Will Kathryn Bigelow once again find herself in the Oscar conversation following “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty“? That’s the big question surrounding “Detroit,” which is forgoing any big festival premieres or key fall season release dates, to land right in the middle of summer. But the bow makes sense, giving the explosive true story at its core.
With an ensemble that includes (deep breath) John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Kaitlyn Dever, Jack Reynor, Ben O’Toole, Joseph David Jones, Ephraim Sykes, Leon Thomas III, Nathan Davis Jr., Peyton Alex Smith, Malcolm David Kelley, Gbenga Akinnabve, Chris Chalk, Jeremy Strong, Laz Alonzo, Austin Hebert, Miguel Pimentel, Kris Davis, John Krasinski and Anthony Mackie, Bigelow’s film tells the story of civil unrest that lit Detroit like a fuse.
All of the cast had high praise for the filmmaker. “Working with Kathryn Bigelow is like playing jazz with Miles Davis,” said Joseph David-Jones. “You’re working with someone who is a master of the craft on a project that is largely improvisational. you want to rise to the occasion and contribute a bit of yourself to the project, but at the same time you don’t want to hit a wrong note when you are playing for pro.”
Nathan Davis Jr. echoed the sentiment with high praise. “Kathryn Bigelow is a genius. People always laugh at me when I say this, but Kathryn Bigelow to me is like a female Michael Jackson. I’m a huge Michael Jackson fan and when I met her I felt that same loving energy from her.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
From the Academy Award-winning director of THE HURT LOCKER and ZERO DARK THIRTY, DETROIT tells the gripping story of one of the most terrifying moments during the civil unrest that rocked Detroit in the summer of ’67.
“I would have to say terrifying and exhilarating at the same time,” David-Jones added. “The cast wasn’t given full scripts because they didn’t want us to know what happened to our characters in the film so that the fear and uncertainty would be real! I can honestly say it was like nothing I had ever done before.”
Damn. “Detroit” opens on August 4th.