Denzel Whitaker Tagged Articles at Cinematical

We've known about Wes Craven's 25/8 -- which will mark the first time he's written and directed a film since 1994's New Nightmare -- for a couple of months now. The horror film will follow seven fifteen-year olds who are haunted by a serial killer who supposedly died on the day they were born. (As Scott pointed out when the project was announced, this sounds a little familiar.) Now, the Hollywood Reporter tells us who'll be playing some of the teenagers: Denzel Whitaker (The Great Debaters), Shareeka Epps (Half Nelson), Emily Meade (the upcoming Assassination of a High School President) and, maybe most interestingly, Henry Lee "Little Dennis" Hopper, making his acting debut.

The Hollywood Reporter article actually has a neat little profile of Dennis Hopper's son, whom Craven met at a party and invited to audition for the film. It makes a point of emphasizing how surprisingly not-screwed-up Henry Lee has turned out to be, despite growing up with one of Hollywood's craziest personalities. The elder Hopper's career is hard to top for sheer weirdness, but a Wes Craven movie is probably a good place to start.

Let me tell you why I do what I do: Not long ago, Cinematical gave away tickets to the New York City premiere of The Great Debaters. Afterward, two of the ticket winners emailed, thanking me profusely, saying that attending the premiere -- in the historic Ziegfeld Theater -- was one of the greatest moviegoing experiences of their lives. I may not make a million dollars a year, or know everything there is to know about film, but to help two people enjoy such a wonderful and memorable experience is more rewarding than any macho paycheck. So thanks for emailing.

And in the meantime, for those who haven't yet seen The Great Debaters, Cinematical has received this exclusive clip from the film (see above), in which Denzel Washington welcomes a bunch of young kids into a make-shift classroom in an attempt to teach them how to debate. The Great Debaters was just nominated for a Best Picture Golden Globe, and in his review our own Scott Weinberg noted the film is "easily worth seeing for the superlative performances, the still-important history lessons, and the really excellent mid-'30s production design ..." The Great Debaters is directed by Denzel Washington, and it stars Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker and Denzel Whitaker. You can read more about the film in our junket report; The Great Debaters is currently playing nationwide.

The Great Debaters is inspired by the true story of how professor Melvin B. Tolson (played by Denzel Washington) formed the first debate team at Wiley College -- a black liberal arts institution -- in the 1930's Jim Crow south. The film was just nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Picture of the Year, and it co-stars Forest Whitaker. Debaters is Washington's second film as a director (his first was Antwone Fisher). Cinematical attended a press junket earlier this month with Washington and the film's young debaters: Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, and Denzel Whitaker. Yes, the co-star of a movie with Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker is named Denzel Whitaker! To avoid confusion, we'll refer to them as they refer to themselves -- Big Denzel (Washington) and Little Denzel (Whitaker).

What did you guys do to prepare for this film?

BIG DENZEL: We set up a camp for the kids. I met Dr. Freeman, who is the debating coach at Texas Southern, which is one of the top debating schools in the country. I interviewed him and put him on film and asked if we could set up a little mini-camp for the young actors and he put them through their paces.

NP: We arrived and learned all about parliamentary and impromptu debate. Denzel was very adamant about us researching and knowing what we were talking about, and being well versed in the process of debate. So we got the Texas Southern University team, and they took us through it and gave us a class course. They told us we should be more persuasive, being that we're actors! So the first day we learned about debate, the second day we broke into teams and we debated. And the morning of, we were watching CNN and MSNBC and reading the Wall Street Journal. You should have seen us, we took it very serious, and we defeated their freshman and sophomore team.

When you think of the classic 'sports movie' formula, you probably run through your favorite baseball or football movies, but make no mistake: Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters is every bit the sports flick that Hoosiers, The Natural and Remember the Titans are. It's only the extra-curriculars that have changed. Whether or not that's a good thing is entirely up to you, but if you're a big fan of totally predictable yet effectively entertaining "competition" movies, then there's very little chance you won't dig what's offered here. And even if you find the screenplay to be the pinnacle of all things obvious, the performances are still pretty excellent.

Plus, hell, if cheerleading is a sport, then so is debate.

