Annapurna Pictures has released a new trailer for the upcoming filmDetroit. From the Academy Award winning director ofThe Hurt LockerandZero Dark Thirty,Kathryn Bigelow,Detroittells the gripping story of one of the most terrifying moments during the civil unrest that rocked Detroit in the summer of ‘67. Annapurna has also released another video that highlights this untold true story of real events, allowing fans to hear from the people who witnessed it.
The trailer opens with John Boyega’s Melvin Dismukes, a security guard being interrogated by theDetroit police. Melvin tells the cops that he heard gunfire coming from the Algiers Motel, and when he got there, three kids had already been killed. Knowing that he was carrying a weapon at the time, the police officers attempt to pin these murders on him, although he didn’t do it. While we don’t see the inciting incident in this new trailer fromAnnapurna Pictures, these terrifying events were spawned from a police raid at an after-hours bar called The Blind Pig, which lead to many police confrontations like the shooting at The Algiers.
These events lead to five straight days oflooting and rioting, which was one of the largest citizen uprisings in United States history, surpassed only by the 1863 New York City draft riots, and the 1992 Los Angeles riots, following the acquittal of the LAPD officers who assaulted Rodney King. The massive scale of the uprising lead to Michigan governor George Romney declaring a state of emergency and deploying the Michigan National Guard, while U.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnsonsent in both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. When all was said and done, the Detroit riots left 43 dead, 1,189 injured and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed, along with over over 7,200 arrests.
The second video released by Annapurna features interviews from some of the real people at the heart of thistrue story. The video begins with the real Melvin Dismukes, who is played by John Boyega in the movie, who reveals that he went down to the police station to tell his side of the story, revealing that “it hurt” to have his story turned around on him and being charged with first degree murder. We also hear from former Detroit police chief Ike McKinnon, who states that there had been a number of concerns that had surfaced for several years before the riots, with investigative journalist David Zeman revealing that the city of Detroit had grown to nearly 40% African-American population, while the police force was 95% white.
We also hear from director Kathryn Bigelow, who states that the Algiers Motel shooting was a realAmerican tragedy, and that in preparing for this movie, she wanted to speak with as many of the real people involved with this tragedy. David Zeman revealed that his “marching orders” were to track down as many people as possible who were there, to get their perspective on these tragic events. The video also features an interview with Julie Hysell, played byGame of Thronesstar Hannah Murray in the film, who was at the Algiers that night when a bullet went whizzing past her head from outside. Kathryn Bigelow directsDetroitfrom a script by her Oscar-winning collaborator Mark Boal, who wrote bothThe Hurt LockerandZero Dark Thirty, with Megan Ellison, Kathryn Bigelow, Matthew Budman and Colin Wilson producing. Take a look at this new trailer and video featuring the real people who survived theDetroitriots.
