"Debaters" a passion project for Denzel Washington

In the mid-1930s, shortly before Jesse Owens undermined Hitler's racial theories by winning gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, a team of African-American debaters was accomplishing something similar at all-white American colleges.

Owens triumphed as an African-American track star, challenging the Third Reich's Aryan myths. Taking a more cerebral route, Wiley College's teenage debaters were coached through a series of successes by the politically active poet, Melvin B. Tolson. Among his students was the future civil-rights leader, James Farmer Jr.

Denzel Washington cast himself as Tolson in "The Great Debaters," a Golden Globe nominee for best picture (drama), which he also directed (it opens Christmas Day). He's also nominated for a Globe for best actor for a more sinister performance in another movie, "American Gangster" — which is also in the running for best drama.

"It's unusual, for me anyway, to be competing this way," said Washington by phone. "It was a heck of a day, learning about the Globe nominations, then flying back to Texas to the real Wiley College, to show this film that I love."

According to a recent New York Times article, "For Struggling Black College, Hopes of Big-Screen Revival," the attention has made a huge difference at Wiley, which nearly closed during the 1990s.

"I've talked to the president (of Wiley) about bringing back the debate team," said Washington. The actor-director knew nothing about the college's groundbreaking 1930s achievements until Oprah Winfrey (one of the co-producers) showed him the script four years ago.

"I don't know why this story has been buried for so long," he said.

After he agreed to do the picture, Washington worked with five writers, including Horton Foote. Eventually the screenplay credit went to the first-draft writer, Robert Eisele, who based it on a magazine article by Tony Scherman.

"Everybody brought a little bit of something to it," said Washington.

Originally the final debate was to take place at the University of Southern California, which is historically correct, but the filmmakers couldn't resist relocating it to Harvard and shooting it there.

"To have the national championships in Los Angeles wouldn't be as daunting as Harvard," said Washington. "And Harvard didn't mind."

For a sequence in which the debaters accidentally run into a lynch mob, Washington tried to re-create a gruesome photograph of a real lynching, complete with grinning families and children. But he didn't want to make the scene too horrific.

"You don't show the monster," he said. "I wanted to give them a glimpse of it, as they hide in the back seat of the car. The scene is about what they're feeling."

To prepare his young actors for the debate-team sequences, Washington sent them to a "debate camp" at Texas Southern University in Houston. Their head coach, Dr. Thomas F. Freeman, put them up against the university's experienced debate team.

While Tolson, Farmer (played by Denzel Whitaker) and Farmer's father (Forest Whitaker) are based on real people, some of the other characters are composites. The most charismatic of the debaters, Henry Lowe (Nate Parker), is loosely based on Henry Heights, who apparently disappeared in the 1940s.

"He was a bit of a rogue, a drinker and quite a character," said Washington. "Tolson said he was his best debater."

The lone female debater, Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett), is based on the future social worker, Henrietta Bell. She's still alive. Washington recently interviewed her for a feature that will turn up on the DVD of "The Great Debaters."

"We've talked to other students from that time," said Washington. "I'm not sure yet whether we'll do a full documentary, but this story needs to be documented."

It's been five years since Washington, who is 52, made his directing debut with "Antwone Fisher." This film reunites him with some of the artists from that film, including cinematographer Philippe Rousselot and producer Todd Black.

A couple of the actors are familiar from Washington's other films. Denzel Whitaker (no relation to his Oscar-winning co-star) played a small role in "Training Day," and Kimberly Elise co-starred in his remake of "The Manchurian Candidate."

Washington is especially proud of discovering Derek Luke, the star of "Antwone Fisher," and he thinks Parker, Smollett and the 17-year-old Whitaker could be headed for similar success.

He felt no hesitation about this return to directing.

"I love it," he said. "It does take time to get the materials just right, and now I've got bills to pay. But it's a whole new chapter. It's like a new life."

John Hartl: johnhartl@yahoo.com