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Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story

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Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story
GenreDocumentary
Based on
Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It
by Lisa Bloom

Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin
by Sybrina Fulton
& Tracy Martin

Written by
Directed by
  • Jenner Furst
  • Julia Willoughby Nason
Composers
  • Khari Marteen
  • Danielle Furst
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Michael Gasparro
  • Jenner Furst
  • Julia Willoughby Nason
  • Nick Sandow
  • Chachi Senior
  • Shawn Carter
  • Tracy Martin
  • Sybrina Fulton
  • David C. Glasser
Cinematography
  • Daniel Levin
  • Ty Stone
Editors
  • Chad Beck
  • Devin Concannon
  • Chris Passig
Running time42–43 minutes
Production companyCinemart
Original release
NetworkParamount Network
ReleaseJuly 30 (2018-07-30) –
September 10, 2018 (2018-09-10)

Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story is an American documentary television series that premiered on July 30, 2018 on Paramount Network. The six-episode series documents the killing of Trayvon Martin and explores the racial tension in the United States that was brought about in its wake. The series is executive produced by Sybrina Fulton, Tracy Martin, Jay-Z, Chachi Senior, Michael Gasparro, Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason, and Nick Sandow. Furst and Nason also directed the series as well.

Premise

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Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story focuses on the killing of Trayvon Martin that became a huge American talking point and helped spur the "Black Lives Matter" movement. The docuseries delves into the tragic event which the network describes as "a story about race, politics, power, money and the U.S. criminal justice system."[1]

Production

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Development

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On March 23, 2017, it was announced that The Weinstein Company and Jay-Z had won a heated bidding war for the screen rights to two books, Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It by Lisa Bloom and Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin by Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. The producers' plan was reportedly to take the novels and adapt them into two separate projects: a six-part documentary television series and a narrative feature film. Other studios had been interested in the screen rights such as Fox Searchlight and Universal Pictures (who had been attempting to obtain them for Will Packer and Ted Field). The Weinstein Company's Harvey Weinstein and David Glasser had a meeting during the weekend of the Academy Award in their Los Angeles office with Jay-Z and Martin's parents. The pair was able to win them over by making it clear that their greatest concern was seeing their Martin's life and legacy honored.[2]

On April 6, 2017, it was announced that the Paramount Network had given a series order to the production, now titled Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story. The series order consisted of six episodes for the program with executive producers including Jay-Z, Harvey Weinstein, David C. Glasser, Chachi Senior, Sybrina Fulton, Tracy Martin, Jenner Furst, Nick Sandow, Julia Willoughby Nason, and Michael Gasparro.[3] On October 9, 2017, it was announced that following reports of sexual abuse allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, his name would be removed from the series' credits as would The Weinstein Company as well.[4]

On July 2, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on July 30, 2018.[5]

George Zimmerman controversy

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On December 16, 2017, George Zimmerman claimed in an interview that a production team for the series led by executive producer Michael Gasparro made unannounced visits to his parents' and uncle's homes in Florida in an attempt to get them on camera. He alleged that the crew harassed his family and that they refused to pay his parents or family members if they did decide to participate in the series. He went to remark that, "I know how to handle people who fuck with me, I have since February 2012." He further said that he holds producers Jay-Z and Gasparro responsible and that, "anyone who fucks with my parents will be fed to an alligator."[6] A day later, rap artist Snoop Dogg commented via Instagram post saying, "If one hair on jays hair is touched that's when the revolution will b televised". He then went on to criticize "the system" and called Zimmerman a "Bitch ass muthafucca".[7] On March 2, 2018, Jay-Z himself seemed to respond to Zimmerman's threats in a rap verse of his in the song "Top Off" by DJ Khaled saying, "Meanwhile Georgie Porgie sinnin' and sendin' me threats/Save your breath, you couldn't beat a flight of steps/Try that shit with a grown man/I'll kill that fuckboy with my own hand"[8] On May 7, 2018, Zimmerman was charged with stalking, against a private investigator who had been working with the producers of the series. According to the investigator, Zimmerman contacted him with 21 phone calls, 38 text messages and 7 voicemails in two and a half hours.[9][10][11]

