Writing a Song for the Film, and More
Selma is a beautifully designed film that not only
hits you emotionally in the gut, but also makes
you feel for the humanity that the Civil Rights
movement was fighting for. While Martin Luther
King Jr. was just a man, he spoke for and to
people willing to defy intimidation, face economic
retaliation, and endure arrests and beatings, all in
hopes of provoking a transformative
confrontation that would give African Americans
the basic rights that they so desperately wanted
and deserved. Expertly directed by Ava
DuVernay, the film stars David Oyelowo (in an
award-worthy performance as Dr. King), Carmen
Ejogo , Tom Wilkinson , Tim Roth , Oprah Winfrey ,
Andre Holland, Common, Giovanni Ribisi , Tessa
Thompson , Dylan Baker , Alessandro Nivola and
Omar Dorsey .
During a roundtable interview at the film’s press
day, Common (who played real-life figure, James
Bevel) humbly and appreciatively talked about
how Selma is the most inspiring and fulfilling film
that he’s ever gotten to be a part of, immersing
himself in the real-life person that he portrayed,
how his own spirituality prepared him for this
role, how he came to write a song for the film,
working with someone as committed to the
project as David Oyelowo, the selflessness of
director Ava DuVernay, the most powerful
moment for him during the shoot, and what he
hopes young people take away from the film.
Check out what he had to say after the jump.
Question: Congratulations on this film!
COMMON: This, for me, has been the most
inspiring and fulfilling film that I ever got to be a
part of. It’s not like my film discography is like
Robert DeNiro’s, but I’ve been acting for some
years and I’ve had some experiences, and this is
just one of my most fulfilling experiences in life,
and as a creator and actor. This is something
that I’m marking down and saying, “Man, thank
you! Thank you!”
How much did you immerse yourself in the real-
life person that you were playing? Did you have
a lot of material?
COMMON: I did as much digging as I could. I
read as much about James Bevel as I could, even
pre-SCLC. I learned about where he came from
and who he was, and read different stories about
people who talked about him. But then, I also
was blessed to get the opportunity to talk to
some people who were part of the SCLC. At a
church that I attended in Chicago, my pastor’s
father was part of the SCLC. Dr. King had
married him and his wife, and his name is
Reverend Otis Moss. I believe he appeared in the
film in the march, at some point. So, I got to
talk to him and listen to some of the philosophies
that went on. They all talked about James Bevel
as being this brilliant crazy dude. He was also
known as being radical. He wore those overalls
because he was a man of the people. I really
connected with him, and just the whole plight of
standing up for what you believe in and being
willing to die for what you believe in.
One of the things that Ambassador Andrew Young
said to us, when we got the privilege to sit down
with him briefly, was, “What are you willing to die
for? Live your life for that. Hopefully, there’s
something that you are willing to die for, in this
world.” That’s how courageous those women and
men were. It was inspiring to have that
experience. It wasn’t just something that I was
using in a scene to express his character, but it
was also going to help me in life. I’m going to
walk with this for the rest of my life. I can fall
back on certain things that I know I need to
value, and remember that there’s purpose in life.
When you see people that lived their purpose and
sacrificed, who are everyday people – teachers,
sanitation workers, and just people from all walks
of life – that said, “I’m standing up for what I
believe in. I’m standing up for my community.”
That reaffirms what you can do.
So much of your music deals with spirituality
and spiritual themes. Did your music help
prepare you to step into the role of a pastor, or
someone fulfilling a spiritual calling?
COMMON: I’ve always been asked, “What type of
character would you love to play?,” and I’ve
always said a pastor. I wanted to play a more
conflicted pastor, but James Bevel wasn’t
perfect. Dr. Martin Luther King wasn’t perfect.
Ralph Abernathy wasn’t perfect. That’s what I
loved about seeing this film and getting to
experience this film. You get to see the human
beings. When you see a human being that
becomes as great as Martin Luther King, you
know that you can do it because you’re a human
being, also. So, the spirituality in my music and
the experiences that I went through, as a person,
prepared me to be able to play a pastor because
my foundation is God and my spirituality. I also
know that I make mistakes, just like the best of
us. That’s really what prepared me, more than
anything. My heart is in helping out the
community. I’m a person that’s like, “Yeah, I’m a
black man that is proud to be black, and I want
to help the black community, but I love all
mankind.” And that’s basically who Dr. King and
a lot of the SCLC and most of the communities
were.
How did you end up writing a song for the
movie? Were you already cast in the film, when
that came about?
COMMON: The role was separate from me
writing the song. I got the role and we filmed the
movie, and I went through that experience.
During that time period, I really got to know what
this whole film was about, the story of the people
of Selma, the story of Dr. King, at this time, and
all of the men and women. There was just a
point where Ava [DuVernay] and I were talking
and she said, “I really would like for you to do a
song. I’m open to that.” I had this moment
where I was sitting at home and I just thought
about John Legend. I thought he would be really
good for this movie because he captures a
certain spirituality and soul that makes you want
to hear that voice, and I knew what the story
was. One thing that Ava did, that comes through
in the movie – and she knew what she was doing
– was pick people that really cared about this
project. And I felt like me picking John Legend to
perform with, that he was somebody who would
care. He does his own work in the communities
and the schools with education.
