Denzel Washington in Conversation with USC's Dr. Todd Boyd to Open The Wallis' Season; Will be Streamed Live

Two-time Academy Award-winning American actor and filmmaker Denzel Washington takes the stage at the Wallis Performing Arts Center for a lively conversation about culture, sports, politics and the game of life with author, media commentator and producer, USC's Professor, Dr. Todd Boyd, aka "the Notorious Ph.D." This sold-out conversation will now be streamed live via thewallis.org/live beginning at 7:30pm on Thursday, Sept. 17.

This is the first in a series of Arts & Ideas: Conversations at The Wallis that will continue the following week with a rare opportunity, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer on Monday, Sept. 21 followed by the just announced pairing of two comedy legends, Mel Brooks in conversation with fellow funnyman David Steinberg on Thur., Oct. 6.

Denzel Washington, Justice Stephen Breyer and the Mel Brooks/David Steinberg's events are sold out. More information is available at www.thewallis.org, by calling 310-746-4000, or in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

Denzel Washington is the first of five Artistic Advisors, a new company initiative that brings artists-who excel in theater, dance and music-together with The Wallis audience in a series of onstage Arts & Ideas conversations and master classes with The Wallis education students. The Artistic Advisors for the 2015-16 Season include dance luminaries Suzanne Farrell and Judith Jamison, Broadway legend Patti LuPone and jazz great Arturo Sandoval. All Artistic Advisor events are open to the public. For more tickets and further information, go to www.thewallis.com.

About Denzel Washington and Dr. Todd Boyd
Denzel Washington is an iconic American actor and filmmaker who has now made well over 50 films in his long career. He has received two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for the historical drama-war film Glory (1989) and Best Actor for his role as a corrupt cop in the crime thriller Training Day (2001). He also received two Golden Globe awards, a Tony Award for his 2010 performance in August Wilson's Fences on Broadway.

Washington has received much critical acclaim for his film work since the 1990s, including his portrayals of real-life figures such as South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in Cry Freedom (1987), Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcom X in Malcom X (1992), boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in The Hurricane (1999), football coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans (2000), poet and educator Melvin B. Tolson in The Great Debaters (2007), and drug kingpin Frank Lucas in American Gangster (2007). He has been a featured actor in the films produced byJerry Bruckheimer and has been a frequent collaborator of directors Spike Lee and the late Tony Scott.

Dr. Todd Boyd is the Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race and Popular Culture and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in the USC School of Cinematic Arts. An author, media commentator, producer, and consultant, Dr. Boyd's influential presence as a public intellectual has consistently bridged the gap between the ivory tower and the world of popular cultures since the 1990's. He has been profiled in two extensive Los Angeles Times feature stories, "The Notorious Ph.D." in 2003 and again in 2010, and he was the subject of a 2003 Village Voice cover story, "Foucault's Turntable." Dr. Boyd's popular course "Race, Class and Gender in American Film" has also been listed as one of the "Top 10 Classes" at USC.

Photo by Mark Seliger