I just wanted to give MAD PROPS to Sundance 2013 sensation Fruitvale and its writer/director Ryan Coogler (pictured left). The Principal Cast of Fruitvale is Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O'Reilly, Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray.
As detailed in the article below the film was picked up for distribution (bought so they can put it theaters and of course make a profit) by The Weinstein Company (TWC). This is a really big deal because The Weinstein Company has been notorious for picking up potential Oscar winners. Past films picked up for distribution by TWC include Oscar contenders My Week with Marilyn (2011), The Artist (2011, only USA and Australia), The Iron Lady (2011, only USA), Undefeated (2012) Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary, The Fighter (2010, international distribution) and The King's Speech (2010) Academy Award Winner for Best Picture.
Of course TWC picks up many more pictures that aren’t exactly Oscar contenders, but it’s a great sign that this film got picked up by them so early.
I refuse to read reviews before I see a film, but I’m reading great blurbs about the film and its star Michael B. Jordan. Below is more about the film you should know about for the awareness of such a film should start early.
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| Michael B. Jordan in Fruitvale |
By John Horn and Amy Kaufman | Los Angeles Times
January 21, 2013, 1:45 p.m.
PARK CITY, Utah -- In a deal for about $2 million, the Weinstein Co. has acquired rights to the drama “Fruitvale,” shown at the Sundance Film Festival, according to a person close to the film who was not authorized to speak on the record.
“Fruitvale” is based on the 2009 shooting of 22-year-old African American father Oscar Grant by a BART police officer in Oakland, an event that sparked outrage among community activists.
The film, starring up-and-comer Michael B. Jordan in the lead role and directed and written by Ryan Coogler, follows Grant in the 24 hours before his death, during which he spends time with his family and decides to stop dealing marijuana.
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| Sundance 2013 Awards Emcee Joseph Gordon-Levitt |
Fruitvale Wins Top Prizes at Sundance
January 26, 2013
The Sundance Film Festival honored its top entries during an evening ceremony Jan. 26 near Park City, where 26-year-old Ryan Coogler’s drama Fruitvale was honored with both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize.
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| Associated Press - Director and screenwriter Ryan Coogler reacts as he accepts the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic for "Fruitvale" during the 2013 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP |
“It’s about how we treat people we love the most, and how we treat the people we don’t know,” Coogler said. “To get this award means it had a profound impact on the audiences who saw it.”
Emcee Joseph Gordon-Levitt expressed his feelings for the film, based on the 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant by BART officials in Oakland, a little differently: “I f---ing love that movie!” he exclaimed after the film took home the Audience Award.
—Info from The Hollywood Reporter
UPDATE: FEBRUARY 2013
NEW POSTER
UPDATE: MAY 2013
NEW POSTER, NAME & TRAILER
Fruitvale is now Fruitvale Station and is coming to select theaters July 12th and nationwide July 26th. Below is the new poster and the new trailer.
UPDATE: JUNE 2013
NEW POSTER
Read more about Fruitvale at Sundance at http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/13025/fruitvale
Read more about Ryan Coogler in Filmmaker magazine here
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