As we get closer to the wide release date for the highly anticipated movie Selma, the film is generating movie buzz in the community.

Directed by Ava DuVernay, the film has already racked in awards including a Golden Globe nomination and the Critics' Choice Awards. Oprah plays real-life activist Annie Lee Cooper, who was arrested for punching Selma sheriff Jim Clark, and she has landed a NAACP Image Award nomination for playing the part.

Selma follows the Dr. Martin Luther King-led voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. When Oprah was asked why she took the role, here's what she had to say:

"The reason I said yes to the role was because of the magnificence of Annie Lee Cooper and what her courage meant to an entire movement. Having people look at you and not see you as a human being, she just got tired of it."

Selma is currently in limited release, but will open everywhere on Jan. 9.

 

More From KSSM-FM