Lee Daniels' The Butler

Lee Daniels' The Butler is an American historical drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels and written by Danny Strong. The film was inspired by Wil Haygood's Washington Post article “A Butler Well Served by This Election” and is loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen, who worked in the White House for decades.

Lee Daniels' The Butler stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, an African-American who is a witness of notable political and social events of the 20th century during his 34-year tenure serving as a White House butler. In addition to Whitaker, the film's all-star cast also features Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Nelsan Ellis, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Elijah Kelley, Lenny Kravitz, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, Robin Williams, and Clarence Williams III.

The film was theatrically released on August 16, 2013, topping the North American box office in its first three consecutive weeks and grossing over $176 million worldwide.

Lee Daniels' The Butler
Artwork
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Publicity Material
Lee Daniels' The Butler by Anne Marie Fox
Film Stills
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Photos
Press Conference
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Photos
Movie Premiere
Lee Daniels' The Butler by Lee Daniels
Trailer

Synopsis

Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of 20th century America, Academy Award® nominated director Lee Daniels' 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.

Inspired by Wil Haygood's 2008 Washington Post article “A Butler Well Served by This Election” about the real life of former White House butler Eugene Allen, Lee Daniels' The Butler traces the dramatic civil rights struggles that ultimately made it possible for an African American to rise to the highest position in the White House with the election of Barack Obama in 2008.

Opening in the fiercely segregated South in 1926, young Cecil Gaines works with his family in the cotton fields of Macon, GA. The tragic death of his father at the hands of his employer opens up unexpected opportunities for a young and impressionable Cecil, who is then taught the duties of a house servant under the critical eye of the plantation's white matriarch. Armed with these new skills and concerned for his own life, Cecil sets out for a better life as a young man.

Struggling outside of the confines of the plantation, an act of desperation introduces Cecil to a much-needed father figure, who provides guidance and a job at a local hotel. Thriving under his tutelage, Cecil is encouraged to move to Washington, DC, to take a position at an elite hotel. Excelling there, Cecil is noticed by a White House administrator, who gives him the chance of a lifetime: a job as a butler at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, insuring a comfortable middle-class life for Cecil's wife Gloria (Oscar® nominee Oprah Winfrey) and sons Louis (David Oyelowo) and Charlie (Elijah Kelley), far from the cotton fields of the South.

While Presidents come and go, from Eisenhower through Reagan, Cecil and the rest of the butler staff remain, serving in the background as firsthand but silent witnesses to history and the inner workings of the Oval Office while the civil rights movement unfolds. Regardless of his personal opinions, Cecil remains fiercely committed to his duties at the White House, but tensions grow at home as his sons become affected by the social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s and 70s. Louis chooses to attend college in the South so that he may become an active part of the burgeoning civil rights movement, participating in department store sit-ins and freedom rides — putting him in physical danger and widening his rift with Cecil. Charlie instead elects to work for change from within, enlisting to fight for his country in Vietnam. Facing these disruptions to her family, as well as Cecil's neglect as he tends to his First Family, Gloria turns to alcohol and the embrace of a neighbor. As he grapples with his family's actions and his own conscience, Cecil finds himself at the crossroads of previously unimaginable social change.

Through the eyes and emotions of the Gaines family, Daniels' film follows the changing tides of American politics and race relations; from the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, to the Freedom Riders and Black Panther movements, to the war in Vietnam and the Watergate scandal, Cecil experiences the effects of these events as both an insider and a family man. Drawn into conflict with his headstrong sons, eager to forge their own paths in a rapidly transforming world, Cecil's story is as universal as it is extraordinary, speaking to the way each generation attempts to define the American Dream.

With an incredible supporting cast that includes Yaya Alafia, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Elijah Kelley, Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, James Marsden, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber and Robin Williams, Lee Daniels' The Butler is a story about the resilience of one man, the growth of a nation, and the power of family.

Cast

Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
John Cusack
John Cusack
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey