This content delves into the behind-the-scenes stories and surprising facts that contributed to the enduring cultural impact and success of the 1995 film Friday, highlighting its authentic portrayal of South Central Los Angeles and the unique circumstances of its creation.
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What's up?
>> Good morning. Are you prepared for
Jehovah's return? Because if you're not,
I have a plan for today.
>> Friday didn't follow the rules. It broke
them on purpose. Actors bombed
auditions. Scenes got rewritten on the
spot. Real gang members wandered into
frame. And one bathroom rant wasn't even
in the script. These are 12 weird facts
about Friday. And buried in the bonus, a
moment so real the crew couldn't control
it, so they just kept rolling. Number
one, the budget is either $2.3 million
or $3.5 million depending on who you
believe. Ice Cube tweets in 2016 that
Friday cost $2.3 million. He's defending
himself against criticism about not
paying the cast enough. Every official
source says 3.5 million. Box Office Mojo
says 3.5. IMDb says 3.5. New Line
Cinema's Records say 3.5. Ice Cube
insists to 2.3. That's a $1.2 million
discrepancy. Nobody knows where the
missing money went or if it ever
existed. Either Cub's misremembering his
own film's budget or every database on
the internet is wrong. Either way, the
film makes 27.4
million worldwide. The budget confusion
doesn't matter when you're printing money.
money.
>> And I'm trying to [ __ ] are broke these days.
days.
>> Number two, Chris Tucker got paid
$10,000 and then refused $12 million for
the sequel. Tucker makes $10,000 for
Friday. Three weeks of work, the film
makes him a star. Rush Hour pays him5
million. Rush Hour 2 pays him 20
million. Rush Hour 3 pays him 25
million. In 2007, Tucker becomes the
highest paid actor in Hollywood. New
Line offers him 10 to 12 million for
Next Friday. Tucker says no, he's found
religion. He doesn't want to smoke weed
on camera anymore. The character
requires constant marijuana use. Tucker
walks away from generational wealth
because of his faith. Ice Cube replaces
him with Mike Eps. The sequels make
money, but Smokeoky's absence is felt.
Tucker's performance at $10,000 becomes
one of the most iconic in comedy
history. You can't replace that. Number
three, DJ Pooh was supposed to play
Smokey until New Line demanded an
experienced comedian. DJ Pooh co-writes
the script with Ice Cube. Smokey is
based on Puh's past as a dealer in South
Central. Pooh plans to play the role
himself. New Line Cinema says no. They
want a seasoned comedian with stand-up
experience. The studio doesn't trust a
firsttime screenwriter to also star in
the film. Pooh gets bumped down to Red,
who gets knocked out by Debo. Chris Rock
reads for Smokey. Tommy Davidson reads
for Smokey. Chris Tucker walks in and
improvises half his audition. Tucker
gets the part. Pooh watches his own
character become a cultural icon in
someone else's hands. Tucker's manic
energy and falsetto voice makes Smokey
legendary. Pooh creates the character.
Tucker makes people remember him.
>> I did. I went in there to pick up my
check. Came home. Supervisor called me
about 4:00.
>> Number four. F. Gary Gray was terrified
to direct because Ice Cube was the
toughest man in America. Gray directs
music videos for Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.
He's never made a feature film. Ice Cube
offers him Friday as his directorial
debut. Gray panics. In interviews, he
admits he's terrified the audience won't
accept Ice Cube in a comedy. This is
1995. Cub's known for the police and
playing Doughboy in Boys in the Hood.
Gray worries America won't believe the
toughest man in the country can be
funny. He shoots the film in 20 days at
houses belonging to his childhood
friends in South Central. The scene
where Debo punches Red is filmed at
Gray's actual childhood home. Gray even
cameos in the liquor store scene. The
film works because Gray knows the
neighborhood. He's not an outsider
trying to manufacture authenticity. He
grew up on these streets. The comedy
comes from lived experience, not
Hollywood imagination. Gray goes on to
direct The Italian Job and Straight Out
of Compton, but he's never as scared as
he is on day one of [music] Friday,
watching Ice Cube try to make people
laugh. Number five, Ice Cube plans to
self- finance Friday on credit cards
like Robert Townsen did with Hollywood
Shuffle. Ice Cube and DJ Pooh realize
their inexperience makes major studios
unlikely to finance the film. They float
the idea of self- financing. Robert
Townsen's Hollywood Shuffle becomes
their blueprint. Townsen makes his 1987
comedy about black actors in Hollywood
by charging everything to credit cards.
