xxxxxxxx tonight as hollywood gears up for the biggest night, we pull back the curtain inside two best contenders and the stars going for the gold. behind the scenes of black clansman where history collides. >> the goal was connect the film happening today. >> will spike lee finally get his oscar moment? >> plus a star is born. lady gaga's big screen debut landing her a best actress nomination. inside the magnetic matchup with co-star and director bradley cooper. >> i looked in his eyes, and i

just had an instant connection with him. >> nightline at the oscars will be right back.

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era. it's the police detective's true story investigating the klu klux klan. b byron pitts goes behind the scenes with the cast and the man who got inside the klan. >> you will not replace it. >> reporter: this american point, more exposed, more raw than we have seen in generations. reaching a boiling point in the summer of 2017 in charlottesville. >> this terrorism is home grown. home grown apple pie. terrorism is terrorism. >> reporter: now comes comedic relief with the sharpest of edges. >> what can i do you for? >> well, seasons you asked, i hate blacks. >> reporter: spike lee's newest film, "blackkklansman," based on

of all things, a true story. 1978 colorado springs, colorado, a black cop infiltrates the kkk and buddies up to david duke, then grand wizard of the klu klux klan. >> today we're privileged to be among white men and white women. >> reporter: in his unapologetic style, he links america's ugly past with race to her uncomfortable present. >> the whole goal going in was connect this film that takes place in the 70s to what's happening today. and agent orange, david duke, and the neo nazis gave me a koda. >> reporter: you're referring to? >> the president. i call him agent orange. >> i want to thank you so much for never putting your country

second. america first. >> reporter: some of the language in the film seems to be lifted from today's political rhetoric. >> from this day forward, it's going to be only america first. america first. >> reporter: this film directly takes on president trump and his initial refusal to renounce hate groups. >> i think there's blame on both sides. i have no doubt about it, and you don't have any doubt about it either. >> reporter: you're not a fan of president trump, like many people in america. you take unfair shots at him in this. do you think? >> i did not tell agent orange to make that statement. he did that. >> you also had people that were very fine people. on both sides. >> why should there be any deliberation when you choose

between peaceful protesters and hate groups? >> how do you propose to make this investigation? >> i've established contact and created some familiarity with the klansmen over the phone. >> reporter: "blackkklansman" is the hollywood take on the book about the time as a police detective investigating the kkk. how in the world did you come up with the idea to infiltrate the klan? >> i was talking to the local klan organizer on the phone and told him my sister had recently dated a so-called n-word. every time he put his filthy black hands on her pure white body, it made me cringe, and i wanted to do something. he said when can we meet? that's when i thought what have

i gotten myself into? >> reporter: it sounds like something like this dave chappelle skit about a black supremacist. but in this case he says it actually happened. he still carries his klan membership card with him today. >> i have a warped sense of humor. if i'm in a crash, a car is going to go through my personal effects and go through that card and freak out. >> reporter: denzel washington's ston plays stal worth. >> reporter: how was it for you? did it seem familiar? >> that language of hate did. i mean, i was called the n-word by a white person in north carolina when i was 10. >> reporter: you remember that still? >> yeah. but i have a lot of fond, great memories of north carolina too. that's just one. >> i'm not risking my life.

>> reporter: he needed a stand in for the face to face meetings. so white officer agreed to go under cover. >> i'm going to get you your membership card so you can go to the cross burning and get in deeper with these guys. >> reporter: in the movie adam driver plays his white counterpart. >> have a seat. once they send you your membership card, you'll be able to participate in all our programs. >> reporter: he even managed to get david duke himself on the phone. >> grand wizard of the klu klux klan, that david duke? >> yes. >> reporter: how did you get david duke on the phone of all clansmen? >> i've always had a philosophy, why should i waste time with the lowest rung when i can go directly to the top? >> i consider you a true white american hero. >> is there any other kind? >> no, sir. >> if he wasn't who he was, you could have the type of guy you would want to sit down, have a drink with, talk about whatever. >> i'm just happy to be talking to a true white american.

>> amen. it seems like there's less and less of us out there these days. >> but it's one the subject of race came up, he became mr. hyde. the monster in him was unleashed, and he was off and running. >> reporter: topher grace plays david duke. >> i knew if there was one person that could -- that i feel comfortable doing it with, it would be spike. >> i had to prove ease and say look, no one is going to think that this is you speaking. this is david duke. >> very moments in that movie where he looks like and sound like the david duke of 1978. it was uncanny for me. >> reporter: i've interviewed duke. topher captures the charming and calculating white nationalist i've sat across from. >> reporter: for those who dismiss you as men stuck in the past, you say what? >> i say we're the future. >> reporter: duke has mastered

the art of intd lek chulizing it. he's been back in the headlines, front and center at the rally in charlottesville. as documented by a reporter. >> we are determined to take our country back. we're going to fulfill the promises of donald trump. that's what we believed in. that's why we voted for donald trump. >> reporter: while pump has disavowed any affiliation, duke is a supporter of the president. >> reporter: do you hope president trump sees the movie? >> first of all, i'm not going to the white house. i ain't going, but i'm thinking the invitation is probably not in the mail. >> reporter: just saying. >> i don't have no problem, him and david duke seeing it, because they're in it. they're in the film. >> reporter: for all the dark humor, "blackkklansman" is chilling. it's not hollywood. it's hard truth. a new take on one of america's oldest sins.

