 After taking Sundance by storm and getting a name change, Fruitvale Station is all set to head to the Croisette as an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival. Today, the Weinstein Company debuted a beautiful new poster that highlights the movie’s unique location and one of the central relationships. While I liked the movie coming out of Sundance, it’ll be interesting to see how it plays with the Cannes crowd. At any rate, check out the wonderful poster after the jump! Read more on Sundance hit and Cannes Official Selection ‘Fruitvale Station’ gets a new poster…
 As we all wait for the “official” announcement of the films that will be playing at this year’s prestigious Cannes Film Festival, IndieWire seems to already have the list. They films will officially start being announced at 11:00am, but with the leaked list at hand, some exciting and head-scratching films will be making their bow.
It was announced weeks ago that Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby would be the opening film but it won’t be the only high-profile film at hand. James Gray’s film “Lowlife” seems to have received a title change to join Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station and David O. Russell’s American Hustle as name changes for the week. The film looks to now be titled The Immigrant and stars Jeremy Renner, Marion Cotillard, and Joaquin Phoenix.
Nicolas Winding Refn will bring his long-awaited Only God Forgives with Ryan Gosling and Kristin Scott Thomas. We’ll also get the first words on Joel Coen & Ethan Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis with Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan, which is already getting many industry insiders excited at its award chances. Read more on Cannes Film Festival Includes ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’, ‘Only God Forgives’, Roman Polanski, and More!…
Categories: Festivals, News Tags: Alexander Payne, Asghar Farhadi, Cannes Film Festival, Ethan Coen, Fruitvale, Fruitvale Station, Inside Llewyn Davis, James Franco, Joel Coen, Nebraska, Nicolas Winding Refn, Only God Forgives, Ryan Gosling, The Great Gatsby, The Immigrant, The Past
 The upcoming hopeful from Ryan Coogler and The Weinstein Company, which received high praise from the Sundance Film Festival, has officially changed its title. The film, originally called “Fruitvale,” will now be called Fruitvale Station.
The film that tells the story of the true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008. The film stars Michael B. Jordan as Oscar and and also co-stars Academy Award Winner Octavia Spencer.
The film is still set to open on July 26, 2013. Read more on Weinstein Company Changes ‘Fruitvale’ Title…
 As April has completely come out of nowhere and become fully present, I’ve updated the new Oscar Tracker to keep in mind everything that has already been released this year so far or have screened at major festivals like Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca.
There’s no super-duper “out there” contender that looks like it can go all the way as of today with the exception of Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight. While the film is an absolute marvel, it won’t be determined until the autumn if it can sustain throughout the summer and become a leading contender like last year with Moonrise Kingdom and Beasts of the Southern Wild. Obviously, the latter was the only film to crack the Best Picture lineup but if we’re in store for a change like AMPAS going back to five Best Picture nominees, as some have speculated, a small indie film like Linklater’s could get lost throughout the summer and fall months. As of now, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy could show up with Linklater in Adapted Screenplay but on their performances alone, they will warrant some consideration. Both are superb in their roles and will have their champions throughout the year. Read more on First Quarter Round-Up – Are There Any Oscar Contenders?…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: Academy Awards, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, AMPAS, Before Midnight, Bradley Cooper, Channing Tatum, Chris O'Dowd, Dane DeHaan, Derek Cianfrance, Editor, Ethan Hawke, Fruitvale, Julie Delpy, Kill Your Darlings, Matthew McConaughey, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Shannon, Mud, Octavia Spencer, oscar predictions, Oscar Tracker, Oz the Great and Powerful, Richard Linklater, Rooney Mara, Ryan Gosling, Sarah Polley, Side Effects, Steven Soderbergh, Stories We Tell, The Iceman, The Place Beyond the Pines, The Sapphires
 It’s March! We get started right away and over the past few weeks after the Oscar ceremony, I took some brief stabs at some categories. Those have been tinkered with and will be reflected on the actual Oscar Prediction pages in the next couple of days. The full listing of predicted nominees is on the sidebar with the list of contenders on the Oscar Prediction pages for Picture, Director, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, and Animated Feature.
