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Antoine Fuqua (born January 19, 1966) is an American film director and producer. Initially active as a music video director, he has worked primarily in the action and thriller film subgenres. Fuqua began his career directing music videos for popular artists such as Toni Braxton, Coolio, Stevie Wonder and Prince. From 1998 onwards, he began directing feature films.
His first feature film was the John Woo-produced action film The Replacement Killers (1998), starring Chow Yun Fat.
Plot
Hired assassin John Lee (Chow Yun-Fat) is asked by Chinatown crime boss Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang) to murder the young son of policeman Stan Zedkov (Michael Rooker). Lee has the boy in his sights, but his conscience gets the better of him, and he spares the child’s life. Afraid that Wei will take revenge on his family in China, Lee seeks out expert forger Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino) to obtain the passport he needs to get out of the country, but a band of replacement killers is soon on his trail.
Fuqua’s second feature film was the comedy crime film Bait, starring Jamie Foxx.
Plot
When fast talking, petty thief and hustler Alvin Sanders (Jamie Foxx) gets arrested for stealing prawns, the worst of his problems would seem to be going to jail. Unfortunately, he ends up sharing a cell with John Delano Jaster (Robert Pastorelli) a guy who, while stealing $42 million in gold from the Federal Reserve, double-crossed his partner, Bristol (Doug Hutchison)—a partner with a knack for computers and a long memory. While being interrogated by hardball Treasury Agent Edgar Clenteen (David Morse), the double-crosser dies from heart failure. All the feds have are an incomprehensible message that was left with Alvin, so they decide to release him and use him as bait to catch the partner by secretly implanting a combination tracking device and electronic bug into Alvin’s jaw. From that moment on, a surveillance team can follow Alvin’s every move and hear his every word. Unfortunately, Alvin has a talent for getting into trouble—which means that the feds have to become his guardian angels so that he can serve his purpose.
It was Fuqua’s next film that solidified him as one of Hollywood’s best directors.
Training Day is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Fuqua. Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke star as two LAPD narcotics officers over a 12-hour period in the gang-ridden neighborhoods of the LAPD Rampart Division and South Central Los Angeles.
The film was released on October 5, 2001 and grossed $104 million worldwide. The film received positive reviews, with Washington’s performance being particularly praised and earning him an Oscar for Best Actor at the 74th Academy Awards. His co-star Ethan Hawke was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
The plot centers around a veteran police officer who escorts a rookie on his first day with the LAPD’s tough inner-city narcotics unit. “Training Day” is a blistering action drama that asks the audience to decide what is necessary, what is heroic and what crosses the line in the harrowing gray zone of fighting urban crime. Does law-abiding law enforcement come at the expense of justice and public safety? If so, do we demand safe streets at any cost?