1-20 of 37 items from 2013 « Prev | Next »
13 May 2013 8:00 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »
The trailer boasts a large cast and already has many pegging Oprah Winfrey for her second Oscar nomination and with that buzz, The Weinstein Co. has dated Lee Daniels' The Butler for an August 16 release date. The move gives it a prime, early position in this year's Oscar race and likely means it will enjoy a Toronto premiere, which is where the Weinsteins kicked things off with Silver Linings Playbook last year. The Butler stars Forest Whitaker as Eugene Allen, the White House butler whose career started with Harry Truman in 1952 and ended in 1986 with Ronald Reagan. The film is based on a Washington Post report by Wil Haygood. As I already mentioned, the film co-stars Oprah Winfrey as Gloria Gaines and she's joined by David Oyelowo as Louis Gaines, Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan, James Marsden as John F. Kennedy, John Cusack as Richard Nixon, »
- Brad Brevet
11 May 2013 3:51 PM, PDT | Hitfix | See recent Hitfix news »
"The Butler" is preparing to move to August 16. "Precious" director Lee Daniels' all-star historical drama was originally scheduled to be released October 18, in time for awards season, but The Weinstein Company has pushed it up two months, according to Deadline. "Butler" stars Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as Eugene Allen, a White House butler who worked with eight presidents from Eisenhower to Reagan, throughout the Civil Rights movement. The film features an awards-friendly supporting cast, including Oprah Winfrey (Oscar-nominated for "The Color Purple"), Oscar winners Vanessa Redgrave and Cuba Gooding, Jr., Oscar nominee Terrence Howard, and "Precious" vets Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz. The sprawling cast also »
- Dave Lewis
10 May 2013 7:58 PM, PDT | Deadline New York | See recent Deadline New York news »
Exclusive: Looking to stir up a bit of early Oscar buzz, The Weinstein Company has slotted the Lee Daniels-directed The Butler to an August 16 release date. It had been skedded for October 18. That slot has done well for films that include The Help, Julie and Julia and Eat Pray Love, and TWC will hope to follow suit. The film looks at the life of Eugene Allen, who served eight presidents from 1952 to 1986 and had a birds eye view of the Civil Rights movement. He was long retired when Barack Obama became the first African American president, but was invited back for the inauguration. The cast includes Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey and Robin Williams. Here’s the trailer: »
- MIKE FLEMING JR
10 May 2013 8:19 AM, PDT | CineMovie | See recent CineMovie news »
Oprah Winfrey returns to acting in the historical drama The Butler, based on the true story of Eugene Allen as a White House butler during eight presidential terms. The sexy new image and dramatic new movie trailer gives us insight into this star-studded drama.
Oprah Winfrey takes center stage on The Butler first image and in the teaser preview. Directed by Lee Daniels (Precious), Winfrey gets to lock lips with Forest Whitaker as the butler and act opposite Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Mariah Carey and along with some unlikely celebrity faces playing ex-presidents. Robin Williams portrays President Dwight D. Eisenhower, X-Men’s James Marsden as John F. Kennedy with Minka Kelly as his First Lady Jackie Kennedy, Live Schreiber as President Lyndon B. Johnson, John Cusack as President
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9 May 2013 11:35 AM, PDT | PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news »
Oprah's back - on the big screen, that is - in The Butler. Based on the life of Eugene Allen, the White House head butler who served eight presidents during a 34-year career, the film stars Forest Whitaker playing a character called Cecil Gaines. Oprah plays his wife, Gloria Gaines. As shown in the intriguing two-minute, thirty-second trailer, the Own network mogul, 59, shows off the acting chops that once earned her an Oscar nomination, for 1985's The Color Purple. From delivering a dramatic slap to planting a kiss on Whitaker, Winfrey has landed a dynamic role - in her first film since Beloved, »
- Maggie Coughlan
9 May 2013 4:49 AM, PDT | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »
Winfrey cast as the wife of the butler (played by Forest Whitaker) who attended presidents Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view
The debut trailer for Lee Daniels' The Butler, based on the true story of a black man who served eight Us presidents, has hit the web.
