(C) 2016 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may
be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from
Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.
3 1/2 Minutes Ten Bullets - Film
Rych McCain Nationally/Internationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist
www.twitter.com/rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)
Unfortunately,
Davis was hit and killed instantly Dunn obviously acted bold and brazen assuming
that Florida’s Stand Your Ground self-defense laws would give him immunity from
his heinous act. 3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets is a documentary on this tragic event
that give us a close look at all out the parties involved both in and out of
the courtroom.
The
film was directed by Marc Silver who joined on to the project after Producer
Minette Nelson was challenged by her son to use her position as a film maker to
help correct the Jordan Davis incident. How did Silver get involved? He says,
“I was lucky enough to be invited to meet Jordan’s parents. We spent a week
together in Jacksonville and Atlanta where his parents lived separately. We
just hung out and we learn more about who Jordan was and what happened and kind
of just started to think about what these three and a half minutes, the time
that these two cars were next to each other in the gas station, what they came
to represent. And in that time, I was looking at this idea that in that tiny
amount of time you could look at racial profiling, access to guns and these
laws that give you the kind of confidence to use their guns. That is how we
began the journey and we manage to get access to film in the courtroom and then
as time unfolded as we were in the edit Ferguson happened and obviously many
other cases since Ferguson, and that’s when the film started to speak back to
us differently although we didn’t change anything. Then suddenly those three and
a half minutes became more than we had originally envisioned.”
www.twitter.com/rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)
Film
Director Marc Silver Breaks Down The Making Of
3
½ Minutes, Ten Bullets
This
interview was previously published in June 2015 but was not included in this
blog
On
Black Friday 2012, four Black teens stopped at a gas station to buy gum and cigarettes.
The music from their car was blasting too loud for a White man named Michael
Dunn who was parked adjacent to them. Dunn got out and ordered the teens to
turn their music down. One of the teens, Jordan Davis objected and an argument
ensued between him and Dunn. The confrontation escalated to point where Dunn
went to his vehicle and retrieved a gun. He then fired ten rounds into the car
of the unarmed teens as they were trying to back out to escape.
 |
| Jordan Davis |
 |
| Marc Silver The Film's Director |
 |
| Protesters rally |
What
did Silver learn from this experience particularly in the courtroom? He laughs
and says, “Shocking. I found two things that were shocking during the trial and
I also wouldn’t have ever understood unless I had been sitting and filming the
whole trial. And those two things were one, that race was never allowed to be
discussed in the courtroom because Michael Dunn (the gunman) wasn’t apparently
racist in the moment of the shooting because no witnesses heard him say
anything that was racist. Therefore, the defense lawyer, in pre-trial hearings had
convinced the judge that it wouldn’t be fair if we talked about race during the
trial. I thought that was an incredible
revelation. Then there became this crazy juxtaposition where we were inside the
court filming, race not being allowed to be discussed, and then you go outside
and everybody whether physically in front of the courthouse or on the airwaves in
Jacksonville, they all knew it was about race. That revealed and element of
institutional racism.
Then I thought the other interesting thing
for me was in the courtroom was Ironically you have the seal of Florida with in
“God We Trust” as if this is a hollowed type justice happening and really I
just felt like watching the defense lawyer and the prosecuting lawyer I almost
felt like it was a bit like being an editor. Like whoever can edit the best
story of what happened during this three and a half minutes is going to win.”
 |
| Convicted Murder Michael Dunn serving life in prison |
After
the first trial ended in a mistrial justice did prevail in the second trial and
Michael Dunn was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life.
©
2016 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM
(You
DID Hear It From Me!)
Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)!
