Selma Information

Selma is a 2014 American historical drama film co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb. It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel, Hosea Williams, and Martin Luther King, Jr. of SCLC and John Lewis of SNCC. The film stars David Oyelowo as King, Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon Johnson, Common as Bevel, and Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King.

Path financed the film, and Plan B Entertainment and Harpo Productions co-produced the project. Paramount Pictures will distribute Selma in the United States and Canada.

Selma premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11, 2014. It will be theatrically released in the United States on Christmas Day 2014.

Cast

• David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Tom Wilkinson as Lyndon B. Johnson
• Tim Roth as George Wallace
• Common as James Bevel
• Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King
• Lorraine Toussaint as Amelia Boynton Robinson
• Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper
• Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Fred Gray
• Niecy Nash as Richie Jean Jackson
• Colman Domingo as Ralph Abernathy
• Giovanni Ribisi as Lee C. White
• Alessandro Nivola as John Doar
• Keith Stanfield as Jimmie Lee Jackson
• Andre Holland as Andrew Young
• Tessa Thompson as Diane Nash
• Wendell Pierce as Hosea Williams
• Omar Dorsey as James Orange
• Ledisi as Mahalia Jackson
• Trai Byers as James Forman
• Stephan James as John Lewis
• Kent Faulcon as Sullivan Jackson
• John Lavelle as Roy Reed
• Jeremy Strong as James Reeb
• Dylan Baker as J. Edgar Hoover
• Nigel Thatch as Malcolm X
• Charity Jordan as Viola Lee Jackson
• Haviland Stillwell as Johnson's Secretary
• Tara Ochs as Viola Liuzzo
• Martin Sheen as Frank Minis Johnson

Production

Development

On June 18, 2008, Variety reported that screenwriter Paul Webb had written an original idea about Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon B. Johnson for Celador's Christian Colson, which would be co-produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment. In 2009 Lee Daniels was reportedly in early talks to direct the film, with financing by Path, and with Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B as co-producers along with the participation of Cloud Eight Films. In 2010 reports indicated The Weinstein Company would join Pathe and Plan B to finance the $22 million film, but by the next month Daniels had signed on with Sony to re-write and direct The Butler. In an interview in August, 2010, Daniels said financing was there for the Selma project, but he had to choose between The Butler and Selma, and chose The Butler.

In July 2013, it was announced that Ava DuVernay had signed on to direct the film for Pathe UK and Plan B, and that she was revising the script with the original screenwriter, Paul Webb. In early 2014, Oprah Winfrey came on board as a producer along with Brad Pitt, and by February 25 Paramount Pictures was in final negotiations for the US and Canadian distribution rights.

On April 4, 2014, it was announced that Bradford Young would be the director of photography of the film.

Casting

In 2010, Daniels (who was the attached director at the time) confirmed that the lead role of Martin Luther King Jr. will be played by British actor David Oyelowo. Actors who had confirmed in 2010 but who did not appear in the 2014 production include Robert De Niro, Hugh Jackman, Cedric the Entertainer, Lenny Kravitz, and Liam Neeson.

On March 26, 2014, Tom Wilkinson was added to the cast to play U.S President Lyndon B. Johnson. On April 7, it was announced that Carmen Ejogo would play Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott King. On April 15, actor and rapper Keith Stanfield had reportedly joined the cast to play civil rights protester Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was shot and killed on a nighttime march and whose death led James Bevel to initiate the Selma to Montgomery marches. On April 22, Lorraine Toussaint joined the cast to portray Amelia Boynton Robinson, who was very active in the Selma movement before SCLC arrived and was the first African-American woman in Alabama to run for Congress. On April 25, it was announced that Ledisi had been added to the cast to play Mahalia Jackson, a singer and friend of King. On May 7, Andre Holland joined the cast to play politician and civil rights activist Andrew Young. On May 8, Tessa Thompson was cast to play the role of Diane Nash, a civil rights activist and founding member of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. On May 9, Deadline confirmed the role of Common as James Bevel, the Director of Direct Action and Director of Nonviolent Education of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. On May 16, Trai Byers was added to the cast to play James Forman, a civil rights leader active in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. And on June 20, Deadline cites the role of Colman Domingo as SCLC activist Ralph Abernathy.

On May 28, Stephan James was confirmed portraying the role of SNCC activist John Lewis in the film. On May 29, Wendell Pierce joined the film to play civil rights leader Hosea Williams. On May 30, Cuba Gooding, Jr. was set to play civil rights attorney and activist Fred Gray. On June 3, Tim Roth signed on to play Alabama governor George Wallace. On June 4, Niecy Nash joined the cast to play Richie Jean Jackson, wife of Dr. Sullivan Jackson played by Kent Faulcon, while John Lavelle joined to play Roy Reed, a reporter covering the march for The New York Times. On June 10, it was announced that the film's producer, Oprah Winfrey, would also portray Annie Lee Cooper, a 54-year-old woman who tried to register to vote and was denied by Sheriff Clark - who she then punched in the jaw and knocked down. Jeremy Strong joined the cast to play James Reeb, a white Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston and murdered civil rights activist. On June 12, it was reported that Giovanni Ribisi joined the cast to play Lee C. White, an adviser to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson on strategies regarding the Civil Rights Movement. Alessandro Nivola also joined to play John Doar, a civil rights activist and attorney general for civil rights for the Department of Justice in the 1960s. Dylan Baker was added to the cast to play FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover , who carried out extensive investigations of King and his associates on July 17.

Filming

Principal photography began May 20, 2014 around Atlanta, Georgia. Filming took place around Marietta Square and Rockdale County Courthouse in Conyers. The Conyers scene involved a portrayal of federal judge Frank Minis Johnson, who ruled that the third and final march could go forward. In Newton County, Georgia, filming took place at Flat Road, Airport Road, Gregory Road, Conyers, Brown, Ivy and Emory Streets, exteriors on Lee Street, and an interior night shoot at the Townhouse Caf on Washington St.

In Alabama, scenes were shot in Selma, centering on the Bloody Sunday march to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and at Montgomery, Alabama where, in 1965, King lead civil rights demonstrators down Dexter Avenue toward the Alabama State Capitol at the conclusion of the third march from Selma.

Music

Jason Moran composed the music for the film, marked as the first Moran's scoring film.

Release

The film premiered at AFI Fest at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles on November 11, 2014, for which it received a standing ovation. The film will have a limited release on December 25, 2014, before opening wide on January 9, 2015.

Reception

Critics praised Selma after its showing at AFI Fest. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 100%, based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10, while on Metacritic the film has a score of 95 out of 100, based on 7 critics.

Awards and nominations

See List of accolades received by Selma (film) for more information