Denzel Washington (directing his second film after 2002's Antwone Fisher) does a reliably excellent job of elevating basic material -- when he's on the screen, anyway; his character here is Melvin B. Tolson, debating coach for a black Texas college. The year is 1935, the civil rights movement is just starting to gain (a little) traction, and Tolson (despite being an unquestionably dedicated educator) is in big trouble thanks to his "questionable" politics.

The latest debate team for Wiley College is a broadly interesting one: the soft-spoken girl, the passionate hunk, the youthful prodigy, and ... the chubby one. Again, it's a good thing this movie has such a strong cast. Each of the young actors do exceedingly fine work with some fairly one-note roles. As the angry yet powerfully articulate Henry Lowe, Nate Parker is particularly excellent, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot more movies from him in the future.

Just when you thought we were done giving away tickets today, we've only just begun! Cinematical is happy to announce that we have a whopping 15 pairs of tickets to give away for next Wednesday's (12/19) New York premiere of The Great Debaters! And in case you weren't following the news, The Great Debaters was just nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Motion Picture (Drama) category -- the most prestigious of them all -- and now you have a chance to see it, before anyone else does, at New York's historic Ziegfeld Theater. Oh, but that's not all: Your ticket also allows you to attend a private pre-show reception, with folks like Denzel Washington and other high-profile celebs in attendance. Yup, you've read all about those swanky New York movie premieres in the papers -- well now YOU get to go to one! And chill ... with Denzel!

Here's what you need to know: We'll be picking 15 random commenters to attend The Great Debaters star-studded New York premiere starting ... now. The private reception will be held prior to the screening in The Ziegfeld Theater Lobby beginning at 6:30pm on Wednesday, December 19th, with the screening to follow. (And on a personal note, if you've never been to a screening at the Ziegfeld -- then, seriously, you have no idea what you're missing.) Since cocktails will be served, you must be 21 or over in order to attend, and you must be in or around the New York City area on that day. Additionally, you'll need to travel to and from the theater on your own dime. Worth it to watch The Great Debaters with Denzel at The Ziegfeld? Um, yeah. You'll want to be there for this. Directed by Denzel Washington, and starring Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker and Denzel Whitaker, The Great Debaters arrives in theaters on Christmas Day.

Check out the trailer for The Great Debaters and the official rules for this contest after the jump.

Cinematical was just handed this exclusive look at the poster for The Great Debaters (click on the image for a larger version), starring, produced by and directed by Denzel Washington. The film, which also co-stars Forest Whitaker and a kid whose name is (no joke) Denzel Whitaker, is based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson (Washington), a professor at Wiley College Texas who in 1935 inspired students to start up the school's first debate team. They would later go on to challenge Harvard in the national championship. The film marks only the second time Washington has stepped behind the camera; his directorial debut came in 2002 with Antwone Fisher. I actually met someone last night who wasn't a Denzel Washington fan. I looked at them sideways before replying: "Um, isn't it illegal in all 50 states to not like Denzel?" And I meant it too; I dig Denzel -- always have, always will -- and based on the film's trailer (which you can view below), The Great Debaters definitely looks like the feel-good film of the holiday season. You can check it out for yourself when the film arrives in theaters on Christmas Day.

When the passionate, inspirational teacher and poet stands on a desk, you know he means business. Robin Williams did it as John Keating in Dead Poets Society, and now Denzel Washington is doing it as Melvin B. Tolson in the latest educational drama, The Great Debaters. A trailer has finally been released on the web, over at Yahoo, and while it starts off with a very recognizable attention-getter, it's still looking pretty darned good in its own right. Granted, I grew up watching school flicks with my dad, so it does hit a soft spot.

Regardless, I have a feeling this flick will do well. Denzel's second directorial effort, Debaters co-stars Forest Whitaker and Kimberly Elise, and it focuses on Tolson, a Texas professor at Wiley College in the '30s. He brought together a collection of his African-American students and created the school's first debate team, which went on to win a televised championship at Harvard. Tolson is snarky, rabble-rousing, and rebellious, which makes him prime meat for an inspirational drama. The film will be released next month, as Santa delivers his annual supply of coal and presents.
Funny site note: Correct me if I'm wrong, but looking at the trailer, it looks like young co-star Denzel Whitaker, who sounds like a love child between Washington and Whitaker, is playing Forest's son. While he has no relation to either actor, he was named after Denzel. Talk about a dream come true for those parents!