Ice Cube sees this and thinks he can do
the same. He's ready to max out credit
cards for equipment and locations. New
Line Cinema hears about the script and
steps in. They offer $3.5 million. The
credit card plan gets shelved, but Ice
Cube's willingness to risk personal
bankruptcy for the film shows how badly
he wants to make it. Townsen proves you
can make a movie with no money and no
studio. Ice Cube proves you can take
that same independent spirit and turn it
into a studio hit. Hollywood Shuffle
makes 8 million on credit cards. Friday
makes 27 million with studio backing.
Both films change what's possible for
black filmmakers. The credit card plan
never happens, but the desperation
behind it drives Ice Cube to make sure
Friday gets made one way or another. [laughter]
[laughter]
>> What's up, Craig?
>> Number six, Angela means coached Chris
Tucker over spaghetti dinner after he
bombed his first audition. Tucker's
first audition goes terribly. He doesn't
understand the character. The casting
directors aren't impressed. Tucker
contacts Angela Means, who's already
been cast as Felicia. He asks for her
acting coach's number. Means invites him
to her house instead. She cooks
spaghetti and they workshop the role
over dinner. Means later says by the
time that spaghetti was gone, Chris was
Smokey. One meal saves Tucker's career.
He goes back for a second audition with
Mean's coaching in his head. The manic
energy, the falsetto panic, the physical
comedy, it all comes from that spaghetti
dinner. Tucker gets the part. The film
makes him a star. And it happens because
Angela Means decides to help instead of
guarding her acting coach like a secret.
One act of generosity changes Tucker's
entire trajectory. He goes from bombing
an audition to becoming the highest paid
actor in Hollywood. All because someone
made him spaghetti. Number seven, the
film is based on Ice Cube's cousin
getting fired from UPS and DJ Pooh's
real life in South Central. Ice Cube
calls Friday mostly autobiographical.
Craig getting fired on his day off came
straight from Cub's own family. His
cousin worked for UPS and was abruptly
let go after being accused of stealing
boxes. He swore he didn't do it, but the
company dropped him anyway. Cube watched
the fallout and thought the story was
too perfect not to use. That real life
injustice becomes Craig's entire
motivation in the movie. Smokey comes
directly from DJ Pooh's past. Puh has
openly said he grew up around dealers in
South Central, understood the
neighborhood ecosystem, and knew exactly
how guys operated on the block, the way
they hustled, the way they talked, the
way they got into trouble they couldn't
talk their way out of. Smokey was a
comedic exaggeration, but his roots were
real. Nearly every character in Friday
was built from people Cube and Pooh knew
growing up. Debo, Red, Felicia, Big
Worm. They weren't copies of real
individuals, but composits of the types
of people who existed on their streets.
Cube always said Hollywood only showed
one version of the hood. Tragedy. He
wanted to show the version he knew. The
jokes, the lazy afternoons, the people
hanging out on porches, the neighborhood
drama that was big but never fatal.
>> What's up, Greg?
What's up, Smokey? >> Nothing.
>> Nothing.
>> Number eight. Buy Felicia becomes an
internet meme 20 years after release.
Angela means plays Felicia for maybe 3
minutes of screen time. She asks to
borrow a car. Craig says no. She asks to
borrow money. Smokey says no. She walks
away. Craig waves dismissively and says,
"Bye, Felicia." It's a throwaway line in
1995. Nobody quotes it. Nobody thinks
about it. Then around 2015, the internet
discovers it. The phrase explodes as a
universal dismissal. Politicians use it.
Brands use it. People who've never seen
Friday use it means watches her tiny
role become the thing everyone knows her
for. She cries in interviews about being
typ cast. She's a talented actress
reduced to two words. People recognize
her on the street and yell by Felicia
with the wrong spelling. The meme
outlives the movie. Most people using
the phrase have no idea where it came
from. Angela means creates one of the
most quoted lines in film history and
gets nothing but typ casting in return.
Number nine, Friday is only the third
screenplay Ice Cube ever wrote. Ice Cube
writes two screenplays before Friday.
Neither one gets developed. Neither one
gets made. He has zero formal
screenwriting training, no film school,
no classes, no mentors. John Singleton
tells him, "If you can write a record,
you can write a movie." Cube believes
him. He writes Friday with DJ Pooh
[music] in weeks. They know the
characters because they lived with these
people. They know the dialogue because
they heard it their whole lives. The
structure is simple. One day, one
neighborhood, one problem. Big Worm
wants his money or someone dies.
Everything else is character
interaction. No complicated plot
mechanics, no three-act structure from a
screenwriting book, just people being
people for 90 minutes. The script works
because it's authentic. Cube writes what
he knows. The film makes $27 million.
