The Butler

2013 American historical drama film by Lee Daniels

For other uses, see Butler (disambiguation).

The Butler

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Lee Daniels
Written by| Danny Strong
Based on| "A Butler Well Served By This Election"
by Wil Haygood
Produced by|

* Pamela Oas Williams
* Laura Ziskin
* Lee Daniels
* Buddy Patrick
* Cassian Elwes

Starring|

* Forest Whitaker
* Oprah Winfrey
* Mariah Carey
* John Cusack
* Jane Fonda
* Cuba Gooding Jr.
* Terrence Howard
* Lenny Kravitz
* James Marsden
* David Oyelowo
* Vanessa Redgrave
* Alan Rickman
* Liev Schreiber
* Robin Williams
* Clarence Williams III

Cinematography| Andrew Dunn
Edited by| Joe Klotz
Music by| Rodrigo Leão

Production
companies

* Laura Ziskin Productions
* Windy Hill Pictures
* Follow Through Productions
* Salamander Pictures
* Pam Williams Productions

Distributed by| The Weinstein Company

Release date

* August 16, 2013 (2013-08-16)

Running time

| 133 minutes[1][2]
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $30 million[2][3]
Box office| $177.3 million[2]

The Butler (full title Lee Daniels' The Butler)[4][5] is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels and written by Danny Strong.[6] It is inspired by Wil Haygood's Washington Post article "A Butler Well Served by This Election".

Loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen, who worked in the White House for decades, the film 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.[7][8] In addition to Whitaker, the film's all-star cast 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. It was the last film produced by Laura Ziskin,[9][10] who died on June 12, 2011. It was also the final film appearance of Clarence Williams III, who retired from acting in 2018 and died on June 4, 2021.

The film was theatrically released by the Weinstein Company on August 16, 2013, to mostly positive reviews from critics, with many praising the cast but criticizing the historical accuracy.[11][12] The film was a commercial success, grossing more than $177 million worldwide against a budget of $30 million.[13]

## Plot

[edit]

In 2009, an elderly Cecil Gaines recounts his life story while waiting at the White House to meet the newly inaugurated president. Cecil was born and raised on a cotton plantation in Macon, Georgia to Black sharecroppers during the Jim Crow era. In 1926, when Cecil was 7, the White landowner, Thomas Westfall, rapes Cecil's Mulatto mother, Hattie. Cecil's father, Earl, confronts Thomas and is killed. Cecil is taken in by Thomas' elderly mother, Annabeth, who is also the estate's matron. Annabeth trains Cecil to be a house servant.

In 1937, at age 18, Cecil leaves the plantation. Desperately hungry, he breaks into a hotel pastry shop. The elderly master-servant Maynard takes pity on him and gives him a job. Cecil learns advanced serving and interpersonal skills from Maynard, who later recommends Cecil for a position in a Washington, D.C., hotel. While working there, Cecil meets and marries Gloria, and the couple have two sons, Louis and Charlie.

In 1957, Cecil is hired by the White House during Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration. White House maître d'hôtel Freddie Fallows introduces him to head butler Carter Wilson and co-worker James Holloway. Cecil witnesses Eisenhower's reluctance to use troops to enforce school desegregation, then his resolve to uphold the law by racially integrating Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas.

Louis, the Gaineses' elder son, becomes a university student at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, although Cecil feels that the South is too volatile. Louis joins the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), activist James Lawson's student program, which leads to a nonviolent sit-in at a segregated diner, where he is arrested. Gloria, who feels that Cecil puts his job ahead of her, descends into alcoholism.

In 1961, after John F. Kennedy's inauguration, Louis and others are attacked by members of the Ku Klux Klan while on a freedom ride to Birmingham, Alabama. Louis participates in the 1963 Birmingham Children's Crusade, where dogs and water cannons are used to stop the marchers, an action that inspires Kennedy to deliver a national address proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

After Kennedy is assassinated, his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, enacts the legislation. As a goodwill gesture, Jackie Kennedy gives Cecil one of the former president's neckties.

Louis participates in the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Movement, which inspires Johnson to demand that Congress enact the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Johnson also gives Cecil a tie bar.

In the late 1960s, after civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, Louis tells his family that he has joined the Black Panthers. Cecil orders Louis and his girlfriend to leave his house. Louis is again arrested. Cecil becomes aware of President Richard Nixon's plans to suppress the Black Panthers.

Charlie confides to Louis that he plans to join the war in Vietnam. After enlisting, he is killed and buried at Arlington National Cemetery. When the Black Panthers resort to violence, Louis leaves the organization and returns to college, earning his master's degree in political science and eventually running for a seat in Congress, although Cecil continues to resent him.

