Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer and former Friday Night Lights actor Michael B. Jordan are in talks to star in Fruitvale, an independent flick about the 2009 New Year's Eve killing of Oscar Grant by BART officer Johannes Mehserle, which polarized the Bay Area and shed light on police brutality in Oakland. "If deals go through, Jordan will play Grant, the 22-year-old man who crosses paths with friends and enemies, family and strangers on his last day. Spencer would play his tough and protective mother," notes Hollywood Reporter.
Produced by Forest Whitaker's Significant Productions, the film debut will be written and directed by Ryan Coogler.
Grant was shot and killed on the Fruitvale BART platform on New's Year Day 2009. Cellphone footage of the incident was spread across the internet, prompting outrage and concern over BART police. This movie comes on the heels of the murder of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old who was fatally shot by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman on Feb. 26.
No word yet on a release date, but we're guessing at some point around Oscar season.
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