Produced by Pharrell Williams AND Sean Combs?! Yeah, it’s harder to get more Dope than that!
You’re watching Beyond The Trailer’s review of this potential Sundance sensation...
In 2013, the big Sundance hit was Fruitvale Station. In 2014, it was Whiplash. Now, in
2015, two films are competing to be next big thing out of Sundance - Me, Earl and the Dying
Girl and Dope. Both will be summer releases as they hope to get out in front of the overcrowded
awards season - although it's worth noting that Fruitvale Station was also a summer release
and was forgotten by the time awards season rolled around. Whiplash though was an October
release and went on to win three Oscars, plus was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted
Screenplay. So, how’s Dope shaping up? Well while Me Earl and the Dying Girl won the coveted
US Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance, Dope is proving to be a surprisingly
strong competitor nonetheless. Like Fruitvale Station, it’s also produced by Forest Whitaker
who’s developing a strong career behind the camera. Basically when it comes to producing
strong artistic content featuring black talent, the biggest game in Tinseltown is Whitaker
and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. Open Road picked up Dope out of Sundance and is
hoping to build on its awards success with Nightcrawler last year - the newbie distributor
landed the Jake Gyllenhaal flick an Oscar nom for Best Original Screenplay plus a Best
Actor nom at the Golden Globes. And they’re off to a good start, as Dope just closed out
the Directors’ Fortnight selection at Cannes, a prestigious spot. One stumbling block though
might be that writer-director Rick Famuyiwa, who’s been making movies since 1999 with
little recognition - then again, Me Earl and the Dying Girl director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
is coming off of the embarrassing horror flick The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Yikes. But
Dope will likely get a big push from its cast, which features Tony Revolori from The Grand
Budapest Hotel, Transparent’s Kiersey Clemons and relative newcomer Shameik Moore. Moore
has also just been cast as one of the leads in The Get Down, Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming
1970s musical series for Netflix. That series is being produced by Sony Pictures Television
and Sony is distributing Dope internationally - so expect the studio to give Moore an extra
push in an effort to bolster both projects. So, does Dope have what it takes to go all
the way? Or
is
just
another promising indie?