Cecil repeatedly approaches his White supervisor at the White House over the unequal pay and career advancement provided to the Black White House staff. With President Ronald Reagan's support, Cecil prevails, his reputation growing to the point that he and his wife are invited by the Reagans to be guests at a state dinner. Cecil becomes uncomfortable with the class divisions in the White House. After witnessing Reagan's refusal to support economic sanctions against South Africa for the apartheid, he resigns.

Gloria encourages Cecil to mend his relationship with Louis. Realizing that his son's actions are heroic, he joins him at a protest against South African apartheid; they are arrested and jailed together.

In 2008, Gloria dies shortly before Barack Obama is elected as the nation's first Black president. Two months, two weeks and one day later, Cecil prepares to meet the newly inaugurated President, wearing the articles that he received from Kennedy and Johnson. White House Chief Usher Stephen W. Rochon approaches him, telling him that the president is ready and preparing to show him the way to the Oval Office. Cecil tells him that he knows the way and walks down the hall to the office.

## Cast

[edit]

Forest Whitaker portrays Cecil Gaines in The Butler

* Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines,[6] the film's main character, who dedicates his life to becoming a professional domestic worker ever since he was 7 years old.
* Michael Rainey Jr. and Aml Ameen portray Cecil at ages 7 and 18, respectively.

Gaines's private life

* Oprah Winfrey as Gloria Gaines,[6] Cecil Gaines's wife.
* David Oyelowo as Louis Gaines,[6] the Gaineses' elder son.
* Elijah Kelley as Charlie Gaines,[14] the Gaineses' younger son.
* Isaac White portrays him at age 10.
* Alex Pettyfer as Thomas Westfall,[6] the brutal and racist plantation owner who kills Earl after raping Hattie.
* David Banner as Earl Gaines,[14] Cecil's father and a sharecropper.
* Mariah Carey as Hattie Pearl,[15] Cecil's mother and a sharecropper.
* Terrence Howard as Howard,[6] the Gaineses' neighbor who romantically pursues Gloria.
* Adriane Lenox as Gina,[14][16] Howard's wife.
* Yaya DaCosta as Carol Hammie, Louis's girlfriend.[17]
* Vanessa Redgrave as Annabeth Westfall,[6] Thomas Westfall's elderly mother and a matron on the plantation.
* Clarence Williams III as Maynard,[14][16] an elderly man who mentors young Cecil and introduces him to his profession.

White House co-workers

* Cuba Gooding Jr. as Carter Wilson,[6][14] the fast-talking head butler at the White House, with whom Cecil forms a close friendship.
* Lenny Kravitz as James Holloway,[6][14] a co-worker butler of Cecil's at the White House.
* Colman Domingo as Freddie Fallows,[14][17] the White House maitre d' who hires Cecil.

White House historical figures

* Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower,[6][18] the 34th President of the United States.
* James DuMont as Sherman Adams, Eisenhower's White House Chief of Staff.[16][19]
* Robert Aberdeen as Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower's Attorney General.[16]
* James Marsden as John F. Kennedy,[6][18] the 35th President of the United States.
* Minka Kelly as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.[18]
* Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson,[6][18] the 36th President of the United States.
* John Cusack as Richard Nixon,[6][18] the 37th President of the United States.
* Alex Manette as H. R. Haldeman,[6] Nixon's White House Chief of Staff.
* Colin Walker as John Ehrlichman, Nixon's White House Counsel.[16][20]
* Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan,[6][18] the 40th President of the United States.
* Jane Fonda as First Lady Nancy Reagan.[16]
* Stephen Rider as Stephen W. Rochon, Barack Obama's White House Chief Usher.[16]

Civil rights historical figures

* Nelsan Ellis as Martin Luther King Jr.[6][18]
* Jesse Williams as civil rights activist James Lawson.[17]
* Danny Strong, the film's screenwriter, appears as a Freedom Bus journalist.

Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson are depicted in archival footage.[21][22]

Melissa Leo and Orlando Eric Street were cast as First Lady Mamie Eisenhower and Barack Obama, respectively, but did not appear in the finished film.[6][23][24][25]

## Production

[edit]

### Development

[edit]

Danny Strong's screenplay is inspired by Wil Haygood's Washington Post article "A Butler Well Served by This Election".[26][27] The project received initial backing in early 2011 when producers Laura Ziskin and Pam Williams approached Sheila Johnson for help financing the film. After reading Danny Strong's screenplay, Johnson invested $2.7 million before bringing in several African American investors. However, Ziskin died from cancer in June 2011. This left director Daniels and producing partner Hilary Shor to look further for producers. They started with Cassian Elwes, with whom they were working on The Paperboy. Elwes joined the list of producers and began fundraising for the film.

