#1 - Straight outta Compton
Whose idea was the film?
Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American biographical film directed by F. Gary Gray, depicting the career of gangsta rap group N.W.A.
Did the idea start with the writer, or were writers brought in to develop a preconceived idea?
The writers were brought in to develop a preconceived idea because it is said to be biographical film about the NWA which include members: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, DJ Yella, The D.O.C. and Arabian Prince.
Where did the idea come from? Was it an original idea, or perhaps a book first, or TV series, or comic strip, or from some other source?
The idea of the film came from Dr Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy-E's widow Tomica Woods-Wright. They were set to produce the movie since it is based on a true story of NWA they did help out with the writing.
Was the film based upon an original script or developed over time by many write
Who financed the film - Production Company? What other films have they produced?
The main production companies who also financed it was legendary pictures and New line cinema, New line cinema has produced many other movies, for example, IT, Elf, The Conjuring, Rush Hour. Legendary Pictures also produced movies such as Pacific Rim, Spectral, Kong: Skull Island.Who financed the film - Production Company?
The main production companies who also financed it was legendary pictures and New line cinema, New line cinema has produced many other movies, for example, IT, Elf, The Conjuring, Rush Hour. Legendary Pictures also produced movies such as Pacific Rim, Spectral, Kong: Skull Island.Who financed the film - Production Company?
Co-financed by Universal Pictures and Legendary Pictures for $28 million, “Straight Outta Compton” follows N.W.A from its scrappy beginnings in the mid-'80s to its unlikely success and the death of member Eazy-E. N.W.A members Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, and Ice Cube
Casting – who were cast in the main roles and why?
Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre, and the rise and fall of the group. Members of N.W.A were involved in making the film, including Ice Cube and Dr. Dre as producers, as was Eazy-E's widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, while MC Ren and DJ Yella served as creative consultants. Ice Cube is portrayed by his son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., with Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre and Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E. Paul Giamatti also stars as N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller.
How important were stars?
the stars were important as it was following there lives therefore made it more realistic as well as the fact that the fans of the stars will bring fans who are interested in them.
How did the film-makers think the chosen stars would appeal to audiences?
the film-makers knew the stars would appeal with their previous success with their music that they had a large following.
• Who was the producer?
ice cube, dr. dre, F. Gary, Gray, Matt Alvarez, scott Bernstein
Who was the director and why did they take the project on?
The director was F.Gary Grey, he directed several past successful movies such as Friday, Set It Off, The Negotiator, The Italian Job. The film's soundtrack featured song already made by N.W.A
Did they have a track record of success?
F. Gary Gray directed law abiding citizen,be cool, the italian job, the fate of furious(furious 8), and many more
as there anything interesting about the film soundtrack?
A lot of the songs were from N.W.A and from the producers as well as a lot of the song such as California love are from the same time era as the movie. the sound track sets the scene as it shows the songs within the same time it releases
what happened during the production phase?
Straight Outta Compton was filmed in Compton, California and Los Angeles, California. Principal photography began on location in Compton on August 5, 2014. In early September 2014, principal exterior shooting on a large post-riot set was observed on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood.While shooting in California, the production spent $50 million in the state and received the California Film & Television Tax Credit.
• Was it an easy ‘shoot’? If there were difficulties what were they?
Were there tensions between any of the creative personnel, often known as ‘the
talent’?
On July 16, 2014, a casting call for extras for Straight Outta Compton was released on the Sande Alessi Casting Facebook page. The casting call was looking for African-American girls for the film using an A-D ranking scale. Though the "A girls" category was looking for "classy" women of all colors, the "B through D" categories were very explicitly linked with skin-tone. As the women get less attractive, the casting call wants the women's flesh tone to be darker, with the lowest listing calling for "African American girls. Poor, not in good shape. Medium to dark skin tone."The casting call post went viral as people expressed their outrage of what they call colourism, sexism , and racism in the categorizing of black women.[A representative for Sande Alessi Casting said the ad was an "innocent mistake" and when it comes to casting "poor" people, they are also looking for women of various skin tones and body types. As for the A, B, C, D grouping system, Sande Alessi Casting says "it's the usual method [they] use to look for different types of people for any project and it wasn't meant to offend anyone."
