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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2015)
Arts & Entertainment Q & A: Ice Cube and Son O’Shea Jackson, Jr. plays his dad in ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Sandy Cohen AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — O’Shea Jackson Jr. was determined to play his father, Ice Cube, in Straight Outta Compton. Not only does the 24-year-old look uncannily like his dad, but he’s also got the rapper-turned-movie star’s man- nerisms and expressions down — something he used to his advan- tage during the two-year audition process. Jackson Jr. makes his acting debut in “Straight Outta Comp- ton,” opening Aug. 14. The film captures the rise and rupture of N.W.A., the group credited with starting gangster rap and inspiring warning labels on album covers for its provocative, incendiary lyr- ics. Founding members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are among the film’s producers. Father and son sat side by side to talk with The Associated Press about bringing Ice Cube to life on- screen. The remarks have been ed- ited for clarity and brevity. Associated Press: What’s it like seeing your story told by your son? Ice Cube: I’m proud on a thou- sand different levels. You always want your kids to step up at the moment of truth, and he did more than step up. He just owned it. I’m just proud of the production. I’m proud of the movie. I’m proud of the group. I have never been this happy for any project that I’ve ever done. AP: Kids often think their par- ents are dorky in some way. Did you discover anything like that in portraying your dad as a teenager? O’Shea Jackson Jr.: The only thing that would be remote to that would be the lingo of the ‘80s, just the things that they said that were ‘in’. ... No pun intended: Ice Cube’s the coolest dad. AP: Was there anything you didn’t want your son to know about you? Ice Cube: Seeing my son get- ting roughed up by the police is not fun. It brings back memo- ries of when I got roughed up by them. He grew up totally different than how I grew up, and to me, he shouldn’t have to go through that. But in a movie like this, and to understand really what we all went through, I’m glad that he did feel the tone of what we went through so he could understand it a lot more. He was able to do it in a controlled environment, and not really have these police put their Page 8 August 12, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner hands on him, because that would hurt me if they did that for real. don’t know. I think I have so much to do. I don’t want to have like volume one, volume two. I just feel like I got a whole lot of living to do before I think about sum- ming it up in a book. AP: How was it rapping your dad’s words, and Ice Cube, how was it watching him do it? Jackson: I’ve been seeing him rap these words forever, you know? So it’s cool to finally be on the other side of that. To have been looking at his movements and then getting them down. I had the time of my life. Ice Cube: We first took him on Ice Cube with his son, O’Shea Jackson, Jr. tour, me and my wife, when he was AP: What’s 1½. ... So he’s been around movies my acting career off the ground. I and music his whole life. ... Then next for you? want to wait until ‘Straight Outta Jackson: I’m working on my au- Compton’ is well in everyone’s at 18, he started to really perform with me. So he has a knack for the tobiography (laughs). I’m definite- minds and see where we go from stage. I’ve seen him rap my songs ly ready to get my foot in as far as there. before on stage, with me. So to see the cinema, definitely trying to get him do this on the big screen, it was great. I wasn’t sur- prised that he was so good, because I knew By Kam Williams how good he was. For The Skanner News Film Review: ‘Fantastic Four’ A Character-Driven Origins Adventure AP: Ice Cube, would you ever write an autobiogra- phy? Ice Cube: I M arvel Comics’ first brought the Fantastic Four to the big screen a de- cade ago, and followed it up with a sequel a couple years later. Since neither generated much in the way of audience enthu- siasm, 20th Century Fox has now seen fit to re- launch the flagging fran- chise rather than release a third installment. The reboot was direct- ed by Josh Trank, whose services were ostensibly retained on the strength of his impressive debut offering, the sci-fi thriller Chronicle. This picture stars Michael B. Jordan and Kate Mara as siblings Johnny and Sue Storm, and Jamie Bell and Miles Teller as childhood friends Ben Grimm and Reed Richards, respectively. Fantastic Four unolds like a typical origins tale, developing a humaniz- ing back story about each member of the tight-knit, title quartet, before the movie makes its inexora- ble march to an exciting finale. The point of depar- ture is Oyster Bay, New York in 2007, which is where we find precocious Reed informing his very skeptical, 5th grade teach- er of his plans to teleport himself someday. Not to worry. By the time he’s a senior in high school, Reed’s built a pro- totype with the help of his BFF Ben. And despite his Cymatic Matter Shuttle’s being disqualified from the science fair, the gift- ed egghead is recuited by Dr. Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey), the director of the Baxter Foundation, a research institute for science and technology The Fantastic Four prodigies. There, he’s befriend- ed by Johnny and Sue. Along with Ben, the kids eventually attempt an un- sanctioned trip to another powerful than any of the Fantastic Four individual- ly, but not collectively. That leaves them little choice but to join forces in defense of the planet. Something goes horribly wrong, and they inadvertently rip a hole in the fabric of the time/space continuum dimension via the Quan- tum Gate, a contraption invented by Dr. Storm’s protege, Victor (Toby Kebbell). However, some- thing goes horribly wrong, and they inadvertently rip a hole in the fabric of the time/space continuum. The calamity sudden- ly enables Reed (aka Mr. Fantastic) to stretch and contort his body, Johnny to fly and shoot fireballs, Sue to be invisible and create force fields, and badly disfigured Ben (aka The Thing) to exhibit in- vincibility and extraordi- nary strength. Meanwhile, Victor has developed tele- kinetic abilities and mor- phed into the diabolical Dr. Doom, a villain more The anticlimactic show- down that takes forever to arrive proves to be riv- eting, although it’s almost an afterthought, since it basically serves as a per- functory setup for the obligatory sequel. A decent enough over- haul to recommend heart- ily as a pleasant escape from the hazy, hot, humid dog days of August. Very Good HHH Rated PG-13 for action, violence and profanit In English and Spanish with subtitles Running time: 106 minutes Distributor: 20th Century Fox