In spring 2012, AI Film, a British financing and production company, added a $6 million guarantee against foreign pre-sales. Finally, the film raised its requisite $30 million budget through 41 producers and executive producers, including Earl W. Stafford, Harry I. Martin Jr., Brett Johnson, Michael Finley and Buddy Patrick. Thereafter, as film production started, Weinstein Co. picked up U.S. distribution rights for the film. David Glasser, Weinstein Co. COO, called fundraising as an independent film "a story that's a movie within itself".[3]

The Weinstein Company acquired the distribution rights for the film after Columbia Pictures put the film in turnaround.[28][29]

The film's title was up for a possible renaming due to a Motion Picture Association claim from Warner Bros., which had inherited from the defunct Lubin Company a now-lost 1916 silent short film with the same name.[9][30] The case was subsequently resolved with the MPAA granting The Weinstein Company permission to add Lee Daniels in front of the title, under the condition that his name was "75% the size of The Butler".[31] On July 23, 2013, the distributor unveiled a revised poster, displaying the title as Lee Daniels' The Butler.[32]

### Filming

[edit]

Principal photography started in June 2012 in New Orleans. Interior White House scenes were shot at Second Line Stages. Production was originally scheduled to wrap in early August 2012 but was delayed by the impact of Hurricane Isaac.[33]

## Reception

[edit]

### Box office

[edit]

In its opening weekend, the film debuted in first place, with $24.6 million.[34][35] The film topped the North American box office in its first three consecutive weeks.[36][37] The film has grossed $116.6 million in Canada and the United States, and it earned $60.7 million elsewhere, for a total of $177.3 million.[2]

### Critical response

[edit]

The Butler received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 71% rating, based on 199 reviews, with an average score of 6.60/10. The site's consensus says: "Gut-wrenching and emotionally affecting, Lee Daniels' The Butler overcomes an uneven narrative thanks to strong performances from an all-star cast."[38] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 65 based on 47 reviews, indicating "generally positive" reviews.[39] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an "A" on a scale of A+ to F.[40]

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, saying, "Even with all contrivances and obvious point-making and familiar historical signposting, Daniels' The Butler is always engaging, often entertaining and certainly never dull."[41]

Richard Roeper lauded the film's casting, remarking that "Forest Whitaker gives the performance of his career".[42]

Rolling Stone also spoke highly of Whitaker, writing that his "reflective, powerfully understated performance...fills this flawed film with potency and purpose".[21]

Variety wrote that "Daniels develops a strong sense of the inner complexities and contradictions of the civil-rights landscape".[43]

USA Today gave the film three stars out of four, and noted, "It's inspiring and filled with fine performances, but the insistently swelling musical score and melodramatic moments seem calculated and undercut a powerful story".[44]

Miles Davis of the New York Tribune gave the film a negative review, claiming it to be "Oscar bait", a cliché film designed to attract Oscar nominations.[45]

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times was more negative: "An ambitious and overdue attempt to create a Hollywood-style epic around the experience of black Americans in general and the civil rights movement in particular, it undercuts itself by hitting its points squarely on the nose with a 9-pound hammer."[46] Several critics compared the film's historical anecdotes and sentimentality to Forrest Gump.[47][48][49][50]

President Barack Obama said, "I teared up thinking about not just the butlers who worked here in the White House, but an entire generation of people who were talented and skilled. But because of Jim Crow and because of discrimination, there was only so far they could go."[51]

### Accolades

[edit]

List of awards and nominations received by The Butler Award  | Category  | Recipients  | Result

