Friday (franchise)

Friday is a stoner comedy film franchise created by Ice Cube and DJ Pooh.[1] The series takes place in South Central Los Angeles and follows the exploits of perpetually unemployed Craig Jones, who along with his friends and relatives, are thrust into various issues that happen to occur on a Friday.

Friday
Directed byF. Gary Gray (1)
Steve Carr (2)
Marcus Raboy (3)
Produced byPatricia Charbonnet
Written byIce Cube
DJ Pooh (1)
StarringIce Cube
John Witherspoon (1-3)
Chris Tucker (1)
Mike Epps (2-3)
Don Curry (2-3)
Tom Lister, Jr. (1-2)
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release date
1995-present
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$24.5 million
Box office$121.5 million

Three films have been released. The first film, Friday, released on April 26, 1995, was a surprise hit and garnered a cult following. The film's success led it to receiving two sequels, Next Friday (2000) and Friday After Next (2002). A short-lived animated series based on the films debuted in 2007 on MTV2 and lasted 8 episodes.

Films

Friday (1995)

The film takes a look at one single Friday in the life of two friends, Craig Jones (Ice Cube) and Smokey (Chris Tucker), in South Central LA. Craig has recently been fired from his job while attempting to collect his wages, as he was allegedly caught on camera stealing cardboard boxes from UPS, although he claims innocence. Throughout the day, friends and local neighborhood characters pass through, including the hulking neighborhood bully Deebo (Tommy Lister, Jr.). The film's subplot focuses on drug dealer Big Worm (Faizon Love), who warns Craig and Smokey to collect $200 worth of marijuana they smoked (which was supposed to be sold) no later than 10:00 that evening, or Craig and Smokey will be killed.

In the end, Craig manages to overcome all of the day's tribulations, save for finding employment; he and Smokey are able to pay Big Worm, he confronts Deebo and successfully beats him after all of his bullying to everyone else, and he and his pretty neighbor Debbie (Nia Long) hook up.

Next Friday (2000)

Next Friday is a 2000 stoner comedy film, and the sequel to the 1995 film Friday. This is the first film to be produced by producer Ice Cube's film production company Cube Vision. The film is directed by Steve Carr, and stars Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Don "D.C." Curry, John Witherspoon, and Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr.

In the sequel, Deebo has sworn revenge against Craig for beating him up and putting him in jail for four years. He is joined by his little brother, Tyrone (Sticky Fingaz), whom he escaped jail with. Craig's father, Willie decides to send him up to Rancho Cucamonga and live with his uncle's family until Deebo is back in jail. It's there, he learns about the financial problems that Day-Day and his father, Elroy, face. He is also informed by their Korean neighbor, Mrs. Ho-Kim (Amy Hill) with the problems of Karla's older brothers: Joker (Jacob Vargas), Lil' Joker (Lobo Sebastian) and Baby Joker (Rolando Molina). When Craig learns about the drug money hidden in a pipe kept in Joker's room, Craig conspires with Day-Day and Roach to steal it so they can use the money to pay off the debts.

Friday After Next (2002)

At 3:37am on Christmas Eve, Craig (Ice Cube) and Day-Day (Mike Epps) are robbed by a fake Santa Claus (Rickey Smiley) as he stole their presents, Craig's CD collection, Day-Day's baby pictures and a big sandwich. Craig and Day-Day get jobs as rent-a-cops in a strip mall where Willie (John Witherspoon) and Elroy (Don "D.C." Curry) opened up a rib joint, called "Bros. BBQ". They owe rent to their apartment building's manager, Ms. Pearly (BeBe Drake) who threatens the two with the attentions of her burly gay son, Damon Pearly (Terry Crews). Craig is in love with Donna, the girlfriend of a pimp named Money Mike (Katt Williams) who treats her poorly and Craig and Day-Day throw a rent party to get the money for Ms. Pearly.

Cancelled Fourth film titled Last Friday

According to John Witherspoon, the fourth installment of the series has been greenlit as of April 2017.[2] DJ Pooh reveals in an interview on Drink Champs that he's working on Last Friday with Ice Cube.[3] As of April 2018, Ice Cube stated "Right now we're still writing the movie, making sure that's ahead of the curve and not behind the curve. But I believe we'll start shooting, hopefully by the end of this year."[4] In May 2018, Mike Epps posted a video and image on Instagram with Ice Cube, teasing fans, and they assumed that the film is in production.[5] However, the footage was for the Friday film inspired Big 3 season 2 commercial, and it teased what Last Friday would look like.

