It's going to be a crowded field of potential Oscar contenders centered around the African-American experience, and one that has been flying way under the radar is the upcoming adaptation of acclaimed playwright August Wilson's Fences. Why is this one such a big deal? Well, for one thing it's directed by Denzel Washington in what has long been a passion project. Oh, and it co-stars fellow Oscar winner Viola Davis, who he shared the stage with in a Tony Award-winning Broadway run back in 2010.
THR has the first images from the film which was penned by Wilson before his death in 2005. Set in the 1950s in the historically African-American part of Pittsburgh, the film centers on Troy Maxon, a trash collector whose dreams of becoming a baseball player were never fulfilled due to the color barrier. Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson and Stephen McKinley Henderson co-star, also reprising their roles from the stage performance.
Fences arrives on Christmas Day.
