DENZEL WASHINGTON stepped out in New York on Wednesday night to premiere his sophomore directorial effort, 'The Great Debaters.' FOREST WHITAKER and HARVEY WEINSTEIN and his new bride GEORGINA CHAPMAN were amongst those who joined Denzel on the red carpet.

OPRAH WINFREY produced the new period film, in theaters Christmas Day, which follows Wiley College's winning African-American debate team of the early 1930s and its passionate professor, played by Denzel.