we'll talk with the "washington post"'s wil haygood about how his reporting helped birth the box office bonanza. i'm eric deggans and this is "reliable sources." on saturday, the national mall hosted thousands commemorating the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. the event, organized in part by activists and msnbc host al sharpton drew intense news coverage as it did 50 years ago, when the reporters on the scene shaped the way the nation would understand the civil rights movement. dab rather was a young reporter at cbs news back then, assigned to cover the movement. >> governor wallace is now walking away from the door, apparent recapitulating now in his battle against the united states government to prevent two negro students from entering the previously all-white university of alabama. >> i spoke earlier with dan rather in new york city. dan rather, welcome to "reliable sources." >> glad to be here. thank you for having me. >> now, of course you're known as the former anchor of the "cbs evening news" and now the current anchor of "dan rather reports" on axis tv but your first

the writer of that article, wil haygood joins us now.so the author of the new book "the butler: a witness to history." ronald reagan knew eugene allen from his father's white house years. wil, i remember that tremendous column you wrote. i think we all do. how did you first get on to the story? >> i had wanted to find somebody who worked in the white house during the era of segregation because i thought that then senator obama was going to win. i just felt it in my gut. and so i launched a nationwide search, looking for someone, and someone down in florida told me about this man who they thought had served in three administrations. when i finally tracked down mr. allen after 57 phone calls, he let me know very clearly and very pridefully that he had actually worked for eight administrations. >> wow. i know so many of us are anxious to go out this weekend and see the movie. how loyal is it to the real story? >> i think that the arc of the movie certainly gets mr. allen beautifully. but of course hollywood, the great director lee daniels,

. >> wil haygood, congratulations.ple of days after the election, we should point out that the butler's wife didn't live to see the election of president obama. and they had made plans as you pointed out in that piece to go and to vote together. it with us the sort of thing i can remember sharing with friends. thanks for finding the story and now being in a position to be able to bring to it the big screen. we're all looking forward to seeing it. thank you both. >> thank you very much. >> wil haygood and ronald reagan. we'll come back to "hardball" right after this. here's lots ofs you can get cash back. i'm here to help you get the most out of your cash rewards. it's personalized, and it's free. i want that. we have a concierge! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with cashback concierge. i save time, money,st, and i avoid frustration. you'll find reviews on home repair to healthcare, written by people just like you. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's