John Singleton Finds His New ‘Ice Cube’ - Reggaeton News

By John Caroll, MTV

July 06, 2007

For nearly a decade-and-a-half, John Singleton has been the reigning black filmmaker in Hollywood (sorry, Spike Lee). But with such recent releases as “Four Brothers” and “2 Fast 2 Furious,” the writer/director/producer has begun branching out beyond typical ‘hood flicks. Recently, we caught up with Singleton and the largely Latino cast of his next producing effort, and he explained how he’s reinventing his own “Boyz n the Hood” blueprint.

“We hittin’ it real hard. It’s like a family gangster movie,” Singleton revealed. “It’s a hot movie that comes out this summer and it’s called ‘Illegal Tender.’”

The flick co-stars “Coach Carter” star/afro-enthusiast Rick Gonzalez, along with up-and-coming Latino actors Zulay Henao, Mercedes Mercado and hip hop/reggaeton star Tego Calderon.

“The movie is about a kid named Wilson De Leon Jr. [played by Gonzalez],” Singleton said of the script. “He basically realizes that the life he’s living is kind of different from the life of his father. The sins of the father come back to haunt the son, because his father was a gangster and he never knew it…and so, he has to come out and fight for his family.”

Making his film debut is Calderon — the first raggaeton artist to have a deal with a major company — who surprised his co-stars with his acting skills. “He did an amazing job on the film,” Gonzalez said of the Puerto Rican-born star, who plays a thug in the flick. “It’s his film debut…We didn’t know what to expect, but [Calderon] just brought his A-game. I don’t know where it came from, but the man’s totally talented.”

So talented, in fact, that Singleton found himself giving some familiar advice to the aspiring actor. “I told him: In this movie, you do what Ice Cube did in ‘Boyz n the Hood,’” Singleton remembered. “That’s when he was like ‘Oh my God!’ He was so humble.”

It’s only appropriate then, that Calderon would also contribute a few cuts to the film’s soundtrack. “I got a song or two on the soundtrack, and I’m happy,” he said excitedly. “I’m happy to be a part of this project.”

John Singleton has been responsible for giving some of today’s hottest urban stars their big break, and if he has way, Calderon is the next Ice Cube. “I grew up watching [Singleton’s] movies, and when people approached me to do movies I’ve always said ‘No’,” insisted the reggaeton star, whose voice has appeared on remixes of Usher’s “Yeah” and Fat Joe’s “Lean Back”. “But when he approached me I said ‘yes’ right away; it was a dream come true.”

“This is the triangle offense,” laughed Gonzales, referring to himself and his two filmmaking friends.

“Illegal Tender” is directed by “Empire” filmmaker Franc Reyes, and hits theaters August 24th.