CraveOnline: I’m sure we could go through the whole movie asking what’s real, what’s embellished, what’s a composite, but the one thing I really would like to know is did Oscar’s mom really blame herself for telling him to take the train?
Ryan Coogler: Unfortunately, yes, she did. It’s something that she talked to me about, and that’s something that is real and it really happened. For me, going into San Francisco, going into ‘Frisco on that night, it’s a lot of traffic, a lot of car traffic. It’s kind of crazy driving in, so there’s a good chance that he might have caught the BART on his own himself. He might’ve decided against driving but she definitely did, on the night of her birthday party she definitely told me that she suggested that to him.
That came up in the trial as well, in the trial documents. She mentions that. Like with any parent, it’s a tough thing when you make a suggestion to your kid, something you’re hoping will keep him safe, keep him out of trouble and it turns out in the opposite direction. That’s a really tough thing.
Michael B. Jordan has gotten a lot of acclaim for playing Oscar and a lot of buzz, to the point he was discussed for the role of Johnny Storm in The Fantastic Four. Would that have been a good thing if he’d gotten that role and broken those boundaries?
I think any film would be better for having Mike in it. That’s my perspective. I think it’d be amazing to see him in a project like that. I know he has a great relationship with Josh Trank who made Chronicle with Mike, and Mike’s the kind of guy, man, when you work with him, he’s a director’s dream to have. So it’s not surprising to me at all that his name has come up for that project and I think it would be a great thing for both the project and for comic book fans and fans of that character. What better way to have a character brought to life than have one of the best actors bringing it there? I think that Mike’s one of the best actors on the planet. To see him in any role, I think he’s going to bring a lot to it. Specifically in that role of Johnny Storm, I think he’d be amazing.
You really have to build the third act of Fruitvale Station to have the most tension. How did you construct it so that it really peaks and all the elements come together to create that tension?
I think it’s something that’s kind of inherent to the story and to the structure of that day. Things kind of get crazy. That scene that happens on the BART train and at the BART station, there’s really nothing like it in the rest of the film. The rest of the film is relatively quiet and domestic and filled with everyday things, up until the point that they get on the BART train. Then it’s kind of more populated with people and a little more action happening but I think just the generic nature of the day and having that day structure, and the fact that it’s New Year’s Eve, there’s that kind of countdown element. And the fact that as an audience, we know what it’s all building to does a lot of the work for us, in terms of building tension in that third act. It was definitely something that in the process, you make creative choices to help heighten it.
At your LA Film Festival panel, you said it was a creative writing teacher that told you to start writing screenplays. Have you ever gone back to writing prose or short fiction?
I have. It’s something I always think about in my mind. It’s funny you mention it, it’s actually one of my dreams to write prose again. I have an idea for a young adult novel that I want to write as soon as I get some time. Absolutely, I love reading, I love reading prose and I’m really looking forward to getting back to writing it, but it’s been a while since I have. I still have a good relationship with my professor. Her name’s Rosemary Grant. Once I get back going on that novel, I’ll probably have to reach out to her for some help and pointers.
What would be the subject of your novel?
It’s a science-fiction novel. It’s set in the Bay Area in the new feature. That’s the most I feel comfortable saying about it but I’m super excited about writing it whenever I get the chance to.
You also had the comment that all movies are like fingerprints. What was the context of that?
What I’ve learned is that no two are made alike. When you talk to independent filmmakers especially, how their projects come together, like with mine, Fruitvale came together and was shot and completed relatively fast. I’ve talked to other filmmakers and their movies took maybe 10 years. I talked to Derek Cianfrance and Blue Valentine took eight years or something like that to get made, which is a completely different process. I’ve never heard two filmmakers tell a story about how their movies came together and they sound the same, so that was where that comment came from.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Shelf Space Weekly. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
