John Heard

The Lucky Ones -- A timely drama about life in America today, THE LUCKY ONES is a story of three soldiers on leave trying to make sense of their lives during an unexpected road trip across the United States.

The Great Debaters -- THE GREAT DEBATERS chronicles the journey of Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington), a brilliant but volatile debate team coach who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team.

Three soldiers -- Colee (McAdams), T.K. (Pena) and Cheaver (Robbins) -- return from the Iraq War, after suffering injuries, and learn that life has moved on without them. They end up on an unexpected road trip across the U.S., with Colee on a mission to bring her boyfriend's guitar back to his family because he saved her life, T.K. seeking confidence to face his wife after a shrapnel injury threatens his sexual function, and middle-aged Cheaver planning to hit the casinos in a desperate effort to pay for his son's college tuition.

From two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and an ensemble cast lead by Washington that includes Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, comes THE GREAT DEBATERS. Inspired by a true story, THE GREAT DEBATERS chronicles the journey of Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington), a brilliant but volatile debate team coach who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team. A controversial figure, Professor Tolson challenged the social mores of the time and was under constant fire for his unconventional and ferocious teaching methods as well as his radical political views. In their pursuit for excellence, Tolson's debate team receives a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard University's championship team. The film is directed by Denzel Washington and stars Washington, Forest Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Nate Parker, Denzel Whitaker, and Kimberly Elise. THE GREAT DEBATERS was written by Robert Eisele and produced by Todd Black, Kate Forte, Oprah Winfrey and Joe Roth.

A timely drama about life in America today, THE LUCKY ONES is a story of three soldiers on leave trying to make sense of their lives during an unexpected road trip across the United States.

Three soldiers - Colee, T.K. and Cheaver - return from the Iraq War, after suffering injuries, and learn that life has moved on without them. They end up on an unexpected road trip across the U.S., with Colee on a mission to bring her boyfriend's guitar back to his family because he saved her life, T.K. seeking confidence to face his wife after a shrapnel injury threatens his sexual function, and middle-aged Cheaver planning to hit the casinos in a desperate effort to pay for his son's college tuition.

Inge (Elizabeth Reaser) is a feisty German mail-order bride who has come to Minnesota to marry Olaf (Tim Guinee), a young Norwegian immigrant farmer of few words. But in a post-WWI, anti-German climate, the local minister (John Heard) openly forbids the marriage. Inge and Olaf fall in love despite the town's disapproval. But when the town banker (Ned Beatty) attempts to foreclose on the farm of his friend Frandsen (Alan Cumming), Olaf takes a stand...and the community unites around the young couple, finally accepting Inge as one of their own.

When PJ Lee's (Tom Guiry) father is arrested for vehicular manslaughter, it's just the icing on the cake for a teen whose life is already difficult, thanks to a broken home and dysfunctional relationships. In short order, PJ gets fired, has a falling out with his girlfriend and is kicked out of the family home. Through it all, however, the film -- which earned a Grand Jury nod at the Sundance Film Festival -- manages to strike a hopeful tone.

THE GREAT DEBATERS chronicles the journey of Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington), a brilliant but volatile debate team coach who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team.

THE GREAT DEBATERS chronicles the journey of Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington), a brilliant but volatile debate team coach who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team.

When PJ Lee's (Tom Guiry) father (John Heard) is arrested for vehicular manslaughter, it's just the icing on the cake for a teen whose life is already difficult, thanks to a broken home and dysfunctional relationships. In short order, PJ gets fired, has a falling out with his girlfriend (America Ferrera) and is kicked out of the family home. Through it all, however, the film -- which earned a Grand Jury nod at the Sundance Film Festival - manages to strike a hopeful tone.

Tom Crick faces the latest in a long series of disappointments that form his life when the British teacher of history is forced into early retirement by the American high school where he works. Challenged by one of his students to make his subject relevant, as his final lecture the fraying Crick tells the history of the English marshlands known as The Fens. He spins a tale that begins before World War I and encompasses his family history, his childhood with his mentally challenged brother, and his romance with the beautiful girl who becomes his wife--now a deeply disturbed woman. In telling his story of incest, abortion, murder, domestic abuse, insanity and kidnapping, Crick gains an understanding of his tragic life as he pierces his students' apathy. Based on the novel by Booker Prize-winning author Graham Swift.