Boyz n the Hoo is an Academy Award-nominated 1991 hood film directed by John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Regina King, Nia Long, and Morris Chestnut, the film depicts life in economically deprived South Central (now South) Los Angeles, California, and was filmed and released in the summer of 1991. It was nominated for both Best Director and Original Screenplay during the 1991 Academy Awards, making John Singleton the youngest person ever nominated for Best Director and the first African-American to be nominated for the award.