Fresh off his Oscar win, It looks like Forest Whitaker has scored himself another fantastic project. We get the news from
Forest Whitaker is in negotiations to join fellow Oscar laureate Denzel Washington in the period drama “The Great Debaters.”
Washington also is on board to direct the Weinstein Co. project, which chronicles the true story of professor Melvin B. Tolson (Washington), who formed a debate team at a small black college in the 1930s. The team went on to beat Harvard in the national debate championships. Whitaker will play the father of one of the debaters and a rival to Washington’s character.
A movie about a Debating team is going to be tough to make engaging. A movie like this has the potential to drag if the dialogue is not believable. More than any other type of film; all actors involved really need to bring it. We know Denzel and Whitaker can; now we will have to see who they get for the debating teams.
If however, they are able to pull this off, I can see it being fantastic. Movies with debate and/or speeches when done well can have some of the most memorable scenes in all of movie history. 12 Angry Men is one of my favorite films, and it is nothing but people making their case and yelling at each other. If Denzel knocks this out of the park, it will certainly be a feat to be celebrated for him as a director.
