Poetic Justice is a classic of the ’90s film era. The movie starred music icons Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur in a romantic drama written by John Singelton. Let’s take a trip back to 1993 and discuss 8 fun facts about the film Poetic Justice you may not know.
Jada Pinkett Smith Auditioned For The Role Of Justice
Poetic Justice is synonymous with Janet Jackson. This is because John Singleton specifically wrote the film with Janet in mind. At the time, a film with a black female lead was rare, so Singleton recalls that many women showed up to try and score the role. Amongst those women was Jada Pinkett-Smith. Jada obviously had a very unique relationship with Tupac Shakur during his lifetime and their own screen chemistry could have made for a very different film. It’s unclear if Pac had already been attached to the film at the time she auditioned.
Rapper Ice Cube Refused To The Role Of Lucky
While Janet was Singleton’s muse for the lead character Justice, it seems he was a bit more open on actors when it came to her on-screen love interest Lucky. At one point, John presented the script to another West Coast rapper, Ice Cube. Cube said he turned the script down because he did not like some of the choices made for Lucky. Cube took issue with Lucky kicking his best friend Chicago out of the car when they got to Oakland. He felt this choice made Lucky look like a “sucka” and decided he could not live with that. Cube has gone on record stating that he feels 2Pac did an amazing job in the role. Cube also passed up on the part of O-Dog in Menace II Society for fear that he would be typecasted after starring in back-to-back hood films (Boyz n The Hood and Trespass).
Janet Jackson Changed Her Number The Day After The Movie Wrapped
Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur had wonderful chemistry on camera. Many state that this translated behind the scenes as well. At the time, Janet was a married woman, but co-star Regina King recently stated in Janet’s Lifetime documentary that she felt the two had some incredible sparks. Pac felt this too and says that when they wrapped, he hoped to maintain a friendship with Jackson. The two exchanged numbers, but Tupac said in an interview before his passing that Janet changed her number the following day. He said he felt hurt because he believed they would be “cool.”
John Singleton Put Many ‘Boys in the hood’ References In The Movie
John Singleton got his break in Hollywood with the film Boyz n The Hood. Poetic Justice was his second film, and he decided to pay homage to his breakthrough by including an easter egg in Justice. During the scene where Joe Torry and Regina King’s characters are fighting, King mentions Dookie and Monster. Those familiar with Boyz will recall that Dookie and Monster frequently hung out with Ice Cube’s Doughboy.
Janet Jackson’s Ex-Husband Rene Elizondo Made A Cameo Appearance In The Movie
As mentioned earlier, Jackson was married at the time she starred in Poetic Justice. Her husband, Rene Elizondo, actually made a cameo in the movie. He played the Mexican co-worker throwing darts in the post office. Elizondo was very hands-on with Janet’s career at the time. He pushed for her to embrace a sexier image, famously holding her breast on her Rolling Stone cover. Elizondo also was the driving force behind Janet’s video for “Again,” the original song she penned for Poetic Justice.
John Singleton Named His Daughter After The Movie’s Main Character, Justice
The movie had a significant impact on John Singleton. So much so that he named his daughter Justice Maya Singleton. Justice is obviously the name of the film’s lead, and Maya is a reference to poet Maya Angelou. Born the year before the film’s release, Justice has gone on to follow in her father’s footsteps, becoming a screenwriter and director. She has three films to her credit on IMDB.
Maya Angelou Wrote All Of The Poetry
Maya Angelou’s significance to Singleton has a lot to do with Poetic Justice as well. The iconic poet contributed original poetry to the film. These poems were read by Jackson throughout the movie in voiceovers and helped narrate the movie since Justice was also a poet.
The Two Guys Who Took Q-Tip’s Character’s Life Are Real-Life Brother
The movie starred another rapper turned leading man, Q-Tip. Tip played Jackson’s boyfriend at the beginning of the film. He was gunned down during the opening sequence. The two actors who played his murderers were his real-life brothers, Lloyd Avery, and Che Avery.
