F. Gary Gray

Having established himself as a talented music video director, F. Gary Gray was bound to make a successful transition to feature films. Gray made good on his creative promise when he directed the hit comedy "Friday" (1995), which earned ten times its small budget at the box office and generated two popular sequels. He continued to showcase his gifts with his sophomore effort, "Set It Off" (1996), which was a big earner at the box office. Gray made his first foray into big-budget Hollywood filmmaking with the critically acclaimed thriller, "The Negotiator" (1998). Following a failed attempt at launching a regular television series, he found his biggest success to date with "The Italian Job" (2003), a gripping remake of the 1969 action comedy-drama. After establishing himself as a skilled director of action-adventure films, Gray returned to his hip-hop roots with the hit N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton" (2015).