My parents separated when I was 2, and my dad always lived in Chicago and my mother in L.A. I'd go back and forth and sometimes spend the summer with my dad, but L.A. was home. F. Gary Gray More Quotes by F. Gary Gray More Quotes From F. Gary Gray Because I didn't go to film school, you learn so much from a lot of creative artists. F. Gary Gray creative artist school When you start directing movies at the age of 24, you're just a kid, you don't necessarily even have the experiences to add to the story, you're working off of instinct and raw emotions and raw talent, and hopefully it's the same trajectory as growing as a person. F. Gary Gray age add kids There's always things from shooting a film that you pick up that hopefully make you better. F. Gary Gray hopefully shooting film Hip hop has been an integral part of my life and my whole career. I started off doing videos with Ice Cube, and Dre, and Mary J. Blige, and TLC. So I've been involved in hip hop since the beginning. F. Gary Gray hip-hop ice careers Creativity is a mansion. If you're empty in one room, all you have to do is go out into the hallway and enter another room that's full. F. Gary Gray room go you creativity Success is really about your mindset. F. Gary Gray success-is your mindset success I'm single-minded. When I'm working on a project, all my attention is there. F. Gary Gray project working attention I remember where I was when I first heard 'Boyz N The Hood' - 126th Street and Normandy, South Central, Los Angeles. I remember that I was on my porch. What they described in that song was so vivid and so clear to me because it was the kind of life I was used to witnessing and partly experiencing in my neighborhood. F. Gary Gray me song remember life I always direct next to the camera and watch my actors, and so you can see the small things that you can't see on the small screen but you can definitely see on the big screen. F. Gary Gray camera small you small-things I don't have a typical filmmaker background. I didn't grow up with a super eight camera or a video camera. I didn't start cutting movies when I was four or five. F. Gary Gray camera grow movies start I actually didn't really start to get into the research of film until I was much older. I decided I wanted to direct a lot earlier than I started to do the research, which is really strange, but it is the case. F. Gary Gray get start strange research I knew that in Hollywood they tend to pigeonhole talent, and when you experience a little success in one genre, their instinct is to keep you in that box. F. Gary Gray you talent experience success I was a little hesitant at first because there's so many ways you can get 'Straight Outta Compton' wrong. You know, it's such a great story; it's such a classic tale. I was a little nervous 'cause it's like a very narrow road to success with that type of story - you got to get it right - but when I read it, I was pleasantly surprised. F. Gary Gray road great you success I love a challenge. So when I did 'Friday,' I didn't want to do another comedy back-to-back. With 'Set It Off,' that was a little different from 'The Negotiator' and 'The Italian Job.' So for me, it's all about challenge. It's all about challenge and about just learning. F. Gary Gray challenge me learning love 'Straight Outta Compton' is my first biopic, my first period piece, and I got a chance to kind of get out there like some of my idols, you know, like Scorsese, Spielberg, Spike Lee, the guys who came before me. You know, I'm feeling good about it. F. Gary Gray feeling good me you Everybody comes to film differently; everybody has different backgrounds. Just find whatever your lane is naturally. Don't try to force yourself into someone else's vision or try to tell a story that you're not passionate about. F. Gary Gray yourself someone you vision I take nothing away from my existence in the 'hood, because it sharpened my instincts. We had a different way of living that developed our survival instincts, and I use those to this day when I make films. You can't buy that. F. Gary Gray day you survival way I was doing well in TV as a freelance cameraman, but it wasn't the direction I wanted to go in. I directed videos and tried to put something cinematic in every one. Dialogue, action sequences, helicopter, Steadicam. F. Gary Gray direction doing go action You have to enjoy yourself when you go to the movies. People don't want to spend their hard earned money to simply go see a history lesson. F. Gary Gray yourself you money history We didn't have much money growing up, so we hopped around L.A. a lot in the '70s, '80s and '90s. I'm very familiar with the shifting culture there. F. Gary Gray up growing-up money culture