>> and when we come back, lady gaga opens up about her oscar nominated role of a lifetime in "a star is born". ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ in the shadow >> a little coming attraction, lady gaga and bradley cooper performing "shallow". they'll perform it on sunday at the oscar. gaga peels back her on stage

persona removing bold makeup while forging a new path in her oscar nominated role. here's michael strahan. >> reporter: it's a raw and honest love story. >> can i ask you a personal question? >> reporter: bradley cooper and lady gaga's kem tri transcend the screen in "a star is born". >> taking off my bigs and makeup going back to an earlier time in my life to play this character, it's an interesting thing for me to reveal. and to experience. >> reporter: gaga plays allie, a waitress whose dreams of making it big have stalled, but her star ascends when she meets cooper's character, jackson maine, a legendary musician battling his own demons. ♪ ain't it hard keeping it so

hard score ♪ ? >> is that me? >> that's you. >> reporter: the movie marks a career milestone for both actors. for cooper, his directing. for gaga, her first lead role. >> it was a love story and two people honestly in love with each other and what that means. ♪ we fall from the shallow now >> i looked in his eyes. i had an instant connection with him. he said to me do you mind if we sing together? i was blown away by his voice, because he sings from his gut. he sings from his soul. i was overwhelmed with his ability to tell a story with his voice. that's why i wanted to do this. i believed in him so much. >> reporter: and cooper believed in her too. >> it's one thing to be talent

and then to harness the talent. i'm glad god chose her. that's quite a vessel to go through. >> reporter: their mutual admiration and respect for each other is evident in their performances. culminating in one pivotal scene. >> when we sing "shallow" together. for me, in that moment, all i had to go was go oh, i'm onset. i'm an actress. i was able to go oh, my gosh, this is new. this is real. this is something i've never done before. i love this song. tell me something, girl. are you happy in this modern world or do you need more? ♪ is there something you're searching for ♪ >> i don't think those words could be more relevant than the times right now. it's powerful. it plays a character in the movie because then in the chorus she says -- watch as i dive in,

i'll never meet the ground. they can't hurt us. we're far from the shallow now. >> reporter: much like the actors, the characters form an immediate connection. >> i don't sing my own songs. >> why? >> i just don't feel comfortable. >> reporter: my initial thought was how were they able to put chemistry and energy on the mfim to this degree. >> he said it on the film and in real life. all you have to do is trust me. i really trusted him. >> hey, i just want to take another look at you. >> you're stripped down. you're bare for the world to see. why was that important for your character in this movie? >> that's who allie is. she's a real woman who also has a talent but who has completely

given up on herself. she's so different from me. i really believed in myself when i started out. i was like i'm going to do this. my friends called me gaga. i was like all right. yeah, i'm gaga. >> sing that song that i love. >> no, i can't do that. >> this girl, allie, she's jaded by the business. she's been told she's not beautiful enough. what's amazing is that this is a love story, and it's his love for her that gives her wings to fly. >> reporter: did you relate to that part? >> i did relate to that part, but it was different. it was different. i really had to go back to an earlier time in my life. in high school i got made fun of for having big dreams. i got made fun of for loving to sing. during that time i was bullied and made fun of, and i was depressed. that's where i drew from, from

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this is nightline at the oscars. >> and finally tonight, she's the voice of nightline. she's also celebrating 10 historic years as the voice of the oscars. we go behind the microphone. >> hey, nightline. this is where the magic happens. >> you might not recognize her face, but you know that voice.

>> tonight it's a very special nightline. >> that's our announcer randy thomas who begins our show each and every night. >> tonight on nightline. >> i just feel that my voice is very at home in a news environment. i feel really blessed to be a part of that team. i'm the first woman in its 38-year history. people go back to ted copple, the original guy. it was a man's world. when you ask me where i fit, i like doing things that have been traditionally done by men up until i get in the room. and then i get to allow the other women to come in through the door behind me. >> randy has tone tdone the emm, tonys and sag awards. this is her 10th year has the voice of the oscars. >> please welcome your host, jimmy kimmel. >> how did you get into that type of work? >> i was a jockey on the radio. back in the day when i started

in radio, there was only one woman on the air, because i came out of that era where all the guys were the d.j.s, and if you tried to get on a radio station that had a woman, they would say thank you, we're good. we have a woman. >> here's our host for the fourth consecutive year, billy crystal. >> in 1993 the 65th academy awards i became the first woman in history to announce the show, so that was pretty spectacular. it was nothing i could have ever dreamed about, but when it happened, it changed my life. >> it's the 91st academy awards. welcome to the show. >> reporter: announcing some of the world's most famous names in entertainment might be stressful for come, but not for randy. >> before i actually raid something live on the air, i will actually read that line out loud not on the microphone just before i say it. ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats.

>> what if you need to cough? how do you make sure your voice is beautiful and strong? >> i hydrate. i drink a lot of water. i avoid sugar for 30 days. i do that until after the show and at the ball, chocolate. that's my reward. >> for nightline in los angeles. you can catch the oscars right here on abc this sunday. thank you for watching nightline. good night, america.

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