By: debbie lynn elias
FRUITVALE STATION has taken the world by storm, wowing critics and the public alike, not only because of the true story that gives rise to the film, but because of the excellence brought to the screen by first time feature film writer/director Ryan Coogler.
Based on the events surrounding the death of Oscar Grant, FRUITVALE STATION is the story of Oscar Grant’s final 24 hours before he was shot and killed by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale Station of the BART system in Oakland, California on January 1, 2009. The shooting occurred following an altercation on the train that didn’t involve Grant, but one for which he was detained on the platform along with three of his friends by lead officer Anthony Pirone. The subsequent maelstrom resulted not only a large scale riots garnering national and international attention, but Mehserle being convicted for involuntary manslaughter and serving 11 months in jail. This was a story that had to be told and one in which actors clamored to be a part.
While Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer won hard fought battles for the lead roles, Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray fought equally hard for the roles of the BART platform officers involved in the shooting, Caruso and Ingram, respectively. [Names were changed in the film for legal reasons.]
Although not as prominent as the roles of Oscar Grant, his girlfriend Sophia or his mother, and while Chad Michael Murray jokes, “if you blinked, you missed me”, the role of Ingram is pivotal to the story and the chain of events leading up to Grant’s death and one which Murray takes seriously.
Describing Ryan Coogler as “the best, the absolute best guy there is”, Murray couldn’t be prouder of not only the film’s success but that lauded on his co-stars. “They truly, truly do deserve it. That was labor of love.” Himself now a film/tv veteran when compared to fellow actors like Michael B. Jordan and Melonie Diaz, Murray speaks from the heart when he talks about FRUITVALE STATION. “I’ve never seen such young, wonderful passionate people. They were on it. And Ryan had such a great vision. Michael, Octavia, and everybody, Forrest Whitaker [Whitaker and his production company got involved] . . . everyone brought it to the table. That’s how great a script it was. . .It was an honor to be involved.”
Debuting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and thereafter showing at Cannes, FRUITVALE STATION had its Los Angeles debut at the Los Angeles Film Festival and is now vying for three Film Independent Spirit Awards in the categories of Best First Feature, Best Male Lead and Best Supporting Female. Independent Spirit Award winners will be announced March 1, 2014.