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Stand Your Ground"Jenner Furst
& Julia Willoughby Nason		Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason,
Lana Barkin, & Chris Passig		July 30, 2018 (2018-07-30)0.470[a][12]
2"The Elephant in the Room"Jenner Furst
& Julia Willoughby Nason		Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason,
Lana Barkin, & Chris Passig		August 6, 2018 (2018-08-06)0.263[a][13]
3"Justice for George"Jenner Furst
& Julia Willoughby Nason		Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason,
Lana Barkin, & Chris Passig		August 13, 2018 (2018-08-13)0.250[a][14]
4"The Burden of Proof"Jenner Furst
& Julia Willoughby Nason		Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason,
Lana Barkin, & Chris Passig		August 27, 2018 (2018-08-27)0.227[a][15]
5"Reasonable Doubt"Jenner Furst
& Julia Willoughby Nason		Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason,
Lana Barkin, & Chris Passig		September 3, 2018 (2018-09-03)0.257[17]
6"Et Tu, America?"Jenner Furst
& Julia Willoughby Nason		Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason,
Lana Barkin, & Chris Passig		September 10, 2018 (2018-09-10)0.178[a][16]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Five of the six episodes of the series were simulcast on BET. The first episode was viewed by an additional 743,000 viewers,[12] the second by an additional 367,000 viewers,[13] the third by an additional 351,000 viewers,[14] the fourth by an additional 317,000 viewers,[15] and the sixth by an additional 368,000.[16]

Release

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Marketing

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On February 26, 2018, the Paramount Network released the first trailer for the series announced that the series would premiere in July 2018.[1][18][19][20][21][22][23] On July 2, 2018, a second trailer was released.[5]

Premiere

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On April 20, 2018, the series held its world premiere at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York City, New York during the annual Tribeca Film Festival. Following the screening, a question-and-answer session was held moderated by Joy Reid and featuring co-directors Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst, the parents of Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, and executive producers Mike Gasparro and Chachi Senior.[24][25] On May 30, 2018, a private screening of the series' first episode was held for Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin at the Lyric Theater in Miami, Florida.[26] On June 16, 2018, an episode of the series was screened at the Colony Theater in Miami Beach, Florida during the American Black Film Festival.[27][28]

Reception

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The series has been met with critical acclaim since its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 100% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.8 out of 10 based on 10 reviews.[29] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 86 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[30]

In a positive review, Entertainment Weekly's Kristen Baldwin awarded the series a grade of "B+" and offered it praise by referring to it as a "powerful, painful gut-punch." She did however offer critique of the final episode and advocated for a potential follow-up season saying, "the last episode of Rest in Power feels like a conversation that gets cut off mid-sentence. What started as an effort to record a moment in history became, by the end, a documentary of the moment we're living now. If ever a series had enough material for a second season, sadly this is it."[31] In another enthusiastic critique, The Hollywood Reporter's Robyn Bahr commended the series calling it a "a powerful, reformist docuseries" and compared it to the rise of black horror films like Get Out saying, "Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story — Paramount Network's gutting six-part docuseries from directors Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason ― is another addition to this growing genre, a real-life absurdist horror story where truth is fiction and victims are villains."[32]

Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary at the 40th News and Documentary Emmy Awards.[33] In 2019, the series was a recipient for the 12th Television Academy Honors.[34]

