John Singleton: A Celebration – 2 Fast 2 Furious

ADMISSION:
Free for USC Students, Staff, and Faculty: RSVP
$5–10 for General Public: PURCHASE TICKETS

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.

The sequel to The Fast and the Furious (2001) takes leave of Dom Toretto and his family to follow Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), the L.A. cop who sacrificed his career to help his friend Dom escape justice. Given the chance to wipe his own criminal record clean, Brian teams up with his old friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) to infiltrate the organization of ruthless drug lord Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), while falling for undercover customs agent Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes). This smash hit also introduces Chris “Ludacris” Bridges as race host Tej Parker.

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 Sound 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 Board of Governors, 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.

Warren Drummond (Storyboard Artist) was born and raised in Jamaica Queens, New York. Attending the High School of Art and Design and the School of Visual Arts, Warren’s storyboard career began in the early ’90s with films like Above the Rim and 2nd Unit work on Die Hard with a Vengeance, and The Devil’s Own. After working on A Beautiful Mind, Drummond embraced Los Angeles, and worked on films such as 2 Fast 2 Furious, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Straight Outta Compton, and Fences. Warren also storyboards television shows such as NCIS: New Orleans, Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, and Grey’s Anatomy. In 2018, Warren made his directorial debut with the short Unknown Caller, which was written by and stars his son, Josh Drummond. 

Tyrese Gibson (Actor) was born and raised in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Also a Grammy-nominaed R&B singer, songwriter, author, model, and television producer, he is well-known for his roles as Roman Pearce in the the Fast and Furious movie franchise and Robert Epps in the Transformers movie franchise. Other movies he has acted in include Baby Boy, Four Brothers, Waist Deep, Death Race, Legion, and Morbius.

Derek Haas (Co-Writer) is a renowned writer and producer whose first foray into television was the creation of Chicago Fire with Michael Brandt. He currently serves as the showrunner on its eleventh season and as the executive producer on its spinoffs, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. He is also showrunning FBI: International, now in its second season. He and Brandt have also written the features 3:10 to Yuma, Wanted, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Catch That Kid, which grossed over a half-billion dollars worldwide at the box office. Haas is the author of The Silver Bear, Columbus, Dark Men, A Different Lie, and The Way I Die, a best-selling book series that The New York Times Book Review called “devastatingly cool.” Lionsgate has scooped up the rights to turn The Silver Bear into a feature film.

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.

USC alum Neal Moritz (Producer) is an American film producer and owner of Original Film, a Los Angeles–based feature film, TV, commercial, and music video production company. Educated in film producing at USC, Moritz applied his expertise in both fields as one of Hollywood's most bankable producers. After making his feature film debut in 1992 with the urban crime drama Juice, Moritz hit box office paydirt with the 1997 slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer and the 1999 dramatic farce Cruel Intentions. Moritz continued his hot streak in the 2000s with primarily action-oriented fare, including The Fast and the Furious.

Academy Museum research assistant Manouchka Labouba (moderator) is a researcher and a filmmaker originally from Gabon in Central Africa. As a filmmaker, she made history in her home country with her award-winning 40-minute directorial debut, La Divorce. With that movie, she not only became the first woman to direct a narrative film in Gabon, but also the youngest director, regardless of gender, in Gabonese history. As a researcher, she works at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, where she is part of the curatorial teams developing the exhibitions Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971 and Director's Inspiration: Agnès Varda, and Boyz n the Hood. A part-time film instructor, she holds a PhD in Cinema and Media Studies from USC and an MA in Arts from the University of Bordeaux (France).

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 – Rosewood
Wednesday, November 9, 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 – 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.