• Was any part of the film shot on location? If so, where? Why were some locations chosen over others? Were costs a factor? filmed in Compton, California and Los Angeles, California. Principal photography began on location in Compton on August 5, 2014
• Where there any difficulties with casting or with acquiring the stars/actors the producer wanted?
There had been rumors of Lil Eazy-E playing his late father Eazy-E, and Ice Cube's son and fellow rapper O'Shea Jackson Jr. playing his father as well. Ice Cube said of the movie, "We're taking it to the nooks and crannies, I think deeper than any other article or documentary on the group," he said. "These are the intimate conversations that helped forge N.W.A. To me, I think it's interesting to anybody who loves that era and I don't know any other movie where you can mix Gangster Rap, the F.B.I., L.A. Riots, HIV, and fucking feuding with each other.
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On July 16, 2014, a casting call for extras for Straight Outta Compton was released on the Sande Alessi Casting Facebook page. The casting call was looking for African-American girls for the film using an A-D ranking scale. Though the "A girls" category was looking for "classy" women of all colors, the "B through D" categories were very explicitly linked with skin-tone. As the women get less attractive, the casting call wants the women's flesh tone to be darker, with the lowest listing calling for "African American girls. Poor, not in good shape. Medium to dark skin tone."The casting call post went viral as people expressed their outrage of what they call colourism, sexism , and racism in the categorizing of black women.[A representative for Sande Alessi Casting said the ad was an "innocent mistake" and when it comes to casting "poor" people, they are also looking for women of various skin tones and body types. As for the A, B, C, D grouping system, Sande Alessi Casting says "it's the usual method [they] use to look for different types of people for any project and it wasn't meant to offend anyone."
• Was any part of the film shot on location? If so, where? Why were some locations chosen over others? Were costs a factor? filmed in Compton, California and Los Angeles, California. Principal photography began on location in Compton on August 5, 2014
• Where there any difficulties with casting or with acquiring the stars/actors the producer wanted?
There had been rumors of Lil Eazy-E playing his late father Eazy-E, and Ice Cube's son and fellow rapper O'Shea Jackson Jr. playing his father as well. Ice Cube said of the movie, "We're taking it to the nooks and crannies, I think deeper than any other article or documentary on the group," he said. "These are the intimate conversations that helped forge N.W.A. To me, I think it's interesting to anybody who loves that era and I don't know any other movie where you can mix Gangster Rap, the F.B.I., L.A. Riots, HIV, and fucking feuding with each other.
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Who was the target audience? How do you know?
When they were marketing they wanted their target market to not be specific to a single race and therefore they teamed up with Facebook to create multiple trailers that target different types of audiences, they didn't want a small target audience. This links in with where they released the film, they released it worldwide as they believed that people all over the world would find it appealing, it was released on the 14th of August. The premiere of the film was in Los Angeles on the 11th of August.
When they were marketing they wanted their target market to not be specific to a single race and therefore they teamed up with Facebook to create multiple trailers that target different types of audiences, they didn't want a small target audience. This links in with where they released the film, they released it worldwide as they believed that people all over the world would find it appealing, it was released on the 14th of August. The premiere of the film was in Los Angeles on the 11th of August.
What were the reactions of the critics to the film? Was it considered a critical success? Has it been re-assessed since then? Straight Outta Compton received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 210 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's consensus reads, "Straight Outta Compton is a biopic that's built to last, thanks to F. Gary Gray's confident direction and engaging performances from a solid cast." On Metacritic, it has a score of 72 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Did the film create a particular media debate, or create news headlines? The movie did create headlines as it was considered a massive success financially and commercially as it highlighted main issues that were happening in the past. Many people praised the movie for being entertaining but for also highlighting the issue that they faced while rising to fame. The movie won 27 awards and had received 41 nominations, one of the nominations it received was for an oscar for best writing and original screen play.
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