The butler the butler full title lee daniels the butler is a 20 american historical drama film directed and produced by lee daniels and written by danny strong. The story is told in a chronological order, so that the viewer gets to see the world changing, particularly for african americans through the eyes of this butler. The butler 20, directed and produced by lee daniels. The true story behind lee daniels the butler video. On the set of lee daniels the butler, oprah talks with washington post reporter wil haygood about eugene allen, the real white house butler whose incredible story inspired the movie.
The life of a white house butler who served under eight presidents unfolds against a backdrop of unparalleled change in american history. The life of that man, eugene allen, is the basis for lee daniels the butler, which debuts in theaters this weekend. Lee daniels to make movie musical based on his own life this article is more than 3 years old the director of precious, the butler and the tv series empire is at work on a film with original songs. Lee daniels the butler has been in theaters for several weeks now, but it continues to spark debate about its perspective on a seismic period in african american history. Lee daniels the butler benefits from a kairos moment. Knowing what his mindset was and the story he wanted to tell, i can respect his directing decisions in that film much more and i make an exception and appreciate this forward. His story is loosely based on the life of eugene allen, a white house butler who died in 2010. Based on the life story of longserving white house butler eugene allen, lee daniels the butler was one of 20s mostsuccessful movies, winning raves from critics and drawing big boxoffice. The incredible cast includes forest whitaker, oprah winfrey, jane fonda, john cusack, robin williams, alan rickman, james. Two approaches to subverting racism in 1960s america show up in one particular sequence in lee daniels the butler. The character of cecil gaines is loosely based off of eugene allen. In lee daniels the butler, cecil gaines gets his dream job, working at the white house, and the very first time he walks into the oval office, he.
Daniels explains to the reading audience why he made the changes he did that caused lee daniels the butler to deviate so much from eugene allens life. Lee daniels the butler has already drawn comparisons to forrest gump, as its protagonist, white house butler cecil gaines forest whitaker, whose story is based on that of reallife washington post profile subject eugene allen, serves as audience proxy as he witnesses u. So loosely based, in fact, that its hard to determine which parts of the story are based on allens real life and which parts are added for dramatic effect. Lee daniels to make movie musical based on his own life. Lee daniels the butler white house historical association. Lee daniels, who directed the butler, also made precious, but the style and scope of this film is different. Based on a true story, lee daniels precious directs a stellar ensemble cast who between them have garnered 18 academy award nominations. A woman is raped off screen and a man is shot in the head in front of his young child. To help the set designers recreate the white house across multiple presidencies, the white house historical association provided images for set decoration and assisted with research inquiries. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books.
Based on the incredible life of white house butler eugene allen, lee daniels the butler offers a portrait of an extraordinary man who served eight presidents. While the movie the butler is set against historical events, the title. Lee daniels the butler is a fiction film based on the life of eugene allen, an african american who worked in the white house for 34 years, from the administration of president harry. The butler full title lee daniels the butler is a 20 american historical drama film directed and coproduced by lee daniels and with a screenplay by danny strong. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept american society during this time, from the civil rights movement to vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this mans life and family. The film is based on the true story of eugene allen, an africanamerican butler who served eight different presidents over the course of a 34year career. Lets stop calling lee daniels the butler the new forrest. It is inspired by wil haygood s washington post article a butler well served by this election. The film is based on the true story of eugene allen, an africanamerican butler who served eight. Lee daniels the butler follows cecil gaines, a white house butler, during seven united states presidents.
Lee danielss the butler is a filmashistorytextbook. How lee daniels made the butler his own filmmaker magazine. More historical pageant than drama, lee daniels the butler takes the forrest gump approach to another corner of american history, filtering the. The butler tells the story of a white house butler who served eight american presidents over three decades. Lee daniels has 14 books on goodreads with 243 ratings.
Forest whitaker stars in director lee daniels new orleansshot historical drama the butler, based on the reallife story of a white house butler who served eight presidential administrations. Parents need to know that lee daniels the butler is a sweeping look at the history of africanamerican life in the united states, as witnessed by a black butler forest whitaker who spent three decades working in the white house. With a foreword by the academy award nominated director lee daniels, the butler not only explores allens life and service to eight american presidents, from truman to reagan, but also includes an essay, in the vein of james baldwins jewel the devil finds work, that explores the history of black images on celluloid and in hollywood, and fiftyseven pictures of eugene allen, his family, the presidents he served, and the remarkable cast of the movie. A witness to history, oscarnominated director lee daniels discusses the reallife story that made him want to direct the film adaptation. Inspiring if not inspired, lee daniels the butler is a sort of readers digest overview of the 20th century american civil rights movement centered on an ordinary individual with an extraordinary. The butler 20, directed and produced by lee daniels the history of the united states of america owes an enormous part of its fa me not only to the civil rights movement, but also to the presi. Lee daniels the butler on dvd january 14, 2014 starring oprah winfrey, david oyelowo, john cusack, forest whitaker. As cecil gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the white house, the civil rights movement, vietnam, and other major events affect this mans life, family, and american society. The story of allens life is being released for the big screen by the weinstein company and its titled lee daniels the butler after the weinstein company and warner bros. Lee daniels the butler, which opens friday, is loosely based on the life of eugene allen, a butler at the white house for 34 years and through eight administrations. Rather than being a feat of smallscale naturalism, the butler is the kind of movie. Two biographers of ronald reagan are criticizing lee daniels the butler for what they say is an inaccurate portrayal, slamming what they call an insinuation that the 40 th president was.
With forest whitaker, oprah winfrey, john cusack, jane fonda. Based on the newberywinning childrens books, this animated film follows a young boy who runs away to an island to. Gaines had a front row view to key moments in americas history. Lee daniels the butler is based on a true story of an african american butler cecil gaines portrayed by forest whitaker who worked at the white house for three decades serving. Lee daniels the butler this sprawling, highly fictional biopic of longtime white house butler eugene allen is at once gratuitously sentimental and genuinely rousing. Learn more about eugenes life, including what happened after his career in the white house. The following breakdown is based on haygoods profile and the accompanying book. From guggenheim and national endowment for the humanities fellow wil haygood comes a mesmerizing inquiry into the life of eugene allen, the butler who ignited a nations imagination and inspired a major motion picture. Lee daniels the butler is the story of an african american man who becomes the white house butler during the eisenhower years and serves through the reagan administration. Everything you need to know about lee daniels the butler. The butler is inspired by wil haygoods washington post article about an africanamerican man who served as a butler forest whitaker to. In the last week or so, lee daniels the butler based on the true story of an africanamerican white house butler who waits on eight different presidents during his 34year tenure has. The film focuses on african american historical events, with special concentration on the civil rights era. Lee daniels the butler is rated pg by the mpaa for some violence and disturbing images, language, sexual material, thematic elements and smoking violence.
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