Beyond 'Black Panther': Thanks to a wave of homegrown filmmakers, Oakland is having a Hollywood moment
OAKLAND, Calif. - The morning after the Warriors swept the Cavs to claim their second straight championship, the Town was still buzzing with Oakland pride as Boots Riley stepped out in the early summer sunshine.
Smiling strangers did double takes as the rapper, activist and filmmaker moved down the street. A Bay Area icon known to hip-hop heads since he put out his first record in 1991 with local rap outfit The Coup, Riley is a radical voice of anti-capitalist resistance whom many came to know during the Occupy movement.
He strolled past the small businesses that line Grand Avenue, past florists, Thai and Chinese restaurants, longtime local watering holes and the newer, hipster-leaning coffee shop that moved in this year, toward downtown, the city skyline towering in the distance.
Along the way, Oaklanders of all stripes stopped him: a cyclist out for a mid-morning ride; a businessman on his lunch break; a group of off-duty firefighters waiting outside a sandwich shop, all shaking his hand and greeting him warmly, as if he was the mayor.
They'd heard so much about his new film, "Sorry To Bother You," set
