Newark Native Stars in 'Fruitvale Station,' Film with a Timely Topic

They weren’t quite the same age and their lives ended under somewhat different circumstances at opposite ends of the country.

But the parallels between Oscar Grant, a young black man shot and killed by police in the San Francisco area in 2009, and Trayvon Martin, another black youth gunned down in Florida three years later by a civilian who aspired to join law enforcement, are, to many minds, unmistakable -- and are even more apparent given the news of the last few days.

Grant is played by actor and Newark native Michael B. Jordan in the film “Fruitvale Station,” named for the train stop where Grant encountered police on the last day of his life. The film, which is earning widespread critical acclaim, was released earlier this month in New York and a few other cities.

“Fruitvale” arrived as George Zimmerman, the man who killed Martin, was on trial for murder and manslaughter. With Zimmerman’s acquittal Saturday, many foresee even more interest in Grant’s story.  

"Obviously, this event puts the movie in the public zeitgeist," Weinstein Co. president of distribution Erik Lomis told The Hollywood Reporter Sunday. "I think it touches a public nerve."

Jordan, who has appeared on the NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” and is rumored to be cast as the “Human Torch” in a remake of the Fantastic Four superhero film, had a breakout role as young drug dealer Wallace on the first season of the HBO series The Wire.