Trivia / Boyz n the Hood

• Actor-Inspired Element: Dedrick Dwayne "V Dub" Robert (Dooky) actually sucked on pacifiers in real life to try to quit smoking. John Singleton thought it was so cool that he decided to use it in the film.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Ice Cube was initially hesitant about the idea of being a film actor, but he changed his mind when he read the script and loved the honest portrayal of life in South Central L.A.
• Breakthrough Hit: For John Singleton.
• Darkhorse Casting: Ice Cube was already famous as a rapper, but Cuba Gooding Jr. and Morris Chestnut were up-and-coming actors.
• Dawson Casting: Even though he played a 17-year-old, Cuba Gooding Jr. was 22 at the time of filming. He was only six and half years younger than Laurence Fishburne and a year older than Ice Cube.
• Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: Regi Green (Chris as an adult) is paraplegic in real life. His paralysis, like his character's, was the result of gun violence — he was hit by a stray bullet at the age of six.
• Enforced Method Acting: John Singleton didn't tell the cast when gunshots would be fired, to ensure that the actors' reactions to the sound of gunfire would be authentic.
• Follow the Leader:
  • This film popularized the urban crime drama.
  • The studio greenlit the film in the hopes that it would be similar to Do the Right Thing.
• Reality Subtext: The movie was shot on-location in South Central L.A., which led to a lot of problems similar to the fictional ones in the movie. The dialogue had to be dubbed over in many parts due to the sound of gunshots and helicopters in the distance. There were threats of fights between the extras, and in one instance a filming location had to be changed because of threats from a member of the Bloods. The scene in question contained Doughboy, who is heavily implied to be a Crip, shooting someone who is heavily implied to be a Blood. The real-life gang member claimed that he was not responsible if someone actually shot Ice Cube for portraying their gang negatively.
• Sleeper Hit: It was a low-budget urban film that was only intended to be given a small release until two events happened: 1. The film premiering to mass acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival, and 2. Columbia's big Summer film (or what it was meant to be) of 1991 Radio Flyer getting pushed back due to reshoots, which led Columbia to slot the small production in its place. Even against strong blockbusters Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and violence breaking out at some screenings, the film managed to gross over $50 million, made John Singleton the youngest Best Director nominee in the history of the Academy Awards, launched the film careers of Ice Cube and Cuba Gooding Jr. and almost single-handedly launched the African American film industry in the 1990s.
• Star-Making Role: For Ice Cube (as an actor) and Cuba Gooding Jr..
• Those Two Actors: One of many films that Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett appeared in together.
• Throw It In!: Morris Chestnut almost got his leg run over by Ice Cube's Chevy Impala during the scene where Ferris shoots his Mac-11 in the air. You can see him running to Tre's car and slipping and sliding on the street. Luckily he managed to crawl away in time, and John Singleton used the take due to its authenticity.
• Underage Casting: Laurence Fishburne was cast as Tre's father Furious despite being only 7 years older than Tre's actor Cuba Gooding Jr.. This was memorably spoofed in Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, where it's implied that Ashtray's father is somehow younger than him.
• What Could Have Been:
  • According to John Singleton, Ice Cube's fellow N.W.A members were to play Doughboy's friends. However, the tension that resulted from Ice Cube leaving NWA kept that from happening.
  • Will Smith turned down the role of Tre due to his commitment to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
  • Eddie Murphy was considered for Jason "Furious" Styles.
• Working Title: Summer of '84.
• Write Who You Know: Many of the people portrayed in the film were based on people in John Singleton's life.
  • The self-hating black police officer was based on a cop whom Singleton encountered as a kid. Singleton felt it was critical to show this officer to show how racist black police could be towards black people.
  • Singleton based Tre's childhood on his own. Singleton's father was a mortgage broker like Furious. When he was 12, Singleton moved in with his father in South Los Angeles. Like Tre, Singleton stayed out of trouble with his father's guidance and went to college.

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