indiewire.com 
Ryan Coogler: Forest Whitaker ‘Protected’ Me Early in My Career
Forest Whitaker may play the “Godfather of Harlem,” but to Ryan Coogler, the Oscar winner was the godfather of Sundance.
Exactly 10 years ago, writer-director Coogler debuted “Fruitvale Station” at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Whitaker produced the film that starred Michael B. Jordan and was based on the true story of police brutality in the Bay Area.
“I was very shielded, and I think I was protected from seeing things or being treated unfairly in any way,” Coogler told Deadline of being a first-time filmmaker at the festival. “I was protected by [Forest Whitaker]. People didn’t want to upset him, so I might have had a positive view of it because I didn’t really get pushed around much. I didn’t get pushed around at all really. I had him as like a godfather in the process.”
Coogler continued, “I was just kind of slamming myself into it blind. I was really a wide-eyed kid, man. I knew a little bit about what Sundance was because I had gone there the year before, after the [2012 Sundance] Lab, so I kind of knew a little bit about the festival but not a lot. It was my second Sundance when we were there with the movie, but it was my first time having the process of people wanting to buy the movie and meeting with people to figure that out and my first time reading reviews.”
“Fruitvale Station” went on to win both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Award. Coogler had pitched Whitaker and his producing partner, Nina Yang Bongiovi, on the concept of “Fruitvale Station” while still a student at the University of Southern California.
“We decided to do it then, right on the spot,” Whitaker said in 2018 to the Calgary Herald. “Then he went back to class and later wrote the script. We raised the funds and shot the film. I think it’s a real important film. It has a real strong social message in dealing with profiling, in dealing with young black males being killed by the police. There were so many different stories inside of it.” Whitaker later starred in Coogler’s “Black Panther” blockbuster, adding that he always “knew” Coogler was going to be a “major filmmaker.””I felt he was a visionary even at that time with just the stories he had told me,” Whitaker said.
Coogler is now returning to Sundance for the 2023 festival, where he serves as a producer on documentary “Stephen Curry: Underrated.” Coogler is also being honored at the inaugural Opening Night: A Taste of Sundance ceremony with the Visionary Award.
Check out what Coogler had to say about feeling like part of a “team” at Sundance here.
Related News & Content
-
Use wp.media templates to create totally custom modal
Use wp.media templates to create totally custom modal,Following up on this answer I'm trying to determine how to create a modal with completely unique menu items/content than the media modal. If you add a new state you can add a new menu tab and hav... -
Get post by tag
Get post by tag,I want to get several post by tag. So I try to use get_posts() function: <?php $args = array( 'numberposts' => '3', 'post_status' => 'publish', 'tag' => 'travel' ); $ -
Elementor + ACF: How to insert dynamic JSON-LD formatted code into ACF field without sanitizing the script tag?
Elementor + ACF: How to insert dynamic JSON-LD formatted code into ACF field without sanitizing the script tag?,On a normal website, I am able to add JSON-LD structured data, such as below, into a Elementor HTML widget, in a proper way. However, as soon as I insert JSON-LD format into an ACF field (Textarea)... -
Gutenberg InnerBlocks noallowedblocks on parent but allowedblock on Child
Gutenberg InnerBlocks noallowedblocks on parent but allowedblock on Child,This is a continuation of the following post: Custom Gutenberg block with nested InnerBlocks renderAppender not displaying add button I solved one problem but created a different problem. I'm recr... -
Delay Issue: Using Wget with JSON Endpoint – Need Help Understanding Headers
Delay Issue: Using Wget with JSON Endpoint – Need Help Understanding Headers,On a WooCommerce website, I have a REST endpoint created with register_rest_route that returns a JSON response. To perform a routine with a certain frequency and urgency, I have added this instruct... -
How do I change top header background color
How do I change top header background color,Please refer to website: https://virginiafrank.com I cannot get the top header background color (or phone numbers) to change color. I would prefer the background gold and text black. I can't make t... -
How to display the_tags() as plain text