|
|
|

AARP Annual Movies for Grownups Awards[52] | Best Supporting Actress  | Oprah Winfrey  | Won
BAFTA Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Oprah Winfrey  | Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair | Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal  | Nominated
Hollywood Film Awards | Best Director  | Lee Daniels  | Won
Spotlight  | David Oyelowo | Won
Critics Choice Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Oprah Winfrey | Nominated
Best Cast | Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, Forest Whitaker, Robin Williams, and Oprah Winfrey  | Nominated
Best Makeup |  | Nominated
NAACP Image Award[53] | Outstanding Motion Picture |  | Nominated
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | Forest Whitaker | Won
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | David Oyelowo | Won
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | Cuba Gooding Jr. | Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | Terrence Howard | Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | Oprah Winfrey | Nominated
Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture | Danny Strong | Nominated
Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture | Lee Daniels | Nominated
People's Choice Awards | Favorite Dramatic Movie  |  | Nominated
Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress  | Oprah Winfrey  | Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society  | Best Actress in a Supporting Role  | Oprah Winfrey  | Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, Forest Whitaker, Robin Williams, and Oprah Winfrey  | Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role | Forest Whitaker  | Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | Oprah Winfrey  | Nominated
Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture  | Forest Whitaker  | Nominated
Best Actress in Supporting Role  | Oprah Winfrey  | Nominated
Best Art Direction & Production Design  | Diane Lederman, Tim Galvin  | Nominated

### Historical accuracy

[edit]

Regarding historical accuracy, Eliana Dockterman wrote in Time: "Allen was born on a Virginia plantation in 1919, not in Georgia.... In the movie, Cecil' Gaines grows up on a cotton field in Macon, where his family comes into conflict with the white farmers for whom they work. What befalls his parents on the cotton field was added for dramatic effect.... Though tension between father and son over civil rights issues fuels most of the drama in the film, [Eugene Allen's son] Charles Allen was not the radical political activist that Gaines's son is in the movie."[54]

Particular criticism has been directed at the film accuracy in portraying President Ronald Reagan. While Alan Rickman's performance generated positive reviews, conservative activists criticized the director and screenwriters of the film for depicting Reagan as indifferent to civil rights and his reluctance to associate with the White House's Black employees during his presidency. According to Michael Reagan, the former president's son and a conservative activist, "The real story of the White House butler doesn't imply racism at all. It's simply Hollywood liberals wanting to believe something about my father that was never there."[55][56]

Paul Kengor, one of President Reagan's biographers, also attacked the film, saying, "I've talked to many White House staff, cooks, housekeepers, doctors, and Secret Service over the years. They are universal in their love of Ronald Reagan." Regarding the president's initial opposition to sanctions against apartheid in South Africa, Kengor said, "Ronald Reagan was appalled by apartheid, but also wanted to ensure that if the apartheid regime collapsed in South Africa that it wasn't replaced by a Marxist-totalitarian regime allied with Moscow and Cuba that would take the South African people down the same road as Ethiopia, Mozambique, and, yes, Cuba. In the immediate years before Reagan became president, 11 countries from the Third World, from Asia to Africa to Latin America, went Communist. It was devastating. If the film refuses to deal with this issue with the necessary balance, it shouldn't deal with it at all."[57]

## See also

[edit]

* United States portal
* Film portal
* Politics portal

* Backstairs at the White House, a 1979 miniseries with a similar theme
* Civil rights movement in popular culture
* Great Migration
* List of black films of the 2010s