Forest Whitaker stars as Cecil Gaines, whose story is based on the real-life White House butler Eugene Allen. Allen served presidents between 1952 and his retirement in 1986, by which time he had risen from a lowly pantry man to the head role, Maître d'.
Daniels' film stars Oprah Winfrey, in her first big screen role since 1998's Beloved, as Gaines's wife, Gloria. Britain's David Oyelowo plays his son, Louis, who becomes a freedom fighter during the civil rights era, a role that brings him into conflict with his father.
Daniels' film also features a heavily garlanded cast, »
- Ben Child
9 May 2013 12:07 AM, PDT | Film-Book | See recent Film-Book news »
The Butler Trailer. Lee Daniels‘ The Butler (2013) movie trailer stars John Cusack, Forest Whitaker, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, and Robin Williams. The Butler‘s plot synopsis: based on the life of Eugene Allen, “The Butler tells the story of a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades. [...]
Continue reading: The Butler (2013) Movie Trailer: Forest Whitaker serves 8 Presidents »
- Rollo Tomasi
8 May 2013 3:55 PM, PDT | Manny the Movie Guy | See recent Manny the Movie Guy news »
Take a look at the new trailer for "The Butler" from director Lee Daniels ("Precious," "Paperboy"). Starring Forest Whitaker as Eugene Allen aka the butler who worked at the White House for 34 years and served the Eisenhower administration all the way to the Reagan presidency. And because of the time span, many famous faces will pop up on the screen ala "Forrest Gump." Oh, and Miss Oprah Winfrey stars as Allen's wife! Will she get an Oscar nod next year? We'll see when the film comes out on Oct. 18th. For now, here's the trailer:
»
- Manny
8 May 2013 3:38 PM, PDT | The Backlot | See recent The Backlot news »
Oprah. Fonda. Robin Williams. Heaven?
The Butler is happening, and it is… serious.
The movie is based on the life of Eugene Allen, a White House butler who served eight different presidents. Forest Whitaker plays the title role, but he’s surrounded by enough starpower to fuel a few hundred Correspondents’ Dinners. Below, I’ve embedded the trailer, but for now let’s rank the 10 Zaniest parts of this damn thing, which is slated for an October release.
10. Robin Williams plays Dwight Eisenhower, and he seems to be made of scrap heaps from Bill Murray‘s underwhelming work in Hyde Park on Hudson as Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
9. Please note that my girl Jane Fonda is pivoting, staring, and thundering in her one-second cameo as the most austere Nancy Reagan of all time.
8. Alex Pettyfer as mad, gun-wielding chap from the butler’s past: Where was this alter ego in Magic Mike? »
- Louis Virtel
8 May 2013 12:40 PM, PDT | EW.com - PopWatch | See recent EW.com - PopWatch news »
In The Butler, Forest Whitaker plays Cecil Gaines, who proudly serves tea at the White House to seven U.S. presidents, Democratic and Republican, while the segregated country he grew up in shudders with inevitable — and often violent — progress. Directed by Lee Daniels (Precious) and co-starring Oprah Winfrey as Gaines’ beloved wife, The Butler is based on the true story of Eugene Allen, who came to the White House in 1952 and became a favorite of many of the first families who called 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home.
