Labeling it “Based on the true story of one of the most terrifying moments in American history,” the producers behind the new movie “Detroit” that will focus on the civil unrest in our city in 1967 released a full length trailer today.
The film hits screens August 4, just a week after the 50th anniversary of the event that many people believe permanently changed Detroit.
Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal collaborated on the film. In the past, they won Oscars for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. So the critical interest in Detroit is high.
It has a strong cast, including ‘The Force Awakens’ star John Boyega who plays a police officer caught in the confrontation between law enforcement and his African-American community. Also included in the lineup are names like John Krasinski, Jacob Latimore, Anthony Mackie, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Will Poulter, and Jack Reynor.
The movie is mostly set around the happenings at the Algiers Motel. Here’s a quick synopsis, thanks to Detroits’ Great Rebellion, of the event. This is but a snippet of a more in-depth breakdown you can read at the link above.
Of all the grim episodes that occurred during the riot, one incident would remain infamous above the rest. During the early hours of Wednesday morning, three black teenagers were shot to death in the annex of the Algiers Motel off Woodward and their deaths remain shrouded in mystery to this day. The incident has lived on primarily because of the inability to piece together the terribly scrambled accounts of both police and civilians alike and the fact that no one was ever convicted. After 49 years, the waters of truth are as murky as ever.
One thing this movie shares with a famous Detroit-set film, Robocop: The majority of it does not seem to have been shot here. Piecing reports together, it was mostly filmed in Massachusetts. IMDB only lists the 10th precinct in Detroit as a shooting location.