Sunday, May 24, 2026

“The Butler” with Oprah, All Star Cast, Goes to Weinstein Company

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Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” will be distributed by the Weinstein Company next Christmas 2013. With an all star cast of Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, and tons of cameos by people like Mariah Carey, Liev Schreiber, Jane Fonda, Alan Ricman, Vanessa Redgrave and Robin Williams, “The Butler” is already set up as the Oscar film of 2014.

Daniels has been shooting down in New Orleans for weeks. Obviously, Harvey Weinstein has liked what he’s seen of the footage and snapped up the rights. The screenplay is by Danny Sfrong, who just won an Emmy last night for “Game Change.” “The Butler” traces the life of a real life butler who served eight US presidents.

The Weinstein Company is already bracing for a huge Oscar march this winter with “The Master,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “The Sapphires,” and “Django Unchained” among others.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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