![Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay celebrate the premier of “Selma.” COURTESY PHOTO]()
By Mary Henry
Special to The Michigan Citizen
NEW YORK — The city of Detroit was well-represented among the galaxy of celebrants who honored the film premiere of “Selma” at New York City’s Ziegfeld Theatre, Dec. 14.
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![Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay celebrate the premier of “Selma.” COURTESY PHOTO]()
Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay celebrate the premier of “Selma.” COURTESY PHOTO[/caption]
The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, Martin Luther King III, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Gayle King, Bishop Charles Ellis and members of the Winans family were among the notables who gave shouts of approval and a standing ovation to this cinematic triumph.
Kudos to Pathe for financing the film, and to co-producers Plan B Entertainment and Harpo Productions. Paramount Pictures is distributing the movie across the U.S. Oprah Winfrey not only co-produced the movie with actor Brad Pitt, she acted as well, powerfully, dramatizing the life-threatening roadblocks imposed on Blacks attempting to register to vote in the South.
The casting, the screenplay, the direction by Ava DuVernay and cinematography were uniformly excellent and the storyline remained true to the much chronicled Selma saga of 1964. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis, Rev. Dr. C. T. Vivian, James Bevel, Rev Hosea Williams, James Farmer, Malcolm X, Diane Nash, Jimmy Lee Gray, Annie Cooper, President Lyndon B. Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, Sheriff Jim Clark and others were portrayed with authenticity and authority.
Actor David Wilkinson was compelling as President Johnson, Common was honed in on Bevel, and Carmen Ejogo was awesome in the role and characterization of Coretta Scott King. The title character’s personification of MLK was uncanny and “other-worldly” as David Oyelowo skillfully exuded the aura and mystique of Dr. King. Mahalia Jackson was also among the characters portrayed in the film with tenderness and credibility as MLK called her in the middle of the night to sing “Precious Lord” and she instantly, sweetly complied.
Stellar portrayals were rendered by Niecy Nash and others as they depicted the Selma to Montgomery March prologue.
Many of the standing room only attendees left the theatre musing about possible Oscar nominations. Still others wondered aloud whether the movie could serve as a “wake up call” for millions of Blacks who don’t show up at the polls to vote or in the social justice movement to demand an end to America’s racism, violence, oppression and grave economic disparities. The bottom line? Selma is a “must see!”
As the director introduced the stars and the producers, she noted the time seemed “perfect for the film’s release” because of the current protests, marches, demonstrations and demands for justice in D.C., N.Y.C., Ferguson and all across this nation.”
Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay celebrate the premier of “Selma.” COURTESY PHOTO[/caption]
The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, Martin Luther King III, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Gayle King, Bishop Charles Ellis and members of the Winans family were among the notables who gave shouts of approval and a standing ovation to this cinematic triumph.
Kudos to Pathe for financing the film, and to co-producers Plan B Entertainment and Harpo Productions. Paramount Pictures is distributing the movie across the U.S. Oprah Winfrey not only co-produced the movie with actor Brad Pitt, she acted as well, powerfully, dramatizing the life-threatening roadblocks imposed on Blacks attempting to register to vote in the South.
The casting, the screenplay, the direction by Ava DuVernay and cinematography were uniformly excellent and the storyline remained true to the much chronicled Selma saga of 1964. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis, Rev. Dr. C. T. Vivian, James Bevel, Rev Hosea Williams, James Farmer, Malcolm X, Diane Nash, Jimmy Lee Gray, Annie Cooper, President Lyndon B. Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, Sheriff Jim Clark and others were portrayed with authenticity and authority.
Actor David Wilkinson was compelling as President Johnson, Common was honed in on Bevel, and Carmen Ejogo was awesome in the role and characterization of Coretta Scott King. The title character’s personification of MLK was uncanny and “other-worldly” as David Oyelowo skillfully exuded the aura and mystique of Dr. King. Mahalia Jackson was also among the characters portrayed in the film with tenderness and credibility as MLK called her in the middle of the night to sing “Precious Lord” and she instantly, sweetly complied.
Stellar portrayals were rendered by Niecy Nash and others as they depicted the Selma to Montgomery March prologue.
Many of the standing room only attendees left the theatre musing about possible Oscar nominations. Still others wondered aloud whether the movie could serve as a “wake up call” for millions of Blacks who don’t show up at the polls to vote or in the social justice movement to demand an end to America’s racism, violence, oppression and grave economic disparities. The bottom line? Selma is a “must see!”
As the director introduced the stars and the producers, she noted the time seemed “perfect for the film’s release” because of the current protests, marches, demonstrations and demands for justice in D.C., N.Y.C., Ferguson and all across this nation.”