Trailer
Plot summary
In Compton in 1986, Eazy-E escapes a police raid on a crack house, Dr. Dre argues with his mother about a job and moves out, and Ice Cube, still in high school, writes rhymes about what he sees around him. When a New York group turns down a song Cube wrote, Dre coaches Eazy through the track himself, and it becomes a hit. Eazy and Dre start Ruthless Records, and with DJ Yella and MC Ren the group N.W.A takes shape. Manager Jerry Heller offers Eazy a path to legitimacy, and the album the group records draws the attention of the police.
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Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Seven days into filming in Compton, a drive-by shooting happened right in front of the cast and crew. One person near the set was shot, but no one from the film was hurt, and shooting continued in the city as planned.
- Suge Knight was involved in a hit-and-run after an argument on the Straight Outta Compton set that killed Terry Carter, co-founder of Heavyweight Records, and injured filmmaker Cle Sloan. Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in 2018 and was sentenced to 28 years in prison.
- A 2014 casting call for female extras used an A-D ranking scale that linked skin tone to attractiveness, with the lowest category seeking "African American girls. Poor, not in good shape. Medium to dark skin tone." The call was accused of colorism, sexism, and racism.
- Jerry Heller sued NBCUniversal, director F. Gary Gray, Legendary Pictures, the screenwriters, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E's estate for $12 claims, saying the film took content from his autobiography without permission and defamed him. The lawsuit was dismissed in December 2018, two years after Heller's death.
- Dr. Dre released Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre on August 7, 2015, inspired by the film, and said he would donate royalties to the city of Compton for a new performing arts facility. It was his first collection of original music since his 1999 album 2001.
- Despite its name, Straight Outta Compton did not have its premiere in Compton, as the city had no movie theaters when the film was released.
- The film set a record for the best opening by a movie with an African American director. F. Gary Gray's own The Fate of the Furious later passed it in April 2017.
- On August 27, 2015, Straight Outta Compton became the highest grossing musical biopic in the United States, with $120.9 million. It passed Walk the Line, the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic, which had taken in $119.5 million.
