Lee Daniel’s The Paperboy debuted at Cannes, but it’s only now we’re getting a trailer, ahead of its US release in October (no UK date is yet set). The film is about a directionless young man (Zac Efron) who helps his reporter brother (Matthew McConaughey) investigate the possible wrongful conviction of a man on death row (John Cusack), and in the process, falls for the woman whom the convict has been romancing through prison correspondence. It should be out later this year. And as promised in the title of those post, Zac Efron dances in his undies (and therefore it perhaps shouldn’t be too surprising that Lee Daniels is gay).
Hugh Jackman & Lee Daniels Team For Orders to Kill
Hugh Jackman and openly gay director Lee Daniels (Precious) tried to team up last year for a civil rights march drama, but that fell through due to lack of funding. Now they’re trying again, once more for a project about the civil rights struggle.
They’re both up for an upcoming adaptation of William F. Pepper’s nonfiction book Orders to Kill. The book follows the story of William F. Pepper (Hugh Jackman), an attorney and activist who argued that James Earl Ray did not shoot Martin Luther King. The movie will focus on the years that the writer started a campaign to prove that the US government was behind the murder. He believes that the government wanted Martin Luther King dead, due to his open opposition to the Vietnam War.
The script is being written by Hanna Weg, although there’s no news when it might shoot, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one had difficulty finding funding too. (Source: LA Times)
Liev Schreiber Joins The Butler As Lyndon B. Johnson
There are going to be an awful lot of US Presidents in The Butler, as it’s about a man who served eight of them working in the White House. The likes of John Cusack (Richard Nixon), Alan Rickman (Ronald Reagan), James Marsden (JFK), and Robin Williams (Dwight D Eisenhower) are already onboard, and now they’ve been joined by Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson, according to Deadline.
The movie is a biopic about longtime White House butler, Eugene Allen (Forest Whitaker), began his White House employment in 1952, under President Harry S. Truman, and retired in 1986, during President Ronald Reagan’s second term in office. In that time the African American rose through the ranks and was there as the Civil Rights struggle played out in the halls of power.
Jane Fonda, Minka Kelly, David Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey Melissa Leo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Cuba Gooding Jr, Elijah Kelly, Jesse Williams, Mariah Carey and more are also set to star. Lee Daniels will direct from a script by Danny Strong.
Robin Williams Joins The Butler As Dwight Eisenhower
As The Butler is about a man who served eight US Presidents, there are plenty of roles to cast of former leaders of the free world. Now the movie has got another one, as Robin Williams has signed up for gay director Lee Daniels’ film, playing Dwight Eisenhower, according to Variety.
The movie is a biopic about longtime White House butler, Eugene Allen (Forest Whitaker), began his White House employment in 1952, under President Harry S. Truman, and retired in 1986, during President Ronald Reagan’s second term in office. In that time the African American rose through the ranks and was there as the Civil Rights struggle played out in the halls of power.
Other Presidential roles include John Cusack as Richard Nixon, Liam Neeson as Lyndon B. Johnson, and Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, with Jane Fonda playing Nancy Reagan. David Oyelowo will play the title role. Danny Strong co-wrote the screenplay with Lee Daniels, with production scheduled to start in the very near future.
First The Paperboy Clip – Lee Daniels’ follow-up to Precious
It’s been an uphill struggle for gay director Lee Daniels to make a follow-up to Previous, but now he’s got The Paperboy, which will debut in competition at Cannes later this month. The first clip has now been released, with Matthew McConaughey’s reporter talking to John Cusack about a murder. The film is about a directionless young man (Zac Efron) who helps his reporter brother (McConaughey) investigate the possible wrongful conviction of a man on death row (Cusack), and in the process, falls for the woman whom the convict has been romancing through prison correspondence. It shoulld be out later this year.
Jane Fonda Playing Nancy Reagan In The Butler
If you’d said in the 80s that one day ‘Hanoi’ Jane Fonda would play arch conservative Nancy Reagan in a movie, people would probably have laughed at you, as there are few people whose outllook on life matches less. However it’s going to happen, as Variety reports that Fonda has joined the cast of The Butler for Precious director Lee Daniels, playing Reagan in this biopic about longtime White House butler Eugene Allen.
Forest Whitaker will play Allen, who first started working at the White House under President Harry S. Truman in 1952, and retired in 1986 during Ronald Reagan’s second term. Oprah Winfrey is in talks to play Allen’s wife, while David Oyelowo is negotiating to play Allen’s son. Liam Neeson and John Cusack are also circling the presidential roles of Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.
Lee Daniels is directing The Butler from a screenplay he co-wrote with Danny Strong. No casting deals are fully locked in yet, although production is expected to begin sometime this summer.
Forest Whitaker Likely to Be The Butler In Lee Daniels’ Film
There have been various people rumoured for Lee Daniels’ planned movie The Butler, but one role that remained empty until now was the one the film was named after – The Butler himself. However Variety reports that Forest Whitaker is in early talks for the role.
The film follows Eugene Allen, a African-American who worked in the White House, serving eight presidents from 1952 to 1986. He started at the White House as a “pantry man” in the early 50s, at a time when blacks weren’t allowed to use public restrooms in his native Virginia. He rose through the ranks and had a unique front-row seat on everything from the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
If he signs on, Whitaker will play Eugene, while David Oyelowo is negotiating to play his son. Oprah Winfrey is rumored to be interested in playing his wife, while other Hollywood vets such as Hugh Jackman, Liam Neeson and Mila Kunis are eyeing the roles of other real-life figures.
Hopefully this one will come together, as Daniels has had problems getting a follow-up to Precious off the ground, as despite attracting top talent, the money men haven’t wanted to pony up the cash. Fingers crossed that won’t be an issue here.
Oprah May Return To Acting For Lee Daniels’ The Butler
Oprah Winfrey was nominated for an Oscar for her movie acting debut in The Color Purple, but she’s rarely returned to the silver screen, preferring instead to get paid ludicrous amounts of money to host a chat show and then setting up her own TV station. However it appears she’s thinking about returning to acting, as THR reports that she’s considering taking a role in Lee Daniel’s The Butler.
The movie has slowly been working its way to the big screen, but like several other films Daniels (who is, incidentally, openly gay) has tried to get made since Precious, it’s been a tough slog. His civil rights drama, Selma, fell to bits despite having an incredibly starry cast, but Daniels is hoping that a bit of star power will help The Butler, as alongside Winfrey, he’s busy lining up Hugh Jackman, John Cusack, Mila Kunis and David Oyelowo.
The movie will be about Eugene Allen, an African American who worked in the White House through eight presidencies, from 1952 to 1986, going from the lowly position of pantry man to being the highest ranked butler in the house. The film is based on a series of articles about Allen and his life, written by Will Haygood.
No deals are in place for the actors, but Daniels is hoping that if he can attach their names to the movie it’ll help The Butler actually get in front of the cameras. To be honest, it’s slightly worrying that even after the success of Precious, Daniel’s is still having such incredible difficulty getting films about African Americans made. It’s not even as if he’s asking for hundreds of millions of dollars, but it appears that as soon as the subject is black people and the issues they face, the coffers dry up (unless you’ve already got a hit book like The Help to base it on).