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Question:

Why did you choose The Great Debaters as your second film as director?

Denzel Washington:

You know when I read the script, I just like the script. I thought it was an interesting story. Sort of the little train that could, and it just affected me on an emotional level and I really looked at it as sort of a sports movie.

And I also just was attracted to the fact that it was about, you know, the spoken word. I mean one of the dominant aspects of our culture now is hip-hop or rap and poetry, so I kind of in some odd way liked that link and recognized the link. I mean this was sort of the - I won't say it's the rap of that time, but it was, you know, a real spectacle sport if you will.

Question:

On casting the young actors of “The Great Debaters”

Denzel Washington:

      
Well you know, I'm always just looking for, you know, who's right for the part. You know if their known, not known, or whatever and just - I think I'm a lot - I don't know if critical is the word, but my standards are high. I think I know good acting when I see it so you know it's just a long process. And then it's a matter of putting people together to see if there's chemistry like with the case of Nate Parker and Jurnee Smollett.

Now in the case of Jurnee, Jurnee actually came in and read with another actor and I liked her so much I didn't read any other people for that part. She was the only one I read.

Question:

On casting Denzel Whitaker:

Denzel Washington:     

Well you know before I became an actor, I worked for the Boys & Girls Club - the Boys Clubs. I worked for the YMCA; I've worked with children all my life. So I really am comfortable with working with young people and trying to encourage and inspire them and I've had obviously 30 or 25 years of experience and things have gone pretty well for me as an actor so I'm all for sharing what I know with them and trying to create an environment where they aren't afraid to fail. You know take chances and it's just film and we can cut and try again.

Question:

On being emotionally attached to the film.

Denzel Washington:

Well not necessarily to say attached, I just was - when I read this script and when I got to the - have you seen the movie?

No, I haven't.

Denzel Washington:

Oh, okay, well you've got to see the movie. When I read the last scene - I don't want to give away the film if you haven't seen it, but it's just an emotional - you know it does everything and fortunately, we've been able to put it on film. As a script it made you laugh, it made you cry, and it made you cheer. And I'm like, "That's good enough for me."

And it was just a - I mean, you know, we did a lot of work. I read the script probably for the first time four years ago, but we worked on it for three years you know. Well really, four years right up until the other day when I finally had to stop, you know, trying to make cuts.

Question:

What was it like working with Oprah?

Denzel Washington:

Oprah is great. I mean Oprah is great. She's there when you need her. I mean we didn't really – you know obviously she's got a few other things she's busy doing, but Kate Forte who really runs her film company - Kate Forte and Todd Black, my producing partner, and myself, the three of us really worked, you know, day in and day out and then I worked obviously with the writers day in and day out.
But Oprah was there when needed and supportive in every way and kept the ball moving and she's there now helping to, you know, really promote the film as well. So it was her baby long before it was mine.

Question:                   

If you weren't an actor, what do you think you would be?

Denzel Washington:

Probably working with children. That's what I did before acting. You know I grew up in The Boys Club, what now they call the Boys & Girls Club. I worked with the YMCA. I ran after school programs even in college so I would imagine it would be something like that.

At one point when it didn't look like acting was going to work out so well early, early, early in my career, I started, you know, applying for jobs to work with the City or the County of Westchester to, you know, get a job maybe in the recreation department or some area like that.

Question:

On any favorite lines in any of his films.

Denzel Washington in "The Great Debaters"

Denzel Washington:

Oh, well I'll tell you my favorite line for this film, which is actually a line - I don't know if it's my favorite but one that people are starting to repeat. And it's something I've always said to my children raising them, which is, "Do what you got to do or do what you have to do. Do what you've got to do so that you can do what you want to do. It doesn't work the other way around." And that, you know, applies to homework, exams.

You know do what you've got to do. Don't wait until the 11th hour, which I know you guys probably do, which of course I did too. You know but do what you got to do so that you can do what you want to do. And then you can feel more relaxed doing what you want to do because you know that you've taken care of business.

Question:

On the fact that the debate team originally went up against USC not Harvard and why was there a decision to change that?

