F. Gary Gray

F. Gary Gray, whose full name is Felix Gary Gray, was born in New York; his birth year is recorded as either 1969 or 1970. He grew up mostly in South Central Los Angeles and in his teens was sent to live with his father in Highland Park, Illinois, where, he recalled, he attended “a predominantly white, rich high school.”⁠[1]

He attended Los Angeles City College and Golden State College. He has said he was largely self-taught because he could not afford film school, and said, “From a young age, I knew I was going to be a filmmaker.”⁠[1][2]

Gray worked early on as a camera operator for the Black Entertainment Network (BET), including on Screen Scene, and for Fox, including on Pump It Up, before turning to music videos for artists including TLC, Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah and Whitney Houston.⁠[1][2]

His video for Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” was named to Rolling Stone’s “Top 100 Videos of All Time,” and TLC’s “Waterfalls” won four awards, including Video of the Year, at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. He has described his music videos as “my own film school training.”⁠[1][2]

Gray’s first feature was the 1995 New Line Cinema comedy Friday, which was made on a budget of about $3 million and earned about ten times its cost.⁠[1][2]

He then directed Set It Off (1996, New Line Cinema), The Negotiator (1998, Warner Bros.), A Man Apart (New Line Cinema) and The Italian Job (2003, ParamountParamountParamount is a media-group brand spanning film, television, streaming and interactive entertainment. Paramount Global and Skydance Media combined as Paramount Skydance Corporation in 2025; after completing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, 2026, the group became Skydance Corporation. Its businesses include Paramount Pictures, CBS, Comedy Central, Paramount+ and Pluto TV.Open the full entry).⁠[1]

In August 2015 Universal Pictures released Straight Outta Compton, directed by Gray. The film tells the story of the formation of the rap group N.W.A. in late-1980s Los Angeles against a backdrop of gang violence, police brutality and racial tension, and was co-produced by former N.W.A. members Dr. Dre and Ice Cube; it was shot largely on location in Los Angeles with Matty Libatique as director of photography.⁠[2]

Discussing his aims for the film, Gray said, “I wanted to create a movie that felt real and authentic, because that’s what hip hop is.”⁠[2]

On August 14, 2015, Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry published the special episode “a16z Podcast: Straight Outta Compton, The Interview.” It was drawn from a Q&A after an early screening of Straight Outta Compton hosted by a16z, moderated by a16z co-founder Ben HorowitzBen HorowitzBen Horowitz is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist and business author who co-founded Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with Marc Andreessen in 2009. He previously led Loudcloud’s transition into Opsware and its 2007 sale to Hewlett-Packard. His writing and investing address startup management, organizational culture and the relationship between technology and cultural industries.Open the full entry, with Ice Cube, director Gray and actors Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell and O’Shea Jackson Jr., who played Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Ice Cube respectively.⁠[3]

The discussion covered N.W.A.’s impact on music and pop culture, the struggle and the drive, the creative process, the cycles of history, the city of Los Angeles, and why “it’s cool to be a nerd.” The episode was uploaded to the a16z YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel on January 1, 2019.⁠[3][4]

The Fate of the Furious, directed by Gray, opened in April 2017 with $532 million worldwide, surpassing the previous global opening record of $529 million held by Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is a space-fantasy film and entertainment franchise created by George Lucas and now owned by Lucasfilm, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.Open the full entry: The Force Awakens.⁠[5]

Gray went on to direct Men in Black: International and, for Netflix, the Kevin HartKevin HartKevin Hart is an American comedian, actor, producer and entrepreneur known for stand-up comedy and films including Ride Along and Jumanji. He serves as chairman and CEO of Hartbeat, has published a memoir and children’s fiction, and has developed several business ventures. He received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2024 and has been interviewed by School of Hard Knocks.Open the full entry action comedy Lift, written by Daniel Kunka and also starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio and Jean Reno. His other films include Be Cool and Law Abiding Citizen.⁠[6][2]