The film is loaded with famous faces, and the historical icons they’re playing makes »
- Jeff Labrecque
8 May 2013 9:54 AM, PDT | Thompson on Hollywood | See recent Thompson on Hollywood news »
While it won't be going to Cannes this year, Lee Daniels' "The Butler" (October 18) now has an official Weinstein Co. trailer. Starring Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Alex Pettyfer, Robin Williams and Melissa Leo -- among many other stellar cast members -- "The Butler" is a look at the life of Eugene Allen (Whitaker), head butler at the White House from 1952 to 1986, as he becomes embroiled in political and racial history. "Butler" is the follow-up to Daniels' hothouse southern flop "The Paperboy," which premiered at Cannes last year. Before that he was nominated for two Oscars for "Precious" (2009) and he produced Marc Forster's "Monster's Ball" (2001), which earned Halle Berry the first African American Best Actress Oscar. Daniels reunites with "Paperboy" star John Cusack in "The Butler." Read our Toh interview with producer Pam Williams, who fought hard to take Laura Ziskin's vision of the film to the finish »
- Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio
8 May 2013 8:21 AM, PDT | Cineplex | See recent Cineplex news »
Lee Daniels has only directed four movies but the release of each has been met with plenty of press, heated discussion and scrutiny because he often goes for controversial subjects like race, poverty, inequality and dares to explore and expose ugly pockets of American society.
But with The Butler, Daniels has taken a decidedly feel-good turn, according to the string accompaniment and soft-focus effects, as we're introduced to White House butler Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), based on real-life butler Eugene Allen who ended up serving eight presidents and served as a beacon of pride and a matter of debate during his tenure as racial politics were being played out all around him.
Take a look for yourself at the first Oscar-y trailer, after the jump. »
- Andrea Miller
8 May 2013 8:09 AM, PDT | NextMovie | See recent NextMovie news »
If there was ever a more ambitious film than "The Butler," we have yet to discover it.
"Precious" director Lee Daniels efforts to recapitulate — through the real-life eyes of a lone, stolid White House butler — pretty much the entire twentieth century as it related to the American Civil Rights Movement. With a cast list that reads like a flat-out roll call for the Walk of Fame, Daniels presents the working life of Cecil Gaines (real name: Eugene Allen), a man who served eight consecutive U.S. presidents during his career and witnessed history being made first-hand.
The first trailer for "The Butler" has now been released, and boy oh boy are we impressed with all the acute caricaturing going down here ... and all the feels we feel.
Forest Whitaker leads the cast as the apolitical Mr. Gaines, a man whose directive is to ghost around the Capitol without putting in »
- Amanda Bell
8 May 2013 7:45 AM, PDT | Vulture | See recent Vulture news »
It's been a long time coming, but there is finally a trailer for The Butler, Lee Daniels's presumably urination-free follow-up to The Paperboy. After weeks of unsatisfying hints, we can finally see footage of everyone doing their best famous-people impressions (Robin Williams's Eisenhower! John Cusack's Nixon! James Marsden's JFK!) Out October 18, The Butler is about the life of former White House butler Eugene Allen (Forest Whitaker) and is based on a 2008 piece from the Washington Post. You know the movie's gotta be good (or bad-good, at least) if they've got Mariah Carey on the cast list and she's not even in the trailer. »
- Lindsey Weber
8 May 2013 7:27 AM, PDT | ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news »
Eugene Allen spent 34 years working as a caretaker at the White House beginning in 1952; by the time Allen retired in 1986, he had served as the butler for a total of seven sitting U.S. presidents, starting with Dwight D. Eisenhower and ending on Ronald Reagan. This fall’s awards-bait release, The Butler, is a dramatization of his experiences, with Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker (The Last Stand) headlining as the eponymous protagonist inspired by Allen, who has been re-named Cecil Gaines in the film biopic.
Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo (Jack Reacher) costar as Gaines’ wife and his son, who find themselves at odds about their approach to social upheaval – the passive resistance favored by Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. versus more aggressive tactics preferred by organizations like the Black Panthers – and whether Cecil is part of the problem ...
