Director Ava DuVernay has just made history: Her new film Selma has been nominated for a Golden Globe award, making her the first African-American woman to be nominated in the Best Director – Motion Picture category.
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The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards nominations were announced this morning from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, and DuVernay’s film Selma has already picked up four nominations in Best Motion Picture, Drama; Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama (David Oyelowo); Best Director – Motion Picture (Ava DuVernay) and Best Original Song – Motion Picture (“Glory”).
Selma is produced by Oprah Winfrey and is about the historic march that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers made from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, and it was these efforts that eventually led to President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The film’s nomination comes at a time when women are still struggling for recognition in the arts industry. In fact, according to Forbes, the Best Director award has been given since 1943, yet only five women have been able to break through, and only one woman has ever won (Barbra Streisand for Yentl).
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There’s already a lot of excitement and chatter surrounding the film — which will have limited release in theaters on Christmas Day, after which it will go wide on Jan. 9 — and David Oyelowo, who was nominated for Best Actor for his role as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the film, revealed his excitement during an interview with USA Today.
“I literally just got off the phone with [Winfrey],” says Oyelowo. “And we did a little phone dance together. She sang and I danced. She’s just very, very proud, as a producer — and as a mother, in a sense. Accolades, acclaim, that’s an everyday occurrence for her. I think she’s just sitting back and taking a lot of pride in the fact that her babies are doing well.”
Speaking of his director and her place in the history books, Oyelowo said that neither he nor Winfrey had realized that she had made history.
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“She also said the same thing; she didn’t realize that it was a history-making fact. That’s something to be doubly proud of,” he explained.
And he’s right. We can’t wait to see who takes home the Golden Globe on the night.
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