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The Butler
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. 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. 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. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with alcoholism and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.
2013 · Directed by Lee Daniels · 132 min · Drama · 10 frames
Tagline
One quiet voice can ignite a revolution.
Crew
- Written by: Danny Strong
- Cinematography: Andrew Dunn
- Edited by: Joe Klotz
- Music: Rodrigo Leão
- Production design: Tim Galvin
- Produced by: Laura Ziskin, Buddy Patrick, Lee Daniels, Cassian Elwes
Cast
- Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines
- Oprah Winfrey as Gloria Gaines
- David Oyelowo as Louis Gaines
- John Cusack as Richard Nixon
- Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan
- Cuba Gooding Jr. as Carter Wilson
- Mariah Carey as Hattie Pearl
- Terrence Howard as Howard
- Lenny Kravitz as James Holloway
- Aml Ameen as Cecil Gaines (15)
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Follow Through Productions, Salamander Pictures, Laura Ziskin Productions, Lee Daniels Entertainment
- Budget: $25,000,000
- Box office: $177,313,795
- Themes: usa president, the white house, 1970s, butler, slavery, john f. kennedy, black panther party, racial segregation, martin luther king, based on true story
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