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nelson. joined live now by chris witherspo witherspoon. chris, here's the thing, in the '80s and '90s, these concerts for mandela were huge. have we seen any other modern-day figure that inspired that intersection between politics and pop culture? >> i don't think so. it makes sense, his story, he's one of those heroes that don't come around too often. what he stood for, what he did for all those years in prison, keeping his head up and keeping the presence for the people of south africa, won't happen again. pop culture, hollywood, we love a hero. and nelson mandela is the perfect hero. >> and it wasn't just music. how did mandela use sports to help people of different races? >> yes, he loved sports. he said that soccer could unite the world. and during the world cup in south africa, he talked about it. he really wanted people to get
we see him from the time he was in a tribe in rural africa to his imprisonment to becoming to first black president in south africa. >> sounds like you've seen it. >> i have. i interviewed the cast. it's an amazing film. >> historically, what is something like this do to a film's run at the box office? >> i asked the weinstein company are they expecting the film to get bigger numbers? right now, it's only in four theaters so the numbers are staying the same. but i think at christmastime, you will see droves of people come out when it has a national release, a big, wide push. people will come out and want to see this film to honor nelson mandela, to honor his legacy and pay tribute to him. that's what this film does. >> chris witherspoon, always good to see you, thank you. >> thank you. >> with more now on the cultural and political influence of nelson mandela, i want to bring in the "brain trust." esther arma, dana milbank with
nominated for five oscars including the best picture. it's up for three golden globes tonight. and joining me now chris witherspo witherspoon, entertainment editor for the grio.com. hey, chris. talk to me about what's at play overwhelm. what do you think is behind this? >> this film is number one in the country. it is winning in one regards. but the controversy behind the film started a long time ago. it's like politics meets hollywood. there's allegations that kathryn bigelow kind of got secret information from the obama administration when she was, you know, beginning the directorial process for the film. and there's these really intense torture scenes. there's sleep deprivation, waterboarding, some things that people, average viewers just might not be able to tolerate and consume and digest that well. so there's just a big controversy, a big buzz around it. and she was, you know, supposedly -- supposed to be nominated for best director for nim but was -- >> right. was she snubbed because of this? let's think about the kind of films she does. she did "hurt locker." thumbs up on that. she was hugely acclaimed for