He struck gold when he tracked down eugene allen, a butler who had served no. A witness to history haygood, wil, daniels, lee on. Eugene allen was a remarkable man, and i am happy and grateful that wil haygood had the passion and perseverance to find him and to bring his story to life in his article and through this book, which expands the story. 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. Lee daniels the butler as its being called because of a. The butler book by wil haygood, lee daniels official publisher. You can read more about eugene allen in this washington post article, entitled a. Its a course correction for the overthetop daniels, but history and the butler may have been better served by the passion of. Lee daniels directs forest whitaker and oprah winfrey who portray husband and wife cecil and gloria gaines. 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, the highly anticipated film that stars six oscar winners, including forest whitaker, oprah winfrey honorary and nominee, jane fon.
Aug 16, 20 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. 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. In 2009 fonda returned to broadway, after a 46year absence, to portray a dying musicologist in 33 variations. Lee daniels the butler by meghan okeefe jun 16, 2015 lee daniels the butler tells the story of a white house butler who saw the history of the civil rights movement and the history of. During the presidencies of harry truman to ronald reagan, eugene allen was a butler in the most famous of.
A witness to history atlantic county library system. Working from the true story of eugene allens rise from field hand to longstanding white house butler, daniels and screenwriter danny strong attempt to forrest gump africanamerican history. It is his book that gave lee daniels the idea for the movie the butler. Lee daniels the butler is the kind of oldfashioned oscar bait that academy members are drawn to. Born the son of cotton pickers in early 20thcentury georgia, cecil witnesses his fathers execution at the hand of his remorseless young boss and is then brought into the plantation house and taught how to be a domestic servant. Watch lee daniels the butler online stream full movie.
The butler 20 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. With forest whitaker, oprah winfrey, john cusack, jane fonda. L ee 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. Aug 15, 20 it is now the basis for lee daniels the butler. Mar 27, 2016 last night i decided to watch lee daniels the butler on netflix. A witness to history wil haygood, david oyelowo, forest whitaker, oprah winfrey, lee daniels isbn. Aug 15, 20 forest whitaker stars as white house butler cecil gaines in the new film lee daniels the butler. Rather than being a feat of smallscale naturalism, the butler is the kind of movie. Last night i decided to watch lee daniels the butler on netflix. A witness to history by wil haygood washington post.
Since the movie chronicles the history of the civil rights movement, there are many scenes that portray hate crimes like two lynched men hanging from a tree. Lee daniels has 14 books on goodreads with 243 ratings. The butler is a 20 american historical drama film directed and coproduced by lee daniels and with a screenplay by danny strong. Jan 22, 2014 the butler who hired lee daniels butler indy published 9. Aug 17, 20 lee daniels the butler stars forrest whitaker as the main character, cecil gaines, a butler at the white house that migrated to washington, dc from the cotton fields of macon, ga. What looks like passive obliviousness is just a black man playing one of the only roles that granted him upward mobility in the 20th century, the unquestioning servant. He produced monsters ball and directed precious, which received six oscar nominations, including best director. This mesmerizing companion book to the awardwinning film the butler traces the civil rights movement and explores crucial moments of twentieth century.
Lee daniels the butler 610 movie clip change of heart 20 hd duration. This mesmerizing companion book to the awardwinning film the butler traces. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept american society during. A witness to history, oscarnominated director lee daniels discusses the reallife story that made him want to direct the film adaptation. 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.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the butler. Watch lee daniels the butler starring forest whitaker in this drama on directv. The movie is based on reallife white house butler eugene allen, who worked in the white house under eight presidents, coming of age during segregation and living to see a black man be elected to the white. Lee daniels the butler white house historical association. It is inspired by wil haygood s washington post article a butler well served by this election. After leaving the south as a young man and finding employment at an elite hotel in washington, d. Books by lee daniels author of goat herding for beginners. This is a movie that we had talked about on the freedom tour of the south and i had been waiting for the chance to finally watch it.