Because Harvard is considered the academic standard. Or just, you know, we - as I've said to many people, this is inspired by true events; it's not a documentary. And somehow going to SC even though SC were the national champs - going to Southern California for an audience today to me didn't ring as - Harvard just sounded better to be quite honest.

You know but, you know, we filmed up at Harvard and I was quick to let everybody up there know, you know, "You know very well you guys weren't the national champs, USC was," so I didn't mind changing that. The fact of the matter is they went up against the national champs whatever name we give it.

do you find it more difficult to kind of adapt from a true story? Are you looking to maybe in your
directorial effort maybe do something completely fictional?

Denzel Washington: 

You know I think it's time. But you know I don't make - I kind of respond to what I respond to you know. Right now I don't think I'd make another film about a debate
team in the 30s and, you know, that's probably not something I'm interested in doing next, but I won't say what I won't do because I have to respond to the material.

Fortunately for me, this film now is starting to really get some good buzz within the town here in this Hollywood community or at least, you know, through the agents or whatever, you know, it's sounding like a lot of all kinds of material is coming my way so I may have an opportunity to do all kinds of things.

But there wasn't a plan to, "Oh, let me just true stories," and there's no plan for me not do true stories. It's just what I respond to and where my head is at at the time.

Question:

On working with Forest Whitaker

Denzel Washington:

Forest is needless to say a great actor. In fact, his wife and my wife are very good friends, but he's a great guy. I was just happy that he helped us out -- helped me out -- to be in the film and needless to say he's excellent in it.

Question:

On working with The Weinstein Company

Denzel Washington:

No, I mean easy breeze no, but the bottom line is Harvey put his money where his mouth is and I can't knock him for that. You know whatever reputation he has as a tough guy and this and that, but he really didn't bother me. He didn't want to give me as much as I wanted to do it – you know as much as I felt the film needed to make it -- but we came to a good number, we made the picture, and he took the chance, and so I've got to give him credit for that.

Question:

On directing and acting

Denzel Washington:

It's strictly business. I didn't want to be in either film. It was strictly to get the money. Basically, the studio said, "Well, if you're not in the film, your budget is this. If you're in the film, this is your budget."

The budget that they wanted - you know and so they sort of back you into a corner. You know they give you a budget that they know you can't make the movie for and you know two or three years after you've been working on it you know. And then I said, "Okay, I'll play a small role in it," and that still wasn't enough money to make the kind of picture I wanted to make.

And it's not a big budget film. I mean we spent $25 million, but basically, the number was going to be more like $10 or $12 million. So to make a film for that, which is a lot of money, but a period film, it was going to be very difficult. So I'm surely not interested. I am not interested in being in the films I direct at all.

Question:

Which do you prefer?

Denzel Washington:

Well, it's not an either/or. You know right now, this is new and exciting at this point in my life so I'm passionate about it. I have no plans to direct another film right now. I'm going back in front of the camera probably for the next couple of years until my twins graduate from high school at least and I have some ideas for films I want to direct. So Clint Eastwood is my hero. You know I want to do both.

He elaborates further on another question on acting and directing

You know what, once I knew I was going to be in the movie, I said, "All right, look. Just embrace it and go with it." I don't waste a lot of time on my own performance; I just do three or four takes and keep moving and in a way, it's interesting. With both films, I found a way to make it work for me.

In Antwone Fisher, I was the psychiatrist, so all I was doing was watching Derek anyway, asking him questions, and watching him. So I would always shoot in his direction first, you know, and ask questions and watch him and then turn the camera around and take two or three takes.

Here I was sort of the director of The Debaters as well being their professor, so I just embraced that and it's tiresome. I mean you don't - really I play all the parts because in the development process, I would read the parts out loud, I would, you know, think of what I would do or what I would say, and that was how I would work on the screenplay.

So it's not something I look forward to not being in a film that I direct and I'm pretty sure it will be the next one that I won't act in it.

Question:

On the buzz around films and whether he pays attention to it

Denzel Washington:

Oh, oh, oh. You know that now - I mean I've been in this business too long. You know that's all gravy. Do you know what I mean? For me the joy is making the film, and now finding out that people are responding.

