Here’s one of the most morbid thoughts you can ever put in your head: will I die today?  This thought isn’t to spur you to live each day like it’s your last.  It’s a simple observation.  Where has life led you to this point, where would you like your life to go, and how does one affect the other?  In his debut feature Fruitvale, writer-director Ryan Coogler goes into the last day in the life of Oscar Grant, who was infamously shot by BART police officers in Oakland, California on New Year’s Day, 2009.  Coogler’s solemn, no-frills direction lets us walk into Oscar’s life, and become absolutely devastated as it heads to its inevitable conclusion.  The film’s emotional impact is only lessened by Coogler’s bizarre decision to push a message that doesn’t coincide with his movie’s theme.

We’ve got some casting additions for you today.  Here they are at a glance:

• Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) will headline Smashed-director James Ponsoldt’s Spectacular Now.
• Rebekah Brandes (Bellflower) to join  indie horror-thriller pic, Nothing to Fear for producer Slash, the former guitarist from Guns N’ Roses.
• Tristan Wilds (Red Tails) and Melonie Diaz (Be Kind Rewind) will join Fruitvale, an indie drama about a real-life, controversial police shooting, to be produced by Forest Whitaker.

Hit the jump for more on each project.