5 minutes with... Ice Cube And O'Shea Jackson Jr

O'Shea Jackson Jr and Ice Cube on the red carpet at the Sydney premiere of Straight Outta Compton. Photo: Getty

Straight Outta Compton. It was a seminal hardcore rap album - released by incendiary group NWA (or N**gaz With Attitude). It's a reference to one of Los Angeles' most dangerous neighbourhood. It's a cultural touchpoint for hundreds of thousands of young men around the world. And, now, it's a record-breaking, almost inconceivably successful film, produced by two members of NWA - Dr Dre and Ice Cube - and starring a trio of talented actors include Ice Cube's own son O'Shea Jackson Jr.

We caught up with Ice Cube and O'Shea Jackson Jr while the pair were in Sydney promoting the film, out now.

MARIE CLAIRE: The film is number one in America and has broken all the records for a late August release. How does the its success make you feel?
ICE CUBE: It’s great. I always envisioned this as a worldwide story. It’s called the ‘World’s Most Dangerous Group’ for a reason, that’s why I kept telling the movie company to promote it worldwide. It’s great for movies like this to be promoted right so there will make more movies like this – that is the key, to stick with these movies that are more authentic and not so Hollywood.

MC: Is it surreal to watch your life story play out on screen?
IC:It takes me back to the 80’s and the 90’s *laughs*. It’s actually a great feature film with all the layers that you need – it makes you laugh, cheer and cry.

MC: And what about watching your son play you in a movie? How does that feel?
IC:He’s amazing! He does a great job and sometimes when I’m looking at him I forget that he’s not the young me up there. That’s just a testament to him and all the guys, they are great actors straight up, and I can’t wait to see them in another movie.

MC: O'Shea, is it true that you didn't want anyone else to play your dad but yourself?
O'SHEA JACKSON JR:He's got a lot of fans. He’s got a lot of people who think they know how he would do certain things and I know that people are going to take this movie as law. I can’t risk people seeing my father in a different light than the one I see him in. I felt like I have a better understanding of what’s behind that mean mug and the scowl than anybody else could have found.

A still from the film Straight Outta Compton

MC: Ice Cube, was there anything you didn't want your son to relive from your past?
IC:I didn’t want to see him getting roughed-up by police on screen. That’s not fun for any parent to see! Even now, even though I know it’s acting, I still get mad at the cop behind him. As far as my history, I’m fine, he knows about everything, so it’s nothing new. I don’t think he knows about the guns on tour though. *Laughs*

MC: What was the hardest scene to watch?
IC: The scene Eazy-E was getting diagnosed and him actually learning the news of having AIDS. That’s still a horror scene [for me]. It's just tough because he’s not here and it makes the scene real because at the end of the movie Eazy is really gone and that right there is sad because it shows how much fun we were having and how crazy it got, the fact that we were trying to get back together. We just ran out of time.

MC: One of our favourite scenes is where Paul Giamatti, who plays your early manager Jerry, is getting his groove on at one of your first concerts. What was it like to work with him?
OS: He’s great! He was the veteran in the rookie locker-room. He kept us all not too warped in “we’re making a film”, but he kept it comfortable. His father is a huge keystone in American baseball, and he would tell me how much pressure it would be for him to play his father. Just those words help build confidence.

MC: Why do you think this film still resonates with audiences today?
IC: I think that it’s because the behaviour of the police hasn’t changed in all that time and they’re still doing the same things to the youth and citizens that they were doing back then. That’s the reason why it’s so eerily relevant and it’s just a shame. I think that more and more cameras are being put on police and they are being put on the internet and publicly shamed, and in some cases prosecuted, so it’s a great thing that people are starting to stand up and really push for them to change their kind of tactics. The way they’re taught is to win every situation, but sometimes you can diffuse a situation; it’s not all about winning the situation. Hopefully this movie once again shows people that there’s a long way for us to go.

MC: Recently, Dr Dre came under fire for his history of violence against women and he made a public apology about his past behaviour. What was the reasoning behind keeping this out of the film?
IC: We didn’t want to put anything in the movie that people already knew. Our movie – trying to put 10 years into 2 hours and 20 minutes – you just are not going to make everybody happy and not going to be able to tell every single story. There are layers about all of our personalities that were left out of the movie. There were things that happened were bigger incidents that got left out of the movie... There's just no way to get everything in there. You will always be able to nit-pick any biopic and say what’s not there but it’s really all about what is there. This is the movie we wanted to present. If you want to know more about us – Google!

O'Shea Jackson Jr playing Ice Cube in the film Straight Outta Compton

MC: There are rumours of Oscar buzz mounting... What do you say to that?
OJ: For me personally, I’m a movie buff and I love cinema. I like different types of movies than most people I know my age and so I dig that whole aspect of being awarded the highest honour in film. And for it to be my father’s story... To me that’s important. For me, to have those that may have overlooked his accomplishments or the things he has done, for it to be in a film and be cemented and see everybody appreciate is something special to me.

IC:Me personally, just being mentioned is a win. A movie like this is a hard sell for the Academy. For them to see the beautiful filmmaking and the craftsmanship in the movie to me is a vindication and it’s like winning.

MC: O'Shea... Did you know that you've become a sex symbol? That people are calling you O'Bae?
OS: *Laughs* I'm just glad my 'ooh' and 'aah' factor translated to the screen! I love the ladies like the ladies love me.
IC: You should change your name to LL O'Shea. Ladies Love O'Shea.

MC: How are you coping with your new status?
OS: You know, I have my hard times, it’s something I’m getting through with my family… *Laughs* I’m just enjoying the ride!

MC: Ice Cube, does that take you back to your youth as as sex symbol?
IC: I’m still a sex symbol! He’s just stepping into my world!

Straight Outta Compton is out now.