At Sundance Film Festival, The Weinstein Company, Fox Searchlight, Paramount Pictures and Focus Features went into a bidding war over the controversy film Fruitvale. After all the nukes were dropped and the smoke cleared The Weinstein Company was the only organization to survive the intense battle. According to the Variety, The Weinstein Company won the auction war for the film by reportedly dropping a bomb worth between two to three million dollars, including commitments to a wide theatrical release.
For those who don’t know, Fruitvale is a drama about the true-life police shooting of Oscar Grant, the unarmed young man who was shot and killed by BART police on New Years Day of 2009. The event was captured on numerous cell phone cameras and despite video evidence the juror returned a ‘not guilty’ verdict for 2nd degree murder which ultimately turned the bay area upside down with protests and riots.
The film stars Michael B. Jordan and co-stars Octavia Spencer, Tristan Wilds and Melonie Diaz, and is produced by Forest Whitaker. The Weinstein Company must see some great potential in the film to pay such a hefty price. Seeing is knowing, and when the film hit theaters, the audiences can be the real judges. As for Grant, the story is a sad one and it’s very fortunate that Hollywood was able to bring this situation to light.
