Ice Cube and son enjoy being 'Straight Outta Compton' in exclusive clip
The Oscars shut Straight Outta Compton out of the best picture and actor nominations — though it did get a screenplay nod — but everybody else doesn't have to ignore it. The N.W.A. biopic comes out on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday, and this exclusive behind-the-scenes clip finds hip-hop legend Ice Cube talking about the guy playing him on screen: his son O'Shea Jackson Jr.
Cube is proud of the film as an artist, as a producer and as a father, and when casting his younger self, the kid seemed like a no-brainer:
"I kept looking at my son like, yo, he's already an MC, he already knows how to perform and I take him on tour with me all the time. So the wheels start turning."
However, director F. Gary Gray wasn't going to just hand a complete novice the part. He admits that it took Jackson two years to win the role, though Jackson says he took it all in stride:
"Just as much as I'm freaking out about being in a movie, it's a blessing to have Dre hands on, to be able to have Cube hands on, because who knows the story better than them?"
Jackson also isn't sweating the Oscar snubbage, as you can see when we caught up with him on the Critics' Choice Awards red carpet Sunday:
