The Butler has long been an early contender for the awards season later this year, with Lee Daniels’ biographical drama set for an October release by The Weinstein Company. And with Daniels on board, Forest Whitaker in the lead, and Harvey Weinstein on the campaign front, you can be sure that this is going to get some serious attention from the Academy.
We’ve got a little over five months to go before the film arrives in theatres, and now Yahoo Movies have debuted the first trailer, giving us a look at Whitaker’s performance as Eugene Allen, who worked in the White House for more than three decades.
THE BUTLER tells the story of a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades. 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 man’s life and family.
Whitaker is joined by an impeccable cast, led by Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jane Fonda, Alex Pettyfer, Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, David Oyelowo, Melissa Leo, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, Robin Williams, James Marsden, Jesse Williams, Minka Kelly, and Mariah Carey. In a nutshell, one of the most prominent casts of the year.
Daniels (Precious, The Paperboy) is directing from a script he co-wrote with the great Danny Strong (Game Change, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay).
The Butler will be released in the US on October 18th. No word yet on a UK release date, but we’ll hopefully be seeing it before the year’s end too.
