Ryan Coogler‘s rightly acclaimed Fruitvale Station faces the verdict of Joe and Jane Popcorn today, and don’t kid yourself — it’s the commercial response that will either propel this fact-based drama into serious Best Picture consideration or slowly shut it down, depending on what happens. The critics have already toasted Coogler, 26, who has done himself proud and is on the road to a long career. Cheers also to Michael B. Jordan for his vibrant and emotionally varied portrayal of the late Oscar Grant, who was aggressively if accidentally shot by a BART cop after a melee on New Year’s Eve. Congrats also to producers Forest Whitaker and Octavia Spencer. Here again is that footage I took of Fruitvale‘s standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival:
