On this week’s podcast, you’ll hear from director Ryan Coogler, whose latest film, Creed, opened in theaters today. Updating the iconic Rocky franchise, Creed stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson, the son of boxer Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa’s late friend and former rival. Sylvester Stallone revisits the role of Rocky, serving as Adonis’s trainer and mentor. Writer-director Coogler breathes new life into this 40-year-old franchise, resulting in what rogerebert.com has called “one of the best films of 2015.”
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In 2013, Coogler stopped by the Film Society for one of our very first free Film Society Talks, which are sponsored by HBO. His feature debut, Fruitvale Station, won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance that year, and, on the occasion of its theatrical release, the director joined us to talk about the real-life subject matter, the film’s production, and parallels to the Trayvon Martin case.
The Film Society’s relationship with Coogler led to our involvement in #BlackoutBlackFriday, a day of boycott organized by Blackout for Human Rights. Now in its second year, #BlackoutBlackFriday encourages people to choose activism over consumerism by organizing events around the country to raise awareness and foster discussion about race-based and class-based human-rights violations. Join us on Friday, November 27 at 5:00pm for a free screening of documentary BadddDDD Sonia Sanchez followed by a panel discussion, and a free concert featuring spoken word and live music.