Forest Whittaker joining The Great Debaters

It would appear that Forest Whitaker is staying well clear of the crappy film follow-up curse that afflicts some Oscar winners.

Whitaker, who has the golden baldie resting on his mantelpiece thanks to The Last King Of Scotland, has already signed up to star alongside Keanu Reeves in The Night Watchman and indie drama Winged Creatures.

And now he’s agreed to take a starring role alongside Denzel Washington in his next directing/acting job, The Great Debaters. It’s a based-on-truth tale about a tough coach (Washington) who helps a group of students from a small black college in Texas into a winning debate team that rakes on Harvard’s own team in the 1930s championship. Whitaker’s playing the father of one of the students.

With a script by Robert Eisele, Denzel will start cranking the cameras (presumably before running around in front of them) in Louisiana next month.