Oprah Winfrey Reveals the Biggest Challenges of Making M.L.K. Biopic Selma

Oprah Winfrey 

Prepare yourself to see more of Oprah this Oscar season! She produced and co-stars within Selma, a film about Martin Luther King Jr. 's historic 65 march for voting rights - and the movie (out Christmas Day) is actually winning big buzz after its first screening this week.

But it wasn't the simplest film to pull off - starting with casting one of the most important figures of the twentieth century.

Star David Oyewelo "is the reason I came on board, " Winfrey told the audience during a Q&A after the film's premiere at the AFI Holiday in Hollywood.

"David and I became fast friends when we did The Retainer together and he told me that this had been his dream for a very long time. "

"I was putting my two cents in all the time and then they said 'Why on the web just join us as a producer? ' " she said. But actually having a powerhouse media mogul like Winfrey involved didn't mean that production had been smooth sailing.

One challenge? The heat in Atlanta (where the film was shot) combined with the period wardrobe.

"[There were] hundreds and hundreds of extra supplies wearing wool clothes in 104-degree heat walking across that bridge over and over and again, " Winfrey said. Despite being uncomfortable, Winfrey and everyone the film had a strong sense of purpose, she added.

"People were there performing it because they felt, first of all that they were a part of something that was bigger than they. inch

Aside from the heat, another uncomfortable situation arose when the film's crew had to request some of the white extras to scream racial slurs at the actors to convey the actual racial tension of the time.

Winfrey said at one point: "I remember 1 woman saying, 'You really want me to say it out loud? You want me to express that word out loud? ' "

Oyewelo gives all the credit for switching the movie into a reality to Winfrey - along with Brad Pitt, whose company Strategy B also produced the film.

"This is how you use power that continues to be afforded you, " Oyewelo said. "To get things done that or else wouldn't be. "

David Oyewelo

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