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Producer's Diary: Denzel Washington

Denzel2 There are few movie stars so transcendent we know them by just one name: Brando, Pacino, De Niro. Yesterday we had one: Denzel. Denzel is a noun. To be a Denzel, well, any guy should be so lucky to be described that way.  And to have a chance to interview Denzel is certainly a highlight: the guy who glared defiantly at us in Glory, about to be whipped, a single tear running down his cheek; the carpet cleaning Romeo, Demetrius, in Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala, a performance with such fierce humanity that even the most masculine guy is sucked into the love story; the same guy who then kicked our ass in Training Day and won a long overdue Oscar for doing so.

Now he's directed his second film, The Great Debaters, in which he also stars. I expected not to like it all that much—I mean it sounds like a struggle—a black debate team takes on Jim Crow and the Harvard debate team. But, it's pretty magnificent. Kinda breathtaking. So, when he showed up on set, I told him the first question should be "Is there ANYTHING you suck at?" He laughed and took the compliment with grace. As I've said in this space before, it is always nice when someone's brilliant screen persona is matched with an equally charming off-screen presence. And in that, Denzel did not disappoint. And if you want to see perhaps the best conversation I've witnessed in my tenure at Shootout, watch Sunday's show.

Posted by
December 18, 2007 6:03pm


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