Cube's third screenplay ever becomes one
of the most influential comedies of the
'90s. All because John Singleton tells
him writing movies isn't that different
from writing rap. Turns out he's right.
And won't you get your ass up today? Go
out and look for a job.
>> Number 10. John Witherspoon improvises
most of his dialogue, including the
entire toilet scene. Witherspoon plays
Mr. Jones, Craig's father. The bathroom
scene isn't in the script. Witherspoon
improvises the whole thing. Every time I
come in the kitchen, you in the kitchen
eating up all the food. The rant about
cereal and bowls and kitchen privilege
becomes the most quoted scene in the
movie besides by Felicia. Once
Witherspoon realizes FG Gary Gray will
let him improvise, he takes over every
scene he's in. His natural comedic
timing makes a supporting character into
a scene stealer. The toilet monologue is
Witherspoon doing stand-up disguised as
acting. Gray keeps the camera rolling
and lets him work. Witherspoon reprises
the role in Next Friday and Friday After
Next. Mr. Jones becomes iconic because
Witherspoon refuses to stick to the
script. He's a veteran comedian who
knows what's funny. He trusts his
instincts over the written page. The
film is better because Gray trusts him
back. Number 11, Bernie Mack's pastor.
Clever Scene is one perfect take of pure
physical comedy. Bernie Mack plays
Pastor Clever for 2 minutes of screen
time. He runs from Mr. Parker's house in
absolute panic. The character thinks
he's witnessed a murder. The physical
comedy mixes with genuine terror. Mac
nails it in one take. Film schools study
the scene as a masterclass in comedic
timing. The way Mac moves, the panic in
his voice, the escalating hysteria, it's
all perfectly calibrated. He's [music]
not doing bits. He's fully committed to
the character's fear. That's what makes
it funny. Mac uses Friday as a launching
pad to bigger starting. He gets the
Bernie Mack shows six years later. But
comedy nerds remember Pastor Clever
running down the street screaming about
a body. 2 minutes of screen time. One
perfect take. Bernie Mack shows everyone
on set what a professional looks like.
Number 12. Three main cast members die
before last. Friday can be made. John
Witherspoon dies in October 2019. Tommy
Tiny Listister Jr. dies in December
2020. Anthony AJ Johnson dies in
September 2021. Three legends gone in
two years. Ice Cube completes the last
Friday script in April 2019, one month
before Witherspoon's death. Warner Bros.
rejects it. Cube writes two versions.
One where Craig's in prison, another
built around Craig's relationship arc.
The studio says no to both. Witherspoon,
Listister, and Johnson [music] die
waiting for a sequel that never comes.
Ice Cube goes on social media. You let
our legends die. The franchise becomes a
memorial instead of a continuation. In
June 2024, Last Friday goes back into
development, but it's too late. Mr.
Jones is gone. Debo is gone. Eol is
gone. The film can't recapture what made
the original work because the original
cast is dead. Friday becomes a time
capsule, a record of a moment and a
neighborhood, and people who made the
world laugh. You can't remake that. You
can't replace those performances. The
sequel sits in development hell while
fans watch the original and remember
what they've lost. Bonus. Two real gang
members refuse to leave the shot and
make it into the final film. During
Smokeoky's Angel Dust flashback, two
real gang members sit on a wall in the
background. They're not extras. They're
not part of the production. They just
happen to be there when filming starts.
The crew asks them to move. They refuse.
The production offers them money to be
official extras. They refuse. They
insist on staying in the shot anyway.
Production can't remove them without
causing a scene. F. Gary Gray makes a
calculation. It's not worth the
confrontation. He shoots the scene with
them in frame. They're visible in the
final film. Two unauthorized people
sitting on a wall watching a movie get
made. It's the most South Central thing
about Friday. You can't control the
neighborhood. You can only work with it.
Gray knows this because he grew up
there. He doesn't try to sanitize the
location or remove inconvenient reality.
The gang members stay. The scene works.
Friday becomes authentic because it
doesn't try to fake authenticity. Ice
Cube spends $3.5 million proving Hood
films can be funny. Chris Tucker goes
from 2500 bucks to the highest paid
actor in Hollywood. The film creates
internet memes, launches careers, and
captures South Central laughing on a
Friday afternoon. Three cast members die
waiting for a sequel that never comes.
But Friday lives forever because it
shows a side of the hood Hollywood
usually ignores. People sitting on
porches, people talking trash, people
surviving another day without getting
shot. That's the real story. And 27
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