Versatility of Cubevision!

 I visited the official website of rapper/writer Ice Cube and his film production company, Cubevision at http://www.donmega.com/cubevision.php

In case you aren’t familiar with his work, Ice Cube has produced the following projects through his company: Next friday, Barbershop, All about the Benjamins and his most recent work, Lottery Ticket. On the site Cube includes an interview that he and actor Mike Epps did recently, speaking in reference to the the company as well as the projects that they have worked on together.

The interview on the site gives so much insight as to how Ice Cube contributes to the entertainment world and how his vision is unlimited. 

Remembering Cube in serious dramatic roles such as Three Kings and Boyz N The Hood make it almost ideal for him to stick to this genre but Cube however has turned the switch on his career and allowed us to see him as a versatile actor. Not only can he write scripts and cast but he can also star in comedies. Creating unforgettable everyday characters such as Craig from the Friday series. He can also make relatable expressions and effects that allow us to love him and his ingenuity as an actor. Being that none of Cubes films that he has ever worked on has ever lost money, Cube has not only seen a pattern of success but he has also shown longevity and growth in the film industry.

Cube makes a reference to production studios and the limitations that they put on marketing the type of movies that he likes to put out. “The studios, they're the ones with blinders on. They're the ones who don't understand that if people want to see it, they'll go see it. You don't have to target. People think they're so good at targeting. The people who make those decisions, they're not smart enough to see that it's a different world out there now. People just want to be entertained, they don't care about your color.”

 This quote hits the nail on the head to me. Cube is so genuine for telling it like it is. Studios are seemingly afraid to take the risk. Projects with a large black cast or with black supporting cast are often referred to as urban films or urban projects. Major studios don’t support a lot of urban projects because they feel that the audience will not support it or they aren’t so familiar with this target audience so they shy away from it, but the truth is that if you like movies you will go see it!

Cube continues, “It's hard to change Hollywood — that's some old-school money. It's real hard to change their minds.” Cube gave a perfect example of this in reference to the success of 
the movie, Barbershop which was distributed through MGM.  Cube states that MGM didn’t target a particular audience so they marketed the project the same as all the others and got a great return. Hopefully what Hollywood views as the small scale urban market will soon be obsolete. Maybe we will soon have an opportunity to see more creativity on screen because we are allowed more room to do what we do which is be creative and not worry about if its been done before. Artists like Ice Cube have handcrafted a model for success that has proven to work yet they are still limited as to what companies will spend to market those projects. If more studios took the chance that MGM took they would  be sure to reap the same or maybe even greater rewards!  Cube also explains that for a future project he wants to work on a hard-core crime story...we truly hope to see it Cube.

Starring in the comedy film Lottery Ticket, alongside Bow Wow, Mike Epps, Naturi Naughton and Teairra Mari, Cube also has a new album, I Am The West that is due to be released September 28th. The project is his ninth studio album and also includes West side veterans DJ Quick, E-A-Ski and Sir Jinx.  You may send Cube a message on his blog or simply go out and see his latest project, Lottery Ticket which is now in theatres.