Click to continue reading ‘The Butler’ Trailer Offers A Different Perspective on U. »
- Sandy Schaefer
8 May 2013 7:27 AM, PDT | Gold Derby | See recent Gold Derby news »
The first trailer for "The Butler" has just been released and showcases the pedigree of this project. Director Lee Daniels ("Precious") was inspired by the life of Eugene Allen, who worked at the White House for 34 years, rising from pantry man to head butler. Emmy champ Danny Strong ("Gmae Change") scripted this fictional version of his story. Oscar champ Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland," 2006) plays the title role while one-time Academy Award nominee Oprah Winfrey returns to the screen after a 15-year absence in the role of his wife. Among those playing the presidents and first ladies are Oscar champs Robin Williams ("Good Will Hunting," 1996) as Dwight Eisenhower, Melissa Leo ("The Fighter," 2010) as his wife Mamie and Jane Fonda ("Klute," 1971; "Coming Home," 1978) as Nancy Reagan. 1996 Supporting Actor winner Cuba Gooding Jr. ("Jerry Maguire&quo »
8 May 2013 6:48 AM, PDT | Huffington Post | See recent Huffington Post news »
Fans of Lee Daniels' arch, salacious work on past films like "Precious" and "The Paperboy" might be disappointed in "The Butler."
"I can't go into my bag of tricks on this one," Daniels told THR back in January. "No urination, no baby falling down the stairs, no cursing at all. We only have one 'f--k,' which Lyndon Johnson gets. I felt like I directed the film in handcuffs and a muzzle."
Judge that for yourself by watching the first trailer for "The Butler." The film focuses on Eugene Allen (Forest Whitaker) a service worker who was employed at the White House for 34 years, from the Eisenhower administration through Ronald Reagan's presidency. The time frame gives Daniels a chance to turn "The Butler" into a sprawling, "Forrest Gump"-like tour of history, with famous faces popping up all over the place as former presidents. (Of particular interest: John »
- Christopher Rosen
8 May 2013 6:22 AM, PDT | We Got This Covered | See recent We Got This Covered news »
As Oscar season appears on a, err…distant horizon, The Weinstein Company are revving up one of their main contenders, The Butler. In the last year, set photos of various cast members suited, booted and dressed up to the nines in prosthetics have landed, showcasing the film’s mammoth scale. Today, Lee Daniels’ upcoming historical drama now has its first trailer online, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies.
There are few surprises in the first trailer. It’s littered with character-affirming aphorisms cut together with action depicting specific presidential epochs. Footage of every president that butler Eugene Allen served makes for a good indication of the calibre of acting talent attached. There’s no doubt that at least one cast member will receive an Oscar nod. Oprah Winfrey as his wife dishes out a damn good slap which could seal the deal for her.
Inspired by a Washington Post article written by Wil Haygood, »
- Gem Seddon
8 May 2013 6:00 AM, PDT | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »
When Lee Daniels signed on to direct The Butler, it was unclear how Wil Haygood’s “Washington Post” article would be converted into cinematic storytelling. There was a lot of room for maneuvering. Although deft and interesting, there are about a dozen different tones that could emerge from the profile of White House butler Eugene Allen — who served eight presidents from Truman to Reagan and is played here by Forest Whitaker. Judging from the trailer, Daniels and screenwriter Danny Strong swung for the fences. It’ll be fascinating to see how they’ve packed so many trenchant, racially-charged years of American history into an intimately human story. Allen was born in 1919 and would live to see Barack Obama elected president. That’s not merely a lot of time to cover; considering the loaded symbolism, the people who sat behind the Resolute desk while Allen was stacking champagne, and his rich personal struggle with the paperwork behind shuffled »
- Scott Beggs
8 May 2013 5:00 AM, PDT | firstshowing.net | See recent FirstShowing.net news »
"Everything you are, and everything you have, is because of that butler." The first trailer has debuted for Lee Daniels' new film The Butler starring Forest Whitaker as Eugene Allen, who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler. As the latest follow-up to Lee Daniels' Oscar-winning Precious and his southern Gothic film The Paperboy, this is expected to be Oscar bait. It has quite a supporting cast to boot, with actors like Robin Williams, John Cusack, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber and Alan Rickman playing various Presidents. Even Oprah has a role, along with Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo and Lenny Kravitz. I'm not sure what to make of this, it's a very melodramatic trailer but doesn't look terrible. Here's the first official trailer for Lee Daniels' The Butler, originally from Yahoo: The Butler, directed by Lee Daniels from a script by Danny Strong, stars Oscar »
- Alex Billington
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