The wait is almost over as the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton opens in theaters on Friday (Aug. 14). It took four years -- from script to production -- to get this movie onto the big screen. But do you really know how difficult it was to film?

Early in the process, directors John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood), Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) F. Gary Gray (Friday) and Peter Berg (Battleship) were in talks to helm the movie. On April 2012, Gray was hired to direct the film. During a panel discussion, Cube explained why he chose Gray to direct the movie.

“What I like about him, is the same thing that Spike [Lee] does for New York [in his films], he makes our [Compton] neighborhoods look beautiful,” he said. “Even our dirty areas have a beautiful grit. It’s more about the humanity than the hood s--- they can show.”

Filming of the movie started in the summer of 2014, on location in Compton, Calif. Shooting the flick proved to be almost hazardous for people on the set. According to TMZ, a drive-by shooting took place during filming; luckily, no cast or crew got hurt but a civilian was injured. And of course, Suge Knight killed a man and severely injured another person when he ran both of them down with his truck.

Find out some more interesting facts about the making of Straight Outta Compton in the video above.

If you want to know where Straight Outta Compton is playing at a theater near you, head over to straightouttacompton.com.

See 100 Hip-Hop Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

More From TheBoombox