On April 29, 2019, Ice Cube stated that the script has been completed, and hopes for it to be released on the 25th anniversary of the original film, which would be 2020. "We are pushing for it, we finished the script, we are getting notes from the studio and it's going back and forth," Cube said. "Get into pre-production and start hiring. It would be nice for this to come out on the 25th anniversary."[6] On June 21, 2019, Ice Cube stated that the movie is coming and he's currently doing a rewrite with DJ Pooh.[7] Four months later, on October 29, 2019, John Witherspoon died, which leaves the fate of his character unknown.[8] On November 14, Ice Cube blamed New Line Cinema for not committing to getting the film made while Witherspoon was alive.[9] Ever since Witherspoon's death, Ice Cube stated that the film was currently on hold although he hopes to get it back on track in the near future.[10]

On December 19, 2020, in the wake of Tommy Lister Jr.'s death, Angela Means claimed on a podcast that the project was cancelled. Similar to Ice Cube, she too blamed New Line Cinema for not devoting themselves to the film's production stating "You let our legends die".[11] On December 20, 2020, Clifton Powell expressed hope that the film would still be in production and that it will include a tribute to John Witherspoon and Tommy Lister Jr.[12]

Television

Friday: The Animated Series (2007)

Cast and characters

Characters Films Animated series
Friday Next Friday Friday After Next Friday: The Animated Series
Craig Jones Ice Cube Khary Payton
Cree Summer
(infant)
Mr. William "Willie" Jones John Witherspoon John DiMaggio
Deebo Tom Lister Jr. Kevin Michael Richardson
Clarence "Smokey" Chris Tucker Chris Tucker
(archive footage)
Phil LaMarr
Debbie Nia Long N/A
Mrs. Betty Jones Anna Maria Horsford Anna Maria Horsford
(archive footage)
Anna Maria Horsford Cree Summer
Dana Jones Regina King
Big Worm Faizon Love Faizon Love
(archive footage)
Pastor Clever Bernie Mac
Red DJ Pooh
Mrs. Parker Kathleen Bradley
Mr. Parker Tony Cox
Joann Vickilyn Reynolds Phil LaMarr
Ezal Anthony Johnson Reno Wilson
Joi Paula Jai Parker
Felisha Parker Angela Means
Lil Chris Jason Bose Smith N/A
Stanley Ron Riser
Daymond "Day-Day" Jones Mike Epps
Uncle Elroy Jones Don "D.C." Curry N/A
Pinky Clifton Powell Phil LaMarr
Joker Jacob Vargas N/A
Karla Lisa Rodriguez
Roach Justin Pierce
Tyrone Kirk Jones
Auntie Suga Kym E. Whitley
Lil Joker Lobo Sebastian Silent cameo
Baby Joker Rolando Molina
D'wana Tamala Jones
Baby D' Robin Allen
Money Mike Katt Williams N/A
Donna K.D. Aubert
Damon Pearly Terry Crews
Mrs. Pearly Bebe Drake
Robber Santa Claus Rickey Smiley Silent cameo
Moly Maz Jobrani
Officer Brian Dix Reggie Gaskins
Officer Alvin Hole Joel McKinnon Miller

Crew

Occupation Films
Friday Next Friday Friday After Next
Director(s) F. Gary Gray Steve Carr Marcus Raboy
Producer(s) Patricia Charbonnet Ice Cube Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez
Writer(s) Ice Cube and DJ Pooh Ice Cube
Composers(s) N/A Terence Blanchard John Murphy
Cinematographer(s) Gerry Lively Christopher J. Baffa Glen MacPherson
Editor(s) John Carter Elena Maganini Suzanne Hines

References

  1. James, Caryn (April 26, 1995). "FILM REVIEW; Replacing Rap's Anger With a Sense of Humor". The New York Times.
  2. Bitette, Nicole (April 21, 2017). "Ice Cube reportedly working on a new 'Friday' movie, co-star John Witherspoon says". New York Daily News.
  3. Paine, Jake (April 27, 2017). "DJ Pooh Confirms "Last Friday" Is Happening. He Also Defends Chris Tucker's Exit". AFH.
  4. Nadkarni, Rohan (April 23, 2018). "Ice Cube Q&A: The Big3 Is Back for a 'Prove It' Year". Sports Illustrated.
  5. Howard, Jacinta (May 3, 2018). "Ice Cube & Mike Epps Back on Set Filming New 'Friday' Movie". The Boombox.
  6. Galbraith, Alex (May 4, 2019). "Ice Cube Hopes to Release 'Last Friday' on the Original Film's 25th Anniversary". Complex.
  7. Walters, Mike (June 21, 2019). "Ice Cube Says New 'Friday' Movie Is On the Way!". Blast.
  8. Andreeva, Nellie; Bennett, Anita (October 30, 2019). "John Witherspoon Dies: Comedian & 'Friday' Star Was 77". Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  9. Dick, Jeremy (November 14, 2019). "Ice Cube Blames New Line for No 'Friday 4,' Apologizes to John Witherspoon at Funeral". Movieweb.
  10. McCarter, Reid (May 18, 2020). "Friday 4: Ice Cube Reveals The Sad Reason Why It Wasn't Made". Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  11. "angela means last friday - Bing video". www.bing.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  12. "Clifton Powell Wants to Do 'Friday 4' in Honor Pops and Deebo". Movieweb. 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
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