However, it also chronicled the burgeoning movements of the civil rights era that were taken across the united states. 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. While the movie the butler is set against historical events, the title character and his family are fictionalized. Wil haygood details the life of gene allen, a black butler who worked in. Oprah winfrey and the cast of lee daniels the butler he added. Shortly after barack obamas 2008 election, the washington post published a story about eugene allen, a black butler who worked in the white house from the truman to the reagan administrations, played golf with ford, and saw a great deal of history unfold along the way. This mesmerizing companion book to the awardwinning film the butler traces the civil rights movement and explores crucial moments of twentieth century american history through the eyes of eugene allena white house butler who served eight presidents over the course of thirtyfour years. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. When i got older, i knew i had to go before he killed me too.
In the immediate years before reagan became president, 11 countries from the third world, from asia to africa to latin. Other articles where lee daniels the butler is discussed. Aug 16, 20 lee daniels the butler hits theaters nationwide today. 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. Lee louis daniels born december 24, 1959 is an american film and television writer, director, and producer.
With a foreword by the academy award nominated director lee daniels, the. The butler, by lee daniels, focuses on the gaines family and its interaction with the various presidential families that the main character served in his time as the white house butler. In lee daniels the butler, cecil gaines forest whitaker tells the story of his remarkable life. Aug 16, 20 lee daniels, who directed the butler, also made precious, but the style and scope of this film is different. Aug 07, 20 it is his book that gave lee daniels the idea for the movie the butler. 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. The book analyzes movies, television, and popular music to rethink the liberal views of democracy, equality, racism, dissent, and animal rights in the bushobama era. Further ratcheting up the weinstein companys campaign to force warner bros.
Lee daniels the butler by lee daniels forest whitaker. Lee daniels tried to get me to play a serial killer video interview why i wont be watching the butler and 12 years a slave orville lloyd douglas. However, unlike some cynical attempts to court favor with the hollywood elite, its solidly crafted, strongly acted, and most excitingly it shows that daniels has evolved as a director. The butler who hired lee daniels butler indy published 9. Lee daniels the butler is a biographical drama depicting the story of cecil gaines, a man who escaped a life of slavery and oppression to serve for eight presidents as a butler in the white house. Cecil serving throughout the household as we dissolve from 8 year old cecil to 15 year old cecil. 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.
A witness to history, a book by haygood published to accompany the film, the movie is set. He served 8 presidential administrators as a butler in the white house and was married to the lovely helene allen. Lee daniels has had a consistent track record of pulling together some of hollywoods biggest names to star in his feature films. Lee daniels the butler hits theaters nationwide today. Lee daniels the butler is loosely based on the life of eugene allen. The movie also start oprah winfrey, cuba gooding jr. Lee danielss the butler is a filmashistorytextbook. 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. Lee daniels the butler, the highly anticipated film that stars six oscar winners. Lee daniels the butler film by daniels 20 britannica. 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.
The film focuses on african american historical events, with special concentration on the civil rights era. 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 finds president dwight eisenhower in a deep. Overall i thought it was an excellent movie packed with emotion and. Gaines has been taught that, as a butler, his job is to remain unnoticed and that when he. Ship this item qualifies for free shipping buy online, pick up in store check availability at nearby stores. Lee daniels the butler this sprawling, highly fictional biopic of longtime white house butler eugene allen is at once gratuitously sentimental and genuinely rousing. Forest whitaker stars as white house butler cecil gaines in the new film lee daniels the butler. Overall i thought it was an excellent movie packed with emotion and history.
Lee daniels opens up on filming the paperboy, the butler. It caught the attention of writer danny strong and director lee daniels, and the film lee daniels the butler so. A witness to history kindle edition by haygood, wil, daniels, lee. Jun 22, 2016 lee daniels the butler 610 movie clip change of heart 20 hd duration. The butler book by wil haygood, lee daniels official. Loosely based on the real life of eugene allen, who worked in the white house. Lee daniels the butler, the highly anticipated film that stars six oscar winners, including forest whitaker, oprah winfrey honorary and nominee, jane fonda, cuba gooding. The film is based on the true story of eugene allen, an africanamerican butler who served eight. In 2012, daniels directed the butler, a historical fiction drama featuring an ensemble cast. 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. She also had a recurring role on the television drama the newsroom 201214. Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of 20th century america, academy award nominated director lee daniels precious epic drama lee daniels the butler tells the story of cecil gaines forest whitaker, an african american butler who serves at the white house during seven presidential administrations between 1957 and 1986. Its available to watch on tv, online, tablets, phone.