Denzel Washington was forced to star in new movie The Great Debaters after he was told it would be a flop if he stayed behind the camera. Washington only signed to direct and produce the real-life story of a all-black Texas college's champion debating team, who challenged the great minds of Harvard University in 1935 - but studio bosses warned him it would struggle without a star on screen.

He says, "(They said), 'It could get more money if I was in it.' And it just wasn't going to be enough money if I wasn't in it."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

MGM studios were right when they told Denzel the movie wouldn't make any money if he wasn't in it because the sad thing about educational films is that most people aren't interested in them especially the black youth because the film was about black youth college students being on a debate team. Now i know that the black youth went to see Denzel in the gangsta ignorant movie American Gangster because the ignorant black youth love ignorant gangsta films that show blacks killing each other and selling drugs. Larry Fishburne and Angela Bassett's Akeelah And The Bee movie was very good and it was a educational school movie but it didn't make that much money and Larry said he was disappointed about that. Larry said the film made more money on video than in the theatre.

I saw The Great Debaters this past Tuesday and it was very good. Forest Whitaker, Kimberly Elise(she played in The Manchurian Candidate and John Q movies with Denzel), Gina Ravera, John Heard were also in the movie.