John Singleton: A Celebration – Rosewood

ADMISSION:
Admission is free. Reservations required.

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DESCRIPTION:
Throughout the 2022–23 academic year, the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the USC African American Cinema Society, and USC Visions and Voices will host a series of screenings honoring the life and career of trailblazing filmmaker, iconic Angeleno, and USC alumnus, John Singleton (1968–2019). Screenings will take place at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the David Geffen Theater at the Academy Museum, with conversations to follow featuring cast and crew.

Singleton’s fourth film is a historical drama set in Rosewood, a largely black community built on family, faith, and hard work in Levy County, Florida. On January 1, 1923, hopes for the new year come to an abrupt end when a white lynch mob begins a massacre and razes the town into oblivion. Amid the rampage, a heroic World War I veteran (Ving Rhames) and a shopkeeper (Jon Voight) join forces to lead dozens of women and children who have fled into nearby swamps to safety.

About the panelists:

With over 30 years working in the film and television industry, an Emmy nomination, and over 120 projects and counting, the career of Bobbi Banks (Supervising ADR Editor) continues to evolve. She has worked on films such as Chevalier, The Batman, A League of Their Own, August Osage County, Stonehearst Asylum, Selma, Men In Black International, and Straight Outta Compton, to name a few. Banks is a past president of Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) and former chair of A2020 Inclusion and Diversity Committee at AMPAS. She currently serves on several committees which include Chair of the Academy Museum Inclusion Advisory Committee, Nicholl Screenwriters Committee, Television Academy Sound Editors Peer Group Executive Committee, Avid’s Community Association Executive Board of Directors, and Industry Council for Roybal Film & Television Magnet. She also continues to seek ways to encourage and mentor the next generation.

Bruce Cannon was a long-term collaborator with John Singleton, editing Boyz n the Hood, Poetic Justice, Higher Learning, Rosewood, Baby Boy, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Four Brothers, Abduction, and the TV series Rebel over 28 years. He began his editorial career apprenticing and assisting film editor Carol Littleton on five films: Roadie, Body Heat, The Big Chill, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He then worked as an additional editor on Tony Bill’s Crazy People and Dick Pearce’s Dead Man Out with editor Mia Goldman. His first solo feature editing credit was The End of Innocence, directed by Dyan Cannon.

Greg Hedgepath (Supervising Sound Editor) works as a supervising sound editor in Los Angeles, California. He attended the University of Maryland and later received his AA degree in electronics while working at National Public Radio in Washington D.C. as a music mixer. After NPR he worked at George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound for six years, then moved to Los Angeles as a re-recording mixer at an independent post facility. He later joined the union as a sound supervisor/editor at Sony Studios. After Sony, Greg became an independent sound supervisor and sound designer. He designed the tornados for Twister and was a sound designer on the film Speed, which won the Oscar for sound. Greg has worked on over 90 films and TV shows including Frozen, The Incredible Hulk, The Hunger Games, Selma, Straight Outta Compton, Seal Team, Coming 2 America, and the upcoming White Men Can’t Jump.

Gregory Poirier (Writer, USC Alumnus) was born in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, attended the Maui Academy of Performing Arts, and graduated from USC with a BFA in theater and UCLA with an MFA in screenwriting.He wrote the screenplay for the John Singleton-directed film Rosewood, for which he won the Writers Guild of America's Paul Selvin Award. He also wrote the screenplay for the comedy See Spot Run and wrote and directed the comedy Tomcats. Poirier's other writing credits include The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, A Sound of Thunder, Gossip, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and The Spy Next Door, starring Jackie Chan.

Dwight Williams (Unit Production Manager) was born in Philadelphia and grew up in the city and attended Temple University for two years before dropping out to join the activist organization Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the Civil Rights Movement. After a couple years organizing, he returned to school with the desire to learn about cinema in order to utilize it as a tool to reach people and specifically the Black community. After enrolling in the DGA Assistant Directors Training Program in 1969, he graduated from the program after two years, having worked on projects including The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, Klute, and The French Connection. After completing the program, William’s first Guild position was as a second AD on Up the Sandbox. He gained his first credit as a UPM on Who’s the Man?. Williams’ credits include work in feature film, movies for television, and television. As a first assistant director he has worked on Beat Street, A Soldier’s Story, Krush Groove, Eddie Murphy: Raw, New Jack City, and Friday. As a UPM, his credits include Who’s the Man?, Rosewood, The Player’s Club, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Something New, Waist Deep, Peeples, and the pilot of The Mayor.

Isaiah Simon (Moderator, AACS Co-President) is a Bay Area screenwriter and novelist who began his journey of storytelling at the young age of 13, when he published his first book, Define Me. He would go on to direct his first play, The Great Gatsby, after years of immersing himself into the world of theater. He has starred in front of the camera as well as behind, learning different photography and videography techniques that pushed him to love filmmaking. As a Visual and Performing Arts Major with two minors in screenwriting and cinematic arts, Isaiah loves to write stories that showcase the complexities of the Black identity and culture across the multiple genres of film and television. Isaiah dedicates a lot of his time to mentoring students, from local high school students in Los Angeles to students part of the TRIO programs, which he is a proud alum of. He also serves as the co-president of the USC African American Cinema Society, where he actively curates spaces for Black filmmakers and film enthusiasts to network as well as share their own stories.

Related Events:
John Singleton: A Celebration – Boyz n the Hood
Friday, September 9, 2022, at 7 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
For more info, click HERE

John Singleton: A Celebration – Poetic Justice
Wednesday, September 21, 2022, at 7 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108
For more info, click HERE

John Singleton: A Celebration – Higher Learning
Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at 7 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108
For more info, click HERE

John Singleton: A Celebration – Shaft
Friday, November 30, 2022, at 7 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre
For more info, click HERE

John Singleton: A Celebration – Baby Boy
Wednesday, January 25, 2023, at 7 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre
For more info, click HERE

John Singleton: A Celebration – 2 Fast 2 Furious
Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, David Geffen Theater
For more info, click HERE

John Singleton: A Celebration – Hustle & Flow
Sunday, March 5, 2023, at 2 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre
For more info, click HERE

John Singleton: A Celebration – Black Snake Moan
Sunday, March 5, 2023, at 6 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre
For more info, click HERE

John Singleton: A Celebration – Four Brothers
Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at 7 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre
For more info, click HERE

John Singleton: A Celebration – Snowfall
Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 7 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre
For more info, click HERE

Presented by the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the USC African American Cinema Society, and USC Visions and Voices.