Ice Cube's New 'Friday' Movie Greenlighted

08/02/2001 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Yves Erwin Salomon

(8/2/01, 5 p.m. ET) -- Ice Cube is tentatively scheduled to begin production this fall on Friday After Next, the third installment of his Friday movie series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The rapper, actor, producer, and director enjoyed a great deal of success with 1995's Friday and 2000's Next Friday, and Friday After Next will feature several castmembers from the first sequel, including Cube, Mike Epps, Don "D.C." Curry, and John Witherspoon. The movie is scheduled for release around Thanksgiving 2002.

Comedian Chris Tucker, star of the new Rush Hour 2, recently explained to a New York radio station why he hasn't and will not participate in any of the Friday sequels. Tucker said that he wasn't comfortable with being associated with the marijuana-smoking Smokey character he played in Friday. Tucker, who doesn't use drugs, said that as an adult, the character was just too far removed from who he is. Tucker's explanation dispelled the popular notion that Ice Cube and New Line Cinema were not willing to pay the actor his $20 million asking price.

-- Yves Salomon, New York

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