So, I just gave him a call and we talked about the
film for about five minutes, and I gave him three
titles. “Glory” was the last title that I told him,
and he said, “I’ve got one day off. I’m going to
go into the studio and record something.” He
was in London, and he sent me this piano piece
with him singing “Glory,” and he sounded like he
was in a church, playing the song. It made me
know that the song needed to have an intimacy,
but also be majestic. So, I wrote a song thinking
about what I can do to motivate people to want a
better world, and show the heart and spirit of
what Dr. King and all the people of Selma really
represented, and really acknowledge that some of
these things are still going on now. I wanted this
song to empower people. I wanted it to say, “We
fought to get here. This is not just a race thing.
We fought, as a people, to get here. We can win
this fight. We’re gonna win this fight.”
There was hope and inspiration. And the
majestic element came in even more, once we got
the orchestra. I’m really happy with the song. I
played that song for my mother, and she was like,
“Send me that song!” I was like, “I can’t give you
the song yet. It’s for a movie.” She said it
brought tears to her eyes, so I knew it was in the
right place. When I was writing it, I was with my
daughter, so I felt like I was hitting all the levels.
I can say, “Yeah, grandma, come see this film,”
and my daughter already saw a little clip. She’s
17, and she just started tearing up. This film can
affect the youth and the elders, and everything in
between. I’m proud to be a part of art that can
do that, and that can really change life and
inspire people to be better, and that’s what I
believe Selma is.
What was it like to work with David Oyelowo, in
this capacity?
COMMON: He was very warm, caring and
committed. To me, he was a great leader in that
position because he embraced everybody. When
you saw how committed he was, you knew you
were in good hands. I felt really confident
working with Ava and listening to her because
she’s already impeccable. But just knowing that
the person playing Dr. King was David, and before
we even stepped on set, the reason why he said
he was equipped to be Dr. King was magnificent.
We had an encounter with Dr. King’s daughter.
We went to the Martin Luther King Center and his
daughter asked to see us. She pointed her finger
at each of us and asked who we were playing.
And then, she asked David, “Who are you
playing?” And he said, “I’m playing your father.”
And then, she was like, “Why do you think you
can play my father?” And he said that he lived
his whole life for this role. Many times, he tried
to get it done, but it never got done because it
wasn’t the right time and the right people. Now,
it is the right time and the right people. From
that point on, I felt like we were in good hands. I
knew everything was aligned the way it was
supposed to be. You don’t get to be a part of
projects like this, all the time. For me, the more
you read those self-help books about being in the
present, I’m just being in the present, right in the
moment. I’m proud of something that could
potentially be historical. It’s already capturing
history, but it can go down in history, too. I’m
just enjoying that.
With so many powerful, emotional moments in
this movie, was there a particularly powerful
moment for you, during the shoot?
COMMON: Yeah, there were experiences that we
had behind the scenes and during the scenes.
One of the scenes was when we went to see
Jimmie Lee Jackson’s body, and talking to Cager
Lee about things. Just seeing a young man’s
body in an autopsy room was tough. When I
looked at him, I saw a lot of young people that
had been slain. That was definitely something.
And hearing Dr. King speak in the church, you
would get moved. People weren’t just clapping
for the cameras. They were moved by his
speeches. He was talking to people who were
working regular jobs, and who come from the
roots of this struggle. Those words really
resonate with them still.
One of the hashtags for Selma is #SelmaIsNow,
and Selma is now Those people in the church
felt that. Dr. King’s speeches can apply to now.
When I was working on “Glory,” before I would go
into the studio, I would listen to some of Dr.
King’s speeches and be like, “Man, this really
relates to us now.” From acting and even from
music, you always know that the things you do
can actually affect people’s through process and
change how we look at life. When I look at this
project, I’m like, “Man, this really will educate
some people.” It may inspire somebody to be
like, “I’m going to go do something for somebody
else, instead of sitting around and doing it all for
me.” Ultimately, Instagram is so self-serving.
The thing that I feel translated, in this film, was
Ava’s selflessness. When you see this movie, you
don’t feel like, “Oh, this director is trying to pull
at your heartstrings,” or “This director is
manipulating things.” No. This is a woman who
had a strong perspective and understanding of
what this movement is, and has been touched in
her own life by this movement and stands for
this, in Hollywood and in her life. It comes
through in the work.
To me, a great testament to that is that all the
actors did great work, and the background actors
did great work. She was able to transfer that
energy she felt, as a director and as a person,
about how valuable this was to all of us. There
was no way that I was going to step onto that
set and not give her 110% and be totally invested,
do as much research as I could, and just devote
myself to it. To see your leader get everybody
involved, it just made it even more. That
selflessness with another director could have
come off as contrived. All art should be done
because you want to do something great. You do
it for the higher purpose, and all of the other
fruits of it may come later. That don’t mean that
you don’t want those things, but the core
intention is to pay homage to these people and
expose more people to what this movement was
and what they did to change and improve the
world, and Ava was able to do that at a superior
level.
What do you hope young people take away from
the film?
COMMON: I hope that young people say, “You
know what? I can do something to change the
world. I looked at Dr. King and saw him smoking
cigarettes, saw him worried about how to get to
the next step, saw him speaking to the multitudes
and inspiring them, and I saw the strengths and
some of the challenges for Dr. King and all of
these people of Selma. I have some of those
strengths and some of those same challenges,
and I could actually do my part to help improve
the world.” When I see people of my likeness, or
who are somebody that I feel connected to, doing
something great, I fee like I can do it. It gives me
some hope and vision. I’m hoping that young
people see that and say, “I can do something to
improve the world,” and appreciate and know that
there were people before them that did create this
environment, so that they can go higher. I want
them to feel like they can go higher now, and
take the torch and keep going even more. That’s
what I want.
Selma opens in select theaters on December
25th, and nationwide on January 9, 2015.
