President Obama to Host 'Selma' Screening at the White House Friday
President Barack Obama will take on hosting duties for a special screening of "Selma" at the White House on Friday night.
Although the biopic on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. earned just two Oscar nominations the day before, Obama is expected to host guests including the cast and crew of "Selma" at the screening, giving the film additional recognition and prestige this award season.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced 2015's nominees on Thursday with "Selma" up for both "Best Picture" and "Best Original Song." Despite the film's countless accolades, British-born David Oyelowo, who portrayed Dr. King in the film, and director Ava DuVernay were not among the nominees in their respective categories.
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The White House screening of the film arrives just in time for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 19. The federal holiday, which takes place on the third Monday in Jan. each year, commemorates not only Dr. King's work for civil rights, but the leader's birthday on Jan. 15; he would have been 86 this year.
Meanwhile, "Selma" also stars Oprah Winfrey, Common, and Carmen Ejogo, among many others. It follows Dr. King's fight for the vote in a desegregated, but still racist South, and the march in Selma that led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"Selma" is not the first film to be screened at the White House, which contains a 40-person private theater. Past films viewed in the White House Family Theater include "Slumdog Millionaire," "Julie & Julia," and "He's Just Not That Into You." However, many of the Obamas' film selections are not disclosed; the decision to publicly announce the film choices rest with Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Watch the trailer for "Selma" here.
