John Singleton's 'Snowfall' Season 1 Thread

[Sunalmighty]

not sure yet.......


i understand what the other poster are saying about black filmmakers doing the same shyt

but i think they mean we need variety

Exactly. Talking about how crack got started is lazy as hell, unless you incorporate Oscar Blandon, cia crack connection but that shyt was already done with the Messenger. Shyt like that is made because like Tyler Perry, they can easily get niccas to come out and watch that shyt.

 

[Oran "Juice" Jones]

FX’s upcoming crack cocaine drama Snowfall will premiere on July 5. The series was created by John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood), Eric Amadio (After Sex) and Dave Andron (Justified) for Showtime originally, before FX decided to move forward with the project.

Snowfall will utilize multiple perspectives over the course of 10 episodes to weave a story about how the crack cocaine epidemic began and the effect it had on South Central Los Angeles. Taking place at ground level, the series, despite its broad scope, will focus on Damson Idris’s Franklin Saint, a disaffected youth who becomes involved in the drug trade in hopes of gaining money and power.

FX released a statement clarifying the series’ focus, as well as its strong creative pedigree:

“Los Angeles 1983. A storm is coming and its name is crack. Snowfall is a one-hour drama set against the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic and its ultimate radical impact on the culture as we know it. The story follows numerous characters on a violent collision course, including: Franklin Saint (Damson Idris), young street entrepreneur on a quest for power; Gustavo “El Oso” Zapata (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), a Mexican wrestler caught up in a power struggle within a crime family; Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson), a CIA operative running from a dark past who begins an off-book operation to fund the Nicaraguan Contras and Lucia Villanueva (Emily Rios), the self-possessed daughter of a Mexican crime lord.”




Singleton, who recently produced a documentary about the Rodney King riots, L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later, which focused on Los Angeles during that time is seeking to continue his exploration of LA’s culture at major flashpoints in the city’s history. It’s no surprise that the series landed on FX, which has had success with grounded storytelling recently with following American Crime Story andFeud.

Both of those series are either based on real-life events or at least are inspired by it. This type of storytelling allows for realistic dramas to unfold despite the fictional pretense; the action takes place during a true, historically relevant time. It allows the audience to learn or be familiar with the events but still invest in a story whose ending they aren’t certain of yet. The potential effect of this is greater inSnowfall, considering the casting of largely unknown actors who stand poised to sink into the roles without the distraction that comes from casting well-known performers.

Snowfall will premiere on Wednesday, July 5 on FX.

Snowfall: FX's Crack Cocaine Drama Premieres in July

 

[Oran "Juice" Jones]

 

[re'up]

Some of the promos and trailer seem.....insensitive at best, a little past mildly offensive at worst. I think I'll watch, and see how the premiere is, but I for one, am tired of telling stories about crack and the 1980's kingpins. There is too much NOW, and from 2000 on that is as fascinating and not represented.

 

[Oran "Juice" Jones]

Some of the promos and trailer seem.....insensitive at best, a little past mildly offensive at worst. I think I'll watch, and see how the premiere is, but I for one, am tired of telling stories about crack and the 1980's kingpins. There is too much NOW, and from 2000 on that is as fascinating and not represented.

Elaborate.

I kind of agree with your other point. I think think shows and movies about the drug game gettin played out period. Nevertheless, I might tune into this show.

 

[Ol’Otis]

am tired of telling stories about crack and the 1980's kingpins.

what other stories about kingpins?

 

[re'up]

@Oran "Juice" Jones There's a trailer showing a black kid, assumedly the lead, probably 20 years old or so, (thinking he's the Freeway Ricky character) walking down an LA neighborhood (Inglewood? wherever Ricky was from) and he's eyeing the police, as they pass by. This is a scene that has been used effectively in movies/shows, like "Get Out", which used it to show the real life horror/tension parallel as someone like Trayvon Martin (and dozens of others) have experienced fatally. Feeling like you will be stopped for nothing, or even shot by the police. The kid walks with a backpack, doesn't look like a banger, or criminal, really, but he's black and it's LA. Then it's revealed he had a kilo or half kilo of cocaine concealed on him. So, what is the twist there?