How to display the_tags() as plain text,the_tags by default is displaying as URL. I need to display it as plain text to insert inside HTML attribute. <?php $tag = the_tags(''); ?> <div class="image-portfolio" data-section... -
Give to site admin the option to "skip confirmation email" when adding new user
Give to site admin the option to "skip confirmation email" when adding new user,in wordpress multisite when we give to site admin the option to add new users, site admin dont have the "checkbox" to add the new user without sending the user email with link activation (see the -
Facing Hamas and Tehran, Israel is left with only vengeful madness | Opinion
Facing Hamas and Tehran, Israel is left with only vengeful madness | Opinion,Despite the Terrible Disaster on October 7, and the Failures It Exposed, Israel Is Still Convinced That the Image of the Mad Man Will Ensure Its Security -
Carol Kirkwood stuns in figure-hugging dress amid BBC Breakfast technical chaos
Carol Kirkwood stuns in figure-hugging dress amid BBC Breakfast technical chaos,CAROL Kirkwood stunned in a figure-hugging dress amid a technical blunder. BBC Breakfast was flung into chaos this morning after a string of sound issues. However Carol, 61, was all smiles as she p… -
Families ‘to sue prison’ where loud inmates ‘terrorise kids’ with screaming
Families 'to sue prison' where loud inmates 'terrorise kids' with screaming,Residents living next door to a new prison who say their kids have to sleep wearing headphones and some leave during weekends due to the racket are threatening to sue the prison service -
Doctor Strange’s Secret Wars Role May Be More Important Than You Thought – Looper
Doctor Strange's Secret Wars Role May Be More Important Than You Thought - Looper,According to entertainment leaker Alex Perez, Doctor Strange will find himself confronting his inner struggles as he headlines "Avengers: Secret Wars." -
Choctaw artist Jeffrey Gibson confronts history at US pavilion as its first solo Indigenous artist
Choctaw artist Jeffrey Gibson confronts history at US pavilion as its first solo Indigenous artist,Jeffrey Gibson’s takeover of the U.S. pavilion for this year’s Venice Biennale contemporary art show is a celebration of color, pattern and craft -
Mexican film wins top prize at Moscow International Film Festival while major studios boycott Russia
Mexican film wins top prize at Moscow International Film Festival while major studios boycott Russia,A Mexican film has won the top prize at the Moscow International Film Festival which took place as major Western studios boycott the Russian market and as Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds into its third year -
‘What Jennifer Did’: Netflix doc explores shocking Ont. murder-for-hire case
'What Jennifer Did': Netflix doc explores shocking Ont. murder-for-hire case,Most of Jennifer Pan's entire life was made up of lies. When her parents began to catch on, she decided to bring in hired hitmen. -
What’s behind the lack of enthusiasm for this year’s music festivals?
What's behind the lack of enthusiasm for this year's music festivals?,The public sentiment about this year's crop of music festivals is an overwhelming "meh." There are good reasons for this. -
JERA backs AboitizPower’s plan to build offshore wind projects
JERA backs AboitizPower’s plan to build offshore wind projects,JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s largest power generation company, is willing to back Aboitiz Power Corp. should it decide to pursue offshore wind projects. -
Insurance penetration declines to 1.75% of GDP
Insurance penetration declines to 1.75% of GDP,The insurance industry saw its net income slightly decline to almost P10 billion in the first quarter amid a drop in the life segment.
Warning: file_get_contents(https://www.scienceradars.com/wp-output-content.php?pg=1&cat=&kw=&lvl=): Failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 526 in /home/wwwroot/xuenou.com/wp-content/themes/chromenews/template-parts/content.php on line 169
Warning: file_get_contents(https://www.bayuexiang.com/wp-output-content.php?pg=1&cat=&kw=&lvl=): Failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 526 in /home/wwwroot/xuenou.com/wp-content/themes/chromenews/template-parts/content.php on line 173
![iFi's GO Bar Kensei Dongle DAC Supports K2HD Technology With Some Samurai Swagger [Updated]](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.ecoustics.com/db0/wblob/17BA35E873D594/33FF/45A11/QTXOLJR4xDKSNMMk2WlTgjaIlvSgcYpeU1xJzUwIoYs/ifi-go-bar-kensei.jpg?w=768&ssl=1 "iFi's GO Bar Kensei Dongle DAC Supports K2HD Technology With Some Samurai Swagger [Updated]")
