Long is rejected.
Half-Assed Internet Research
Eazy was reportedly paid50,000 for title rights.
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:38Read transcript
- Eazy was reportedly paid50,000 for title rights. — Bill Simmons
- Fishburn reportedly became an improvisation coach drawing on his Coppola experience. — Bill Simmons
- Surprise gunfire after threats to the set reportedly produced real panic in one take; the method is questioned as traumatic. — Logan Murdock
- Cube reportedly owns the gold Impala; gang inspirations and threats required relocating the revenge scene. — Bill Simmons
- The burger stand relocation and warning from a gang figure are reported; identifying details remain source-bound. — Bill Simmons
- Summer of84 was the working title; Singleton rejected100,000 without directing and Cube praised the script’s depiction of their upbringing. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Will Smith reportedly declined Trey for Fresh Prince; his fit is praised with a height concern.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:18Read transcript
- Will Smith reportedly declined Trey for Fresh Prince; his fit is praised with a height concern.
- Doughboy was written for Ice Cube, studio awareness of NWA is disputed, and the planned group casting became an entourage recast with an EZE shirt joke.
What’s Aged the Best?
The young friends, Stand by Me fadeout and helicopters as a near-character
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:56Read transcript
- The young friends, Stand by Me fadeout and helicopters as a near-character are praised.
- The bullet-marked Reagan-Bush poster, early discussion of culturally biased tests and blue Volkswagen convertible stand out. — Bill Simmons
- Trey’s meltdown, Bassett and Long’s lasting screen presence, and Singleton’s mailman cameo are praised.
- The closing South Central song, Too Short’s presence and father-son material hold up.
- Singleton’s persistent pursuit of Ice Cube from his student days is admired. — Logan Murdock
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:06Read transcript
- The opening answer names John Singleton and Ice Cube together before settling on Ice Cube. — Van Lathan
- Ice Cube is credited with the clearest, most relatable character and the only fully resolved arc because Fudge graduates.
- A second participant explicitly votes for Ice Cube while saying John Singleton would also be acceptable. — Bill Simmons
- Another participant says nobody clearly wins and considers a more abstract answer before rejecting racism as an undesirable formulation. — Wesley Morris
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Ice Cube
- Speaker not identified
- Ice Cube
- Wesley Morris
- No concrete winner
Half-Assed Internet Research
The shooting's inspiration, cast backgrounds, deliberate isolation of Rapaport, and Kristy Swanson's politics
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:35Read transcript
- The campus sniper sequence is reported as based on Charles Whitman's 1966 University of Texas shooting. — Bill Simmons
- Cole Hauser and Michael Rapaport are reported as Jewish. — Bill Simmons
- Cole Hauser's family connections and early Affleck-Damon circle are noted. — Bill Simmons
- Singleton reportedly asked Rapaport to avoid much of the cast so he would feel isolated during production. — Bill Simmons
- Rapaport recalled feeling jealous while Omar Epps, Busta Rhymes, and Ice Cube listened to an early copy of Nas's Illmatic. — Bill Simmons
- Kristy Swanson is reported as a vocal Donald Trump supporter on social media. — Bill Simmons
Most Rewatchable Scene
Fudge and his group crashing the fraternity party to confront Billy
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:00Read transcript
- The first party crash and the later retaliatory party confrontation are nominated separately.
- The retaliatory scene is praised for Ice Cube's presence and for concentrating the film's rape and racism conflicts at the fraternity house.
- Scott Moss recruiting an isolated Remy is praised for showing how a charismatic extremist preys on a person looking for belonging.
- Malik confronting Remy in the dorm room is nominated for its gunpoint tension despite a television-movie quality.
- The outdoor lunch brawl and Fudge's explanation of historical captivity form another candidate.
- The shooting, Malik's pursuit of Remy, their fight, and campus security's response are described as a gripping twelve-minute stretch despite their grimness.
- The family-reunion sequence in Poetic Justice is invoked as a stronger example of Singleton sustaining persuasive energy across a long sequence.
- The final selection is the retaliatory fraternity-party confrontation led by Fudge.
Casting What-Ifs
Harry Anderson was Zemeckis's first choice for Forrest; Bill Murray, John Travolta and Chevy Chase turned it down; David Alan Greer (as transcribed), Dave Chappelle and Ice Cube turned down Bubba and Tupac auditioned; Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman and Demi Moore turned down Jenny; Terry Gilliam and Barry Sonnenfield (as transcribed) turned down directing
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:33:52Read transcript
- Robert Zemeckis's first choice for the title role was Harry Anderson, who was unavailable because of a commitment to Dave's World on CBS. — Sean Fennessey
- The late Harry Anderson as Forrest Gump is dumbfounding; it might have been good but a different, smaller movie, and Anderson was not that famous even then.
- Bill Murray, John Travolta and Chevy Chase turned down Forrest; Travolta has called it one of the biggest regrets of his career. The hosts think Travolta would have been terrible, that he kind of played Forrest Gump in Phenomenon, which one still rides for, and that Michael was him trying to get back to that moment.
- David Alan Greer (as transcribed), Dave Chappelle and Ice Cube turned down Bubba. Ice Cube refused to play an idiot and is literally too smart for the part; Chappelle thought the movie would bomb, regretted it and worked with Hanks four years later on You Got Mail (as transcribed); Tupac auditioned for Bubba, which would not have worked. Bubba's name is Buford Blue.
- Jodie Foster and Nicole Kidman turned down Jenny and both could have been good; Demi Moore also turned it down and would have been too old to pull off the high school and college stretch that Robin Wright managed, with a tangent on when Striptease came out.
- Terry Gilliam and Barry Sonnenfield (as transcribed) turned down directing; Gilliam's version would have been amazing and a lot different. Hanks was probably not the first choice because he was unavailable. Bill Murray would not work: he only played dumb as Carl in Caddyshack, for comedy, and What About Bob is the craziest he has gone.
Displaying discussions 1 - 12 of 20 in total
