Denzel talks “The Great Debaters” accuracy and nooses
Denzel Washington talks “The Great Debaters”, nooses and more with MEDIANEWS STAFF reporter Glenn Whipp. Here is a snippet:
Q: USC was the collegiate champion debate team in 1935, not Harvard. What do you have to say to Trojan Nation?
A: (Laughs) Well, you know what? I don’t care. They got their (behinds) whipped in that debate anyway.
Q: Are you daring to suggest that SC doesn’t have Harvard’s academic reputation?
A: Well, in 2007 … yes. People look at SC and they think “football school.” Plus coming to L.A. didn’t seem all that daunting for a story line. “Oh, you’re going to L.A. with the palm trees and debate USC.” It sounds more like a vacation than a challenge.
There’s always people who say, “Oh, it’s not exactly true.” And, you know what? When two people walk down the street, there’s not an 87-piece orchestra playing behind them, either. It’s a movie.
The fact of the matter is, they debated the best team in the country that year. If that was Oshkosh, it doesn’t matter.
Read the rest of the interview at San Jose Mercury
Tell em’ Denzel! All in all, it’s a great movie. Plenty of movies based on a true story bent the truth much further than just changing a school. And I agree with him: USC does have a football rep now, which I’m sure they care more about than their history of having a good debate team. At least the donor alumni anyway…
Randi523
December 27, 2007 at 12:41 pm