Obviously categories like Original Song are merely speculation because we don’t know what film will have an eligible song attached. Disney and Pixar films are good for a song or two so that’s always a good place to start. Read more on Oscar Circuit – 2014 Films and Minority Contenders…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit Tags: 2014 Oscar Predictions, A Separation, Academy Awards, Adepero Oduye, Angela Bassett, Antonio Banderas, August: Osage County, Berenice Bejo, Black Nativity, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Captain Phillips, Chavez, Christian Bale, Ewan McGregor, forest whitaker, Fruitvale, Gwyneth Paltrow, Idris Elba, jennifer hudson, Julia Roberts, Kasi Lemmons, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Michael Fassbender, Michael Pena, naomi watts, nicole kidman, Octavia Spencer, Oprah Winfrey, Out of the Furnace, Penelope Cruz, Ridley Scott, Rosario Dawson, Saving Mr. Banks, Steve McQueen, Tahar Rahim, The Counselor, The Grandmaster, The Past, the weinstein company, The Wolf of Wall Street, tom hanks, Twelve Years A Slave, Walt Disney, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana
 Every so often as a critic you get the opportunity to witness a film that’s so ingrained in your experience that it becomes difficult to even comprehend how you feel about the film. On one hand, Fruitvale is a rich, if slightly problematic, retelling of the day in the life of Oscar Grant, the Oakland man who was shot by police officers on New Year’s Day 2009. On the other is innate sense of personal relevance. I can still tell you exactly where I was sitting when I heard about him getting shot, the worry on my parent’s (and to speak the truth, all Black parents) faces that something like this could happen to me (their children), and the anger, not just African Americans, but most Bay Area residents felt when the officer who shot him was only sentenced to two years jail time. There’s no way to divorce those experiences from watching a film like this. However the movie doesn’t ask you to, it just wants you to be in the moment as it tells it’s story. For those reasons, Fruitvale is a feat of movie making, something that operates well within the medium and invites you to bring your emotions along for the ride. Read more on SUNDANCE: Fruitvale (***)…
 It’s the final countdown! In the penultimate episode of Park City Dispatch, Joey and I recount our final day at the fest including the morning snow and the films we screened: Blue Caprice, ACOD, The Spectacular Now and Fruitvale. Enjoy! Read more on Park City Dispatch – Episode 8: ACOD, Fruitvale and Blue Caprice…
 So far, one of the biggest hits at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival has been Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale. Today The Weinstein Company has announced that they have acquired the rights to distribute the film. See the official release and read more about the film after the jump.
Read more on The Weinsteins Acquire the Rights to Ryan Coogler’s ‘Fruitvale’…
 By: Joey Magidson
and Terence Johnson
Sundance Film Festival is right around the corner! Joey and I are incredibly excited to attend the festival on behalf of the site and are looking forward to all the films and people we will meet. As many of you know there are a ton of films that premiere at Sundance so, Joey and I decided to take an in-depth look at the schedule and find the films that we are the most excited to see at the festival. Take a look at our Top 10 Most Anticipated Sundance Films after the jump!
Read more on Most Anticipated Films from the Sundance Film Festival!…
Categories: Festivals Tags: American Promise, Before Midnight, Don Jon's Addiction, Film, Fruitvale, independent cinema, Independent films, Joey Magidson, Kill Your Darlings, kink, Lovelace, Park City Dispatch, Prince Avalanche, S-VHS, Stoker, Stories We Tell, Sundance Film Festival, Terence Johnson, The SPectacular Now, The Way Way Back, Top 10, Upstream Color
 Since winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, Octavia Spencer has been linked to many projects. She’s currently filming Diablo Cody’s directorial debut with Russell Brand, from there, she’ll film Snowpiercer and news is coming that she’s in negotiations to star in Fruitvale, an independent film about the controversial shooting of Oscar Grant. Written by debut writer/director Ryan Coogler, the movie will tell the story of 22 year old Oscar Grant, who after being detained by the police on New Year’s Day 2009 was shot in the back and killed. The event was captured on many cellphones and sparked an outcry for justice. The ensuing trial and verdict (the police officer was only convicted on involuntary manslaughter, and not second degree murder) set off riots and protests in the Bay Area. The movie takes its title from the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station where the shooting took place. Read more on Oscar Winner Octavia Spencer joins Indie Film ‘Fruitvale’…
|