Then, lesser so, is the highly glamorized title/trailer promos, with the music, and taglines like "This is where crack comes from". We are talking about an incredibly devastating on a massive scale, that killed and incarcerated thousands, setting in motion a variety of social problems, it seems very tone deaf, and the definition of "white hollywood". Doesn't seem to have the nuance of something like "The Wire", or the realism of something like "Gomorrah". Perhaps I am wrong, and I love the show. I just see warning signs.

@Ol' Otis Just the 80's in general, "Narcos", is one example off the top, of 80's era kingpins, there's a dozen movies depicting the 80's crack epidemic, though many not in a very in depth manner. If this is "Traffic" for South LA, I'll shut up. If this is closer to "The Strain" with hard...then I'll rest my case.

 

[duncanthetall]

@Oran "Juice" Jones There's a trailer showing a black kid, assumedly the lead, probably 20 years old or so, (thinking he's the Freeway Ricky character) walking down an LA neighborhood (Inglewood? wherever Ricky was from) and he's eyeing the police, as they pass by. This is a scene that has been used effectively in movies/shows, like "Get Out", which used it to show the real life horror/tension parallel as someone like Trayvon Martin (and dozens of others) have experienced fatally. Feeling like you will be stopped for nothing, or even shot by the police. The kid walks with a backpack, doesn't look like a banger, or criminal, really, but he's black and it's LA. Then it's revealed he had a kilo or half kilo of cocaine concealed on him. So, what is the twist there?

Then, lesser so, is the highly glamorized title/trailer promos, with the music, and taglines like "This is where crack comes from". We are talking about an incredibly devastating on a massive scale, that killed and incarcerated thousands, setting in motion a variety of social problems, it seems very tone deaf, and the definition of "white hollywood". Doesn't seem to have the nuance of something like "The Wire", or the realism of something like "Gomorrah". Perhaps I am wrong, and I love the show. I just see warning signs.

@Ol' Otis Just the 80's in general, "Narcos", is one example off the top, of 80's era kingpins, there's a dozen movies depicting the 80's crack epidemic, though many not in a very in depth manner. If this is "Traffic" for South LA, I'll shut up. If this is closer to "The Strain" with hard...then I'll rest my case.

Good post. Felt kinda dirty watching it. Glamorizing and stylizing that shyt it a bit much. I mean I dig good style and this seems to be oozing with it, but if they're going at it that direction in a serious tone then meh. If it's some goofy type The Get Down type shyt I might let it slide. But doesn't seem like that

 

[Lucky Me]

I'ma watch it, can't wait.

 

[frush11]

I see Hollywood is noticing the Web Series buzz.


I'll stick with my webseries

 

[Blankthawtz]

Would much rather see a series based on the movie "Blow" which would depict the core of how crack/cocaine got started on the west coast.....

 

[mson]

Some of the promos and trailer seem.....insensitive at best, a little past mildly offensive at worst. I think I'll watch, and see how the premiere is, but I for one, am tired of telling stories about crack and the 1980's kingpins. There is too much NOW, and from 2000 on that is as fascinating and not represented.

Like what?

 

[re'up]

Just in Mexico, the rise and fall of the Arellano Felix brothers, the battle for Tijuana in 2008, the fighting in Tamaluipas, after the Zetas and CDG split is truly the stuff of movies, long running gunfights, armored vehicles with CDG or Z painted on the sides, hundreds of gunmen, the battle for Juarez.....Obviously, the Guzman legacy, BMF, is another. Craig Petties and La Barbie. Acapulco's descent into a bloody nightmare. It's just enough of the 1980's, in terms of the drug war.

 

[ryderldb]

I'll give it a shot, but John Singleton hasn't made a good film in a while in my eyes.

 

[satam55]

@hex or @Jax can you merge this with the main thread?: John Singleton's new Showtime series 'Snowfall' will chronicle the 80's crack epidemic