Tag: Best Director

The first time I ever stepped foot on a real movie set was at 16 years of age when my cousin and I visited the Brooklyn Armory where John Singleton’s SHAFT was being filmed. I never got a chance to meet him that day because filming had wrapped, but I took a small pencil from a mock police desk where he had cameoed as a cop in the final cut. That day is still a reminder of what made me want to be a filmmaker growing up and John’s work was truly inspirational. His commentary track for BOYZ IN THE HOOD was my own little film school in itself as he taught me how to find my voice as a visual artist in the medium. I had hoped to see him get back to the big screen until his untimely passing today. My heart goes out to his family and colleagues. As a special tribute, here’s the first of a past 2-part episode of THE CINEFILES that I taped with Jeff Gallashaw where we talked about the career of the legendary John Singleton.