EXCLUSIVE: Here is the first trailer for Stranger Fruit, the documentary written and directed by Jason Pollock that raised eyebrows at last year’s SXSW film festival and was re-edited to include information about the backlash of the doc itself and also to insert what they say is new evidence. The film put the St…

UPDATE, Thursday, 9:40 AM: The producers behind a play based on grand jury transcripts from Ferguson will offer the premiere staging of the play on YouTube following its performance. The play is a stage reading of those transcripts from the police shooting of Michael Brown and will be performed at the Odyssey Theatre…

John Oliver explained on HBO’s Last Week Tonight that Ferguson, MO is not the only municipality balancing its books by fining citizens and jailing those who can’t afford to pay, creating a modern day debtors’ prison system in which committing a minor violation can end up putting someone in “The F**k Barrel.” Earlier…

Updated: Jimmy Kimmel scored President Obama’s first public comments about the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson; he said “there was no excuse for criminal acts.” "Obviously," Obama said tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, "we don't yet know what happened. Our thoughts and prayers are with the officers and their…

With its Christmas Day opening fast approaching, Paramount’s acclaimed racial drama Selma finally had its official West Coast Academy screening Saturday afternoon at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in their Beverly Hills headquarters. Reportedly about 250 attendees showed, a slow turnout for the pre-holiday screening…

Darren Wilson, the 28-year old Ferguson, MO police officer who shot and killed unarmed 18-year old Michael Brown, has resigned five days after a grand jury opted not to indict Wilson. The decision set off protests and demonstrations around the globe. Even after a quiet Thanksgiving, protesters returned Friday night to…

The grand jury may have been singular in its decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown, but cable news viewers made a split verdict. With an audience of 7.26 million watching during the 9 PM ET hour, Fox News Channel was the most viewed cable news network when St. Louis County…

After the Ferguson grand jury decision came down Monday, the next question in medialand was who would land the first sit-down with non-indicted Officer Darren Wilson. Today we have the answer: George Stephanopoulos and ABC News. Just finished a more than hourlong interview with Officer Darren Wilson. No question off…

4th UPDATE, 10:27 PM: It's after midnight in Ferguson now but looks like reporters are still fair game for some. In the middle of a talkback with CNN's Jake Tapper just a few minutes ago correspondent Sara Sidner was hit in the head by a rock that someone threw at her. "Sorry I just got hit by a rock," said the tough…

UPDATE, 3:07 PM: It will be dark in Ferguson by the time an announcement of the grand jury’s decision is made public today. It has been confirmed that the office of St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch will hold its press conference at 8 PM CT (6 PM PT). Fox News Channel did a News Alert at 3:12 PM…

Talk about timing. Spanish Lake, the racially-charged documentary banned from St. Louis’ Wehrenberg theaters in the aftermath of the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson — known by the locals now as Ferghanistan — is now heading to VOD. The film couldn’t have come at a worse or better time (depending on your…

Peter Bart and Mike Fleming Jr. worked together for two decades at Daily Variety. In this occasional column, two old friends get together and grind their axes on the movie business. BART: Have you noticed, Mike, that the gamesmanship of pre-festival season is often more entertaining than the fest movies themselves…