Two East Texas movies open Christmas Day
Friday, November 30, 2007
Stars won't be confined to the tops of Christmas trees this holiday season. Marquee names — including five Oscar winners — are featured in two movies with connections to East Texas history, both set to open Christmas day.
"The Great Debaters" boasts two Best Actor winners: Longview native Forest Whitaker and Denzel Washington, who plays the inspiring leader of a debate team from Marshall, Texas' Wiley College. The historical drama pits Wiley College against Harvard in a plot that promises an emotional, heartfelt look at determination and courage in the face of racism.
 The Weinstein Company Best Actor winner Denzel Washington stars in 'The Great Debaters,' the story of a Marshall college's struggle with racism in the 1930s. The film opens Christmas Day. |
The film, produced by both Oprah Winfrey and Washington, was written by Robert Eisele, whose credits include "3: The Dale Earnhardt Story."
Whitaker won the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Uganda's brutal dictator, Idi Amin in 2006's "The Last King of Scotland." Washington won the same award for his work in 2002's "Training Day" and the best supporting actor Oscar in "Glory."
"Charlie Wilson's War," which follows the story of the U.S. congressman's surreptitious involvement in the Soviet-Afghan war, stars Academy Award winner Tom Hanks in the eponymous role with Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, both Oscar-recipients as well, in supporting parts.
It's unknown if the film portrays East Texas, which Wilson represented from 1973 to 1997, with any more significance than mere character background, but Hanks did recently refer to the 2nd Congressional district as "a section of Texas that doesn't mean anything," while describing Wilson's unexpected global impact during a recent appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Hanks also referred to the difficulty of matching Wilson's stentorian voice and flamboyant dress, a stylistic observation that reflects the region's distinctive character and independence.
The film's director, Mike Nichols, won an Oscar in 1967 for directing "The Graduate."
