“ selma , ” and david oyelowo as king , and directed by ava duvernay , is the first film to break that logjam .
film rights to king ’s speeches have been licensed to steven spielberg .
over the years , several king movie projects have been started , stalled and stopped , either because a filmmaker got cold feet or king ’s family — which controls the rights to his life story and speeches — did n’t agree to make them available .
selma director ava duvernay may well have taken more license than artistically necessary in the confrontational scenes between martin luther king jr. and president johnson .
for the first time in the 50 years since martin luther king jr. led the civil rights movement , a feature film is being devoted to a pivotal chapter in the historic struggle , with king at its center .
the film — and has affected many other films and books before it .
critics and audiences are lavishing it with praise , but it could have been an even more meaningful film if its producers had n’t been blocked by the king estate — represented by a for - profit company , king , inc. — from using words from king ’s speeches , including “ i have a dream .
but inaccuracies in other significant parts of the film were forced upon duvernay by copyright law .
king , inc. , is controlled by king ’s surviving children and holds the copyright to king ’s speeches .