'BOYZ N THE HOOD' DIRECTOR TO DELIVER MLK LECTURE JAN. 22

In observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Old Dominion University will honor the civil rights leader's legacy with a speech by Academy Award-nominated director John Singleton Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Singleton, director of the 1991 film "Boyz N the Hood," will deliver the university's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Lecture at 7:30 p.m. in the north and center cafeterias of Webb University Center. His talk is free and open to the public.

Singleton made film history when, at age 24, he became the youngest person and the first African American to be nominated for a "Best Director" Academy Award for "Boyz," a personal portrait of life and death in southcentral Los Angeles. A native of the neighborhood, Singleton drew on his personal experiences for the film. Columbia Pictures bought his script for "Boyz N the Hood" and budgeted $7 million for the picture

He also directed "Poetic Justice" (1993), starring Janet Jackson, and "Higher Learning" (1995), as well as "Rosewood" (1997), "Shaft" (2000) and "Baby Boy." (2001)

"Baby Boy," about an irresponsible, unemployed and unmarried young man who has out-of-wedlock children, was among the Best Film nominees for the 33rd annual NAACP Image Awards, honoring the best of black entertainment in film, TV, music and literature.

The son of a mortgage broker and a pharmaceutical company sales executive, Singleton attended the Filmic Writing Program at the University of Southern California after graduating from high school in 1986. As a USC student, he won three university writing awards, which led to a contract with Creative Artists Agency during his sophomore year.

For more information, call 683-3116.