We had a great screening last night for the Director's Guild, which is the toughest audience because, you know, it's a room full of directors and got a standing- you know the film got a standing ovation and everybody loved it and so that's great.

So now from here through March or through the Oscars, it's all - you know we'll see. You sort of have to keep an even keel because you just - you know I've been around too long. You can't get too high and you can't get too low.

Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker in "The Great Debaters"

Question:

On Criticism

You can't let circumstances control your life. You know there's always going to be something, there's always going to be naysayers, there's always going to be detractors, there's always going to be critics, there's always - you know that's a part of life. So what do you do? Do you not do them? You've got to prepare for the exam. You don't go, "Well shoot, I'm not going to take the test because the teacher doesn't like me." You know or, "I'm worried about what they might say of me." If you have to stand in front of the class and make presentation, you can't not do it because you're worried about what criticism you might get from the students. You know you've got to live life man. Just live it.

Question:

How much influence does your wife have on you picking scripts?

Denzel Washington:

You know what, in this film, she was the one that thought I should hire Jurnee to play (Samantha Book). She hasn't read them all. You know my son has actually - my oldest boy who seems to be moving into the business a little bit, he had some ideas and he talked me into doing Training Day in fact. Yeah and American Gangster. So I can blame both of those on him.

But my wife will read some of them and my family - they are all movie buffs so I encourage them to read scripts that I'm looking at but sometimes I'm looking at 10 or 15 of them. And sometimes once I've already had a good feeling about something, I'll give it to her to read. But this one was just one where when I read it, I just knew I wanted to be a part of it and I'm sure she felt the same way.

Question:

How important is the production team?

Denzel Washington:

Very important. And you know to me, one of the things I really enjoyed with this process was the fact that from Antwone Fisher almost all of my main team members came back. The editor didn't come back because he couldn't, but the cinematographer, Philippe Rousselot, came back. Todd Black, my producing partner came back. Molly came back. Sharon Davis who did costumes came back.

We had a brilliant production designer on this film by the name of David Bomba who is from Mississippi and I'm sure I'll be working with him again and that was because he actually – there was an opening there because the production designer on Antwone Fisher wasn't available. Willie Burton, a two-time Academy Award winning sound mixer came back.

So it is - you know you've got to spend two or three or four intense months with these folks and obviously you want the best and I think we had the best, but it's also important to me for people to get along and to enjoy the process. It's too hard; it was 100 degree days every day of hot. There was a lot of long, long hours and you want to be around people that you want to be around. I think that's very important.

Question:

On his mental preparation for his roles

Denzel Washington:

You know when I'm done with something like - I guess, you know, I've been at it for a while now. Years ago, I read a book by James Cagney called Cagney by Cagney, and he just talked about it. He essentially said, "Hey, it's no big deal. It's just your job." You know this is my job. As Julia Roberts said, "We're ordinary people with extraordinary jobs."

You know when I was younger, I carried the role around and, you know, agonized for months or whatever, but basically, by the time I finish a film, I'm tired of that character anyway. You know so it's not too hard to just walk away from it.

And in the case of these two stories, I'd been working on The Great Debaters for four years anyway, so I was really ready to go, ready to go. So as soon as I finished American Gangster, which was last November of 2006, I - you know I dropped it on a Monday and Tuesday I was in the office and getting started because I was ready to go. So I don't think there's any American Gangster character - there's no Frank Lucas in my Mel Tolston.

Question:

On working an indie or low budget film at any time in the future

Denzel Washington:

The story is first. No, I wouldn't pick it by size, bigger or smaller. It's the story. You know I'm an actor. You know I was trained on - you know I grew up and started my acting on, you know, Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neill, and Shakespeare. Those are the writers, you know, I read first - Pinter.

And so the play is the thing you know. I mean I'm looking for good material. I wouldn't dare say,"Oh, well my next film has to be a $4 million film or my next film has to be a $100 million film." I'm looking for a good story and then the business aspects of it come second.