[36][37] The film has grossed $116.6 million in Canada and the United States, it earned $51.1 million elsewhere, for a total of $167.7 million. Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s. (Absolutely no pun intended here) Don't let me give you the wrong impression about The BUTLER. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. While working there, Cecil meets and marries Gloria, and the couple has two sons: Louis and Charlie. [39], Todd McCarthy praised the film saying, "Even with all contrivances and obvious point-making and familiar historical signposting, Daniels' The Butler is always engaging, often entertaining and certainly never dull. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. When the farm's owner rapes his mother, Hattie, his father, Earl confronts him and is killed. Cecil learns advanced serving and interpersonal skills from Maynard, who later recommends Cecil for a position in a Washington, D.C. hotel. [34][35] The film topped the North American box office in its first three consecutive weeks. The film was theatrically released by the Weinstein Company on August 16, 2013, to mostly positive reviews from critics, with many praising the cast but criticizing the historical accuracy, particularly the portrayal of President Reagan. native Walker joins The Butler cast", "Two-time Oscar-nominee talks about his latest film Lee Daniels' 'The Butler, "Lee Daniels pleads with Warner Bros to retain title of The Butler", "No, President Obama isn't doing a cameo in 'The Butler, "New Look at 'The Butler' as the Weinstein Co. Picks It Up for Distribution", "Columbia tells White House butler story", "Harvey Weinstein Has Already Won 'The Butler' Battle (Opinion)", "TOLDJA! “This is a good program and a way to help needy people,” said Butler County Pork Producers President Kent Debner, a producer from Greene. In 1926, at the age of seven, Gaines is raised on a cotton plantation in Macon, Georgia. [2], The Butler received mostly positive reviews from critics, with a 72% rating on the film critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 194 reviews with an average score of 6.59/10. So the panopoly of producers on The Butler also speaks to the difficulty of bringing stories about black people to the screen. With President Ronald Reagan's support, Cecil prevails, his reputation growing to the point that he and his wife are invited by the Reagans to be guests at a state dinner. That's right — "Lee Daniels' The Butler" has 39 credited producers to its name, and it isn't just Lee Daniels 39 times. Films about Presidents of the United States, Films based on newspaper and magazine articles, United States presidential succession in fiction, Articles with dead external links from June 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, Forest Whitaker, Robin Williams, and Oprah Winfrey, This page was last edited on 8 January 2021, at 02:28. At the heart of this remarkable film, is a tale of a great generational divide between estranged father and first-born son; redemption, change, forgiveness, repentance and catharsis are also pivotal elements in this "Inspired by a True Story" drama painted on a historical backdrop canvass.Although The BUTLER does highlight the tremendous progress our society has made in the past century toward fulfillment of Dr. Martin Luther King's "Dream", obviously, there is an undercurrent underscoring the fact that this area is one that involves constant self-reinvention to ensure continued improvement.There are multiple noteworthy elements here. Cecil becomes uncomfortable with the class divisions in the White House. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Another "The Butler Review", New York Tribune, 2013. "[57], 2013 American historical drama film by Lee Daniels. The Producers is a 1967 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Mel Brooks and starring Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn, and Kenneth Mars.The film is about a theater producer and his accountant who, as part of a scam, have to stage the worst stage musical they can create. The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s. In the movie, Cecil Gaines grows up on a cotton field in Macon, where his family comes into conflict with the white farmers for whom they work. [31] On July 23, 2013, the distributor unveiled a revised poster, displaying the title as Lee Daniels' The Butler. [28][29], The film's title was up for a possible rename due to a Motion Picture Association of America claim from Warner Bros., which had inherited from the defunct Lubin Company a now-lost 1916 silent short film with the same name. Was this review helpful to you? 5:00 AM PDT 8/14/2013 by Pamela McClintock ... A complex arrangement has led to 41 producers and executive producers … Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, "Why 'Lee Daniels' The Butler' Has 41 Producers", "MPAA permits Weinstein Co. to use 'Lee Daniels' 'The Butler' title", "The Butler trailer: Oprah Winfrey in the White House", "Trailer for 'The Butler,' based on life of the White House's Eugene Allen", "UPDATE: David Boies Charges Extortion As He Returns Fire In 'The Butler' Spat Between Warner Bros And The Weinstein Company Directly", "The Butler to be re-titled – but only slightly – following dispute over name", "Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) - Box Office Mojo", "Fame comes second for Evanston actor starring in 'The Butler, "N.O. 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