References

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  1. ^ a b Pedersen, Erik (February 26, 2018). "'Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story': Paramount Network & Shawn Carter Set Docuseries For Summer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Kroll, Brent Lang, Justin (March 23, 2017). "Jay Z, Weinstein Company to Make Trayvon Martin Film and Documentary Series (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 4, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 6, 2017). "Jay Z & Weinstein Co.'s Trayvon Martin Docu Series Lands At Paramount Network". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  4. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (October 9, 2017). "Harvey Weinstein Dropped as EP on Weinstein Co. TV Shows, Apple Scraps Presley Biopic Series". Variety. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Petski, Denise (July 2, 2018). "'Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story': Paramount Network Docuseries Gets Premiere Date & Trailer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  6. ^ Steiner, Erica (December 16, 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: Jay Z Threatened By Travon Martin's Killer; I'll Feed You to Alligators". The Blast. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  7. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (December 17, 2017). "Jay-Z's Trayvon Martin Docuseries Sparks Feud Between Snoop Dogg And George Zimmerman". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  8. ^ Coleman, C. Vernon (March 3, 2018). "Jay-Z Seems to Fire Back at George Zimmerman on Top Off - XXL". XXL. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  9. ^ Eltagouri, Marwa (May 7, 2018). "George Zimmerman charged with stalking man who contacted him about Trayvon Martin documentary". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  10. ^ Vazquez, Tyler (May 7, 2018). "George Zimmerman charged with stalking in Seminole County". Florida Today. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  11. ^ Levenson, Eric; Turrell, Liz (May 7, 2018). "George Zimmerman accused of criminal stalking in Florida". CNN. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (July 31, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.30.2018 | Showbuzz Daily". ShowBuzz Daily. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 7, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.6.2018 | Showbuzz Daily". ShowBuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 14, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.13.2018 | Showbuzz Daily". ShowBuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 28, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.27.2018 | Showbuzz Daily". ShowBuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  16. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (September 11, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.10.2018 | Showbuzz Daily". ShowBuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  17. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 5, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.3.2018 | Showbuzz Daily". ShowBuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  18. ^ Li, Shirley (February 26, 2018). "Watch trailer for JAY-Z's Trayvon Martin docu-series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  19. ^ Montgomery, Sarah Jasmine (February 26, 2018). "Here's the First Teaser for Jay Z's Docuseries 'Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story'". Complex. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  20. ^ Williams, Aaron (February 26, 2018). "Watch The Trailer For Jay-Z's New Documentary About Trayvon Martin". UPROXX. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  21. ^ Saponara, Michael (February 26, 2018). "Watch the First Trailer From JAY-Z-Produced 'Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story' Docuseries". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  22. ^ Chuba, Kirsten (February 26, 2018). "TV News Roundup: Paramount Network Releases First Look at Trayvon Martin Series Produced by Jay-Z (Watch)". Variety. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  23. ^ Reed, Ryan (February 26, 2018). "Jay Z's Trayvon Martin Documentary: Watch First Trailer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  24. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (March 21, 2018). "Tribeca Film Festival Sets 'The Trayvon Martin Story', 'Cobra Kai' For Tribeca TV Lineup". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  25. ^ Hughes, Hilary (April 21, 2018). "'Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story' Brings 'One of the Most Important Conversations' to Tribeca Film Festival". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  26. ^ Seiden, Michael (May 30, 2018). "Trayvon Martin's parents preview JAY-Z's 'Rest in Power' series". ABC Local 10 News. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  27. ^ "American Black Film Fest Returns to Miami Beach This Weekend". NBC 6 South Florida. June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  28. ^ "American Black Film Festival : : : : JUNE 13-17, 2018, MIAMI BEACH". American Black Film Festival. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  29. ^ "Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  30. ^ "Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  31. ^ Baldwin, Kristen (July 31, 2018). "Jay-Z's Trayvon Martin documentary 'Rest in Power' is a powerful, painful gut-punch: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  32. ^ Bahr, Robyn (July 31, 2018). "'Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  33. ^ "NOMINEES FOR THE 40th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED – The Emmys". Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  34. ^ "Television Academy Honors Announced". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
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