The Great Debaters - Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington was the Best Man at my sister’s wedding.
My brother-in-law went to Fordham University with Denzel Washington.
They’ve remained good friends through the years.
Through him, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the premier
of Denzel’s latest movie - The Great Debaters.
The premier was held at the Ziegfeld Theater on 54th Street and
Ave of the Americas in New York City. Over 1,000 people attended.
We were greeted in the lobby with fine champagne, the largest
strawberries you’ve ever seen covered in Godiva chocolate and
a host of other sinfully delicious treats.
The
While standing around enjoying my champagne, imagine my surprise
when I turned around and Forest Whitaker, the co-star of the movie
was standing right behind me.
Also in attendance at the theater were two of other stars in the movie,
Jurnee Smollett and Nate Parker. Both were very friendly and
gladly posed for pictures with the crowd.
And what a crowd it was. The most beautiful women in New York
showed up dressed to impress along with New York’s most eligible
bachelors. It was indeed a fun night to remember.
After our fill of champagne, we were ushered into the main theater.
We had some of the best seats in the house, right in the center.
The star and director of the movie, Denzel Washington, who was
dressed very casual, got up on stage and said a few words to his
adoring fans in the crowd.
Then the lights dimmed and the movie began.
The Great Debaters is the remarkable story of Wiley College’s
winning debate team of the early 1930’s. Wiley’s polished
debate team, coached by the brilliant professor Melvin B Tolson
(played by Denzel) amassed a series of victories over white
competitors that stunned the racist Jim Crow South.
Even though the great debaters on the Wiley team beat the
reigning champions, they were not allowed to call themselves
victors because they did not belong to the debate society,
(which did not allow blacks until after World War II).
The movie is gripping and compelling to watch from beginning
until the very end. The entire audience was hanging on every word.
Everything in the film is perfect, the music, the acting, the cinematography.
The movie was so good that the audience was actually clapping
at the movie screen and gave a standing ovation to the screen
at the end. It was a very moving and powerful film.
You won’t be able to forget it. I urge everyone to go see it.
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Denzel Washington, Fordham University, Forest Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Nate Parker, New York City, The Great Debaters, Wiley College, Ziegfeld Theater
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