'Selma' Movie Trailer: Director Likens Oprah Winfrey's Hard Work to Moses' Parting of The Red Sea; 'She Did It All'
Oprah Winfrey shared a teaser trailer of "Selma" yesterday, after she was praised for her efforts by the film's director.
The media mogul co-produced and starred in the civil rights film, which is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by a small group including Martin Luther King, Jr. She plays civil rights activist Annie Lee Cooper, who is best known for punching a police officer, and she shared her excitement about the film on her Facebook page which has 10 million likes.
"I've been working as one of the producers of Selma Movie all year. At last the fruits of our labor ready for you to see. #SELMAFilm," Winfrey wrote alongside a link to the trailer.
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Winfrey stars alongside "The Butler" actor David Oyelowo as MLK and Academy Award-nominee Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The film's director, Ava DuVernay, recently commended Winfrey for all of her efforts and hard work, which she likened to Moses' parting of the red sea.
"She was active and engaged and constantly on the set," DuVernay told Yahoo about Winfrey. "She moved the waters like Moses: She held up her staff, and they parted, and we were able to go through and make the movie. She was a producer, and that's working on financing, physical production, casting, permits, insurances—it gets really boring and unsexy at some point. But I'm able to say I've heard Oprah Winfrey on an insurance bond call. She did it all."
The three Selma to Montgomery marches took place between March 7 and March 25 in 1965 and they were organized by local African Americans to advocate equal voting rights. Their attempts to walk the 54-mile highway from Selma to the Alabama state capital of Montgomery proved successful as the movement led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting.
Also starring in "Selma" is Cuba Gooding Jr., Alessandro Nivola, Giovanni Ribisi, Common, Carmen Ejogo, Niecy Nash, Tim Roth and more.
Hollywood actor Brad Pitt also co-produced the film through his Plan B Entertainment production company, which also produced Academy award-winning film "12 Years a Slave."
