Denzel Washington, George C. Wolfe, Viola Davis and Constanza Romero to Talk With CBS SUNDAY MORNING About Bringing August Wilson's Plays To The Screen

Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe, Academy Award winner Viola Davis and Constanza Romero, widow of writer August Wilson, will talk with Tracy Smith about bringing famed playwright's plays to the screen on CBS Sunday Morning. The interview will be broadcast Sunday, December 13 at 9:00 AM, ET on the CBS Television Network.

The Tony Award - and Pulitzer Prize-winning Wilson wrote a play for every decade of the 20th century, each reflecting the Black experience at the time. "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is a new Netflix film inspired by the true-life story of the blues legend, with Washington serving as a producer. Davis leads the cast, which includes Glynn Turman and the late Chadwick Boseman.

Washington tells Smith he's glad to be able to be in a position to bring Wilson's stories to audiences beyond Broadway and the notion of doing 10 films did not seem overwhelming.

"No, it was, what's left for me to do, professionally? This is perfect, you know? It's not hard, it's a joy, it's an opportunity, it's a privilege, really, to shepherd these, this material," Washington says. "You know - no pressure. The pressure's not on me. The pressure is on the filmmakers."

Wolfe, who directed the adaptation of "Ma Rainey" and worked extensively with Wilson, (who died 15 years ago), says it was a little intimidating bringing this project to film.

"Well, it's a brilliant piece. And it's a celebrated work," Wolfe says. "And so that if I did it badly or redid it badly, everybody would go, 'You did it badly."

Davis, who stars as Ma Rainey, says Wilson could get to the essence of human emotion in a sentence or two.

"I think that he captures our humor as Black people," Davis says. "He captures our humor, our vulnerabilities, our tragedies, our trauma. And he humanizes us. And he allows us to talk."

Asked to describe Wilson, his wife, artist Constanza Romero, says: "Power. Courage. Magnificence."

"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" also marks the final film for Boseman, who died last August from colon cancer at the age of 43. Boseman kept his diagnosis a secret, and none of his castmates knew he was ill.

"When I look back on it, I go, "Oh, that's why he was tired between takes sometimes, or he had to go back to his trailer and re-energize,'" Washington says. "You know, I just thought, 'Oh, that's the actor's process and he has to, you know, do what he has to do, or she.' But, now we know."