this is the most important legacy of solomon northrup.e endured slavery, and the 21 million people who still suffer slavery today. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. . >> this award is a huge occasion for everyone who pushes for greater representation in hollywood. and the film's breakout star is 31-year-old lupita nyong'o. "12 years a slave" was her first movie, and she also went home last night with an oscar after this inspiring speech. >> thank you to the academy for this incredible recognition. it doesn't escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else's. and so i want to salute the spirit of patsy for her guidance and for solomon, thank you for telling her story and your own. when i look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you're from, your dreams are valid. thank you. >> we still have a long way to go in the fight for equality. but we can all take pride in that speech and that film. joining me now are chris witherspoon, entert

chiwetel ejiofor portrays solomon northrup, who wrote about a life of slavery. at the table was michael fassbender, who played a brutal plantation owner, and best director nominee steve mcqueen. >> at a certain point, i wanted to make a movie about slavery. to me, there was a hole in the canon of cinema about the subject. reference was not there for me. i wanted to investigate that. i wanted to find out about that in a way which was not predicting, or putting my stance on it, but investigating. solomon northrup was a man who was living in the north, who was pulled into slavery. my wife said, why don't you look at true accounts of slavery? we both did some research, and she found this out, "12 years a slave." she said, i think i have got it. it was a total understatement. every page was a revelation. >> i just read the script. it just moved me to tears by the end of it. i called him up and was like, i want to be part of this. having read it, i was like, i would like to play epps. i did not for one minute assume it was a shoe in. i just wanted to be part of it. it

racial consciousness of it, of the history of slavery and so on, but i have to think about solomon northrup his journey. tavis: what is your sense of the moment of the response of the film? it has generated all kinds of conversation. is it what you thought might happen? >> yes. i really wanted to put it on the map. in everydayery life, but no one focuses on it. it seems like people in general turn a blind eye to it because it's easy to do so. i wanted to hold the camera up and pointed in the direction of look at this. people or tod cause a debate in some ways. to me that's what art is all about. arts about putting something in society that causes debate. tavis: is there a point at which for a story that is this true and tension filled, is there a point at which you run the risk -- i am not critiquing, but i am asking, is there a point at which you make it too difficult to swallow? >> in the whole film there are five sequences of physical violence in a movie that is two hours long. tavis: you didn't tone it down? >> you see a thriller with someone shooting somebody every five seconds. extent

"gravity" was groundbreaking, but this was a herat-wrenching story and solomon northrup's stories are tale for the ages and i think we saw that last night. >> absolutely. it was a long broadcast. i don't know if it broke any records, but it was quite long but quite good. chris witherspoon got everything right, down to cate blanchett and everything else. thank you. >> thank you. >> it goes without saying that lupita nyong'o has quickly become an icon. in fashion, where designers are literally clamoring to dress her, and as an actress who from the moment we see her sitting in a field making straw dolls in "12 years a slave," or declaring her humanity by a sliver of soap, took the personal narrative of solomon northrup and made it her film. but this is what lupita told "essen "essence" magazine as she accepted one of many awards at the seventh annual black women of hollywood luncheon just last week. she read from a letter from a young black girl. "dear lupita," it reads, "i think you're really lucky to be this black but yet this successful in hollywood overnight. i was just about to buy

the paper wrote about northrup in 1853 - but spelled his last name incorrectly.sharp-eyed reader pointed out the mistake while searching the archives. >> catherine: the paper issued a correction -- spelling the name properly. the newpaper still took the opportunity to brag that its original story was still the time. >> jacqueline: right now we are running in the low 60s practically bay every allied. 61 for concord this afternoon. as we had overnight it will stay in my old. mild. >> jacqueline: showers still a possibility. spot the showers with temperatures and low 60s the upper 60s as well. as we get into the evening that is when the grain will kickoff. through evening hours even past midnight. we do have clout coverage streaming and pitted not be hitting us locally but a system well to the west which will come into the bay area and had been into the evening. as we head into the later morning hours and after no is still still more showers into the north bay. they liked sale here at the san mateo coast line. i see it organized band of rain here at 7 ree along this

. >> all the praise goes to solomon northrup. those are his words.nd steve mcqueen reminded us once again that slavery is not yet a thing of the past. >> everyone -- everyone deserves not just to survive but to live. this is the most important legacy of solomon northup. i dedicate this award to all the people who have endured slavery. and the 21 million people who still suffer slavery today. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >>> last week at the united nations i moderated a discussion of the now oscar-winning film "12 years a slave" with director steve mcqueen. immediately after the film was shown secretary-general of the united nations ban ki moon said it had left him speechless. steve mcqueen and i then began our discussion. and since the u.n. doesn't do this sort of thing every night, there was a brief technical problem that you will see where the lights were briefly dimmed. here is some of my discussion at the u.n. with steve mcqueen. >> you were on the united nations blog, "slavery is a huge hole in the canvas of