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "THE BUTLER (12A)". Entertainment Film Distributors. British Board of Film Classification. October 15, 2013. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
2. ^ a b c d "Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
3. ^ a b "Why 'Lee Daniels' The Butler' Has 41 Producers". The Hollywood Reporter. August 14, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
4. ^ Lee, Chris (July 20, 2013). "MPAA permits Weinstein Co. to use 'Lee Daniels' 'The Butler' title". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
5. ^ McNary, Dave (July 23, 2013). "'Lee Daniels' The Butler' Gets First Posters Following MPAA Ruling". Variety. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Nordyke, Kimberly (May 7, 2013). "'The Butler' Trailer: Oprah Winfrey Plays 'Proud' Wife to Forest Whitaker (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
7. ^ Child, Ben (May 9, 2013). "The Butler trailer: Oprah Winfrey in the White House". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
8. ^ Roberts, Roxanne; Argetsinger, Amy (May 8, 2013). "Trailer for 'The Butler,' based on life of the White House's Eugene Allen". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
9. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 6, 2013). "UPDATE: David Boies Charges Extortion As He Returns Fire In 'The Butler' Spat Between Warner Bros And The Weinstein Company Directly". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
10. ^ Rosen, Christopher (May 9, 2013). "'The Butler' Trailer: Lee Daniels' 'Forrest Gump'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
11. ^ Williamson, Caroline (July 20, 2013). "The Butler to be re-titled – but only slightly – following dispute over name". Metro. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
12. ^ Feinberg, Scott (August 17, 2013). "'The Butler' Builds Oscar Credentials With Strong Critical, Commercial Debut (Analysis)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
13. ^ "Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficesmojo.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
14. ^ a b c d e f g Scott, A.O. (August 15, 2013). "Black Man, White House, and History". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
15. ^ "Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
16. ^ a b c d e f g "Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
17. ^ a b c Johnson, Terence. "Awards Profile: The Butler". Awards Circuit. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
18. ^ a b c d e f g Labrecque, Jeff (May 8, 2013). "'The Butler': The new trailer showcases Oscar-winning actors tackling history – VIDEO". PopWatch. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
19. ^ Ingram, Bruce (August 16, 2013). "Fame comes second for Evanston actor starring in 'The Butler'". Sun-Times Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
20. ^ Wirt, John (August 16, 2013). "N.O. native Walker joins The Butler cast". The Advocate. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
21. ^ a b Travers, Peter (August 15, 2013). "Lee Daniels' The Butler". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
22. ^ Makarechi, Kia (August 1, 2013). "'Lee Daniels' The Butler' Celebrated By Oprah, Forest Whitaker, Gayle King & More In New York". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
23. ^ Williams, Kam (August 15, 2013). "Two-time Oscar-nominee talks about his latest film Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'". The Bay State Banner. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
24. ^ Child, Ben (July 4, 2013). "Lee Daniels pleads with Warner Bros to retain title of The Butler". The Guardian. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
25. ^ "'The Butler' Poster: Lee Daniels' New Film Fits Massive Cast List On New One-Sheet". The Huffington Post. June 3, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
26. ^ Haygood, Wil (November 7, 2008). "A Butler Well Served by This Election". The Washington Post.
27. ^ The Reliable Source (August 6, 2013). "No, President Obama isn't doing a cameo in 'The Butler'". Reliable Source (blog). The Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
28. ^ Brevet, Brad (September 24, 2012). "New Look at 'The Butler' as the Weinstein Co. Picks It Up for Distribution". Ropes of Silicon. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
29. ^ Kit, Borys (November 19, 2008). "Columbia tells White House butler story". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
30. ^ Johnson, Ted (July 9, 2013). "Harvey Weinstein Has Already Won 'The Butler' Battle (Opinion)". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
31. ^ "TOLDJA! Weinstein Co. Can Title Its Movie 'Lee Daniels' The Butler', If It Wants". Deadline Hollywood. July 19, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
32. ^ The Deadline Team (July 23, 2013). "Weinstein Co Unveils New Poster For 'Lee Daniels' The Butler' To Comply With MPAA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
33. ^ Scott, Mike (August 27, 2012). "Tropical Storm Isaac chases 'The Butler' away, as film suspends production". The Times-Picayune.
34. ^ Kilday, Gregg (August 18, 2013). "Box Office Report: 'The Butler' Tops the Field With $25 Million". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
35. ^ Mendelson, Scott (August 18, 2013). "Weekend Box Office: 'The Butler' Opens To $25m, 'Kick-Ass 2', 'Jobs', And 'Paranoia' Crash". Forbes. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
36. ^ Cunningham, Todd (September 2, 2013). "Oprah Winfrey's 'The Butler' Powers Past 'One Direction' for 3rd Straight Box-Office Win". The Wrap. Retrieved September 2, 2013.[permanent dead link]
37. ^ McClintock, Pamela (August 25, 2013). "Box Office Report: 'The Butler' Wins Again With $17 Million, Crosses $50 Million". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
38. ^ "Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. August 16, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
39. ^ "Lee Daniels' The Butler". Metacritic. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
40. ^ Grady Smith (August 18, 2013). "Box office report: 'The Butler' cleans up with $25 million". Entertainment Weekly.
41. ^ McCarthy, Todd (August 9, 2013). "Lee Daniels' The Butler: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
42. ^ Roeper, Richard. "Lee Daniels' The Butler". Richard Roeper & The Movies. Archived from the original on August 18, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
43. ^ Foundas, Scott (August 8, 2013). "Film Review: 'Lee Daniels' The Butler'". Variety. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
44. ^ Puig, Claudia (August 15, 2013). "'The Butler' is mannered and moving". USA Today. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
45. ^ "The Butler Review", New York Tribune, 2013.
46. ^ Turan, Kenneth (August 15, 2013). "Review: 'Lee Daniels' The Butler' significant but often contrived". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
47. ^ Anderson, John (August 15, 2013). "'Lee Daniels' The Butler' movie review". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
48. ^ Rodriguez, Rene (August 15, 2013). "'Lee Daniels' The Butler' (PG-13)". Miami Herald. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
49. ^ Williams, Joe (August 15, 2013). "Forest Whitaker shines as 'The Butler'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
50. ^ Burr, Ty (August 15, 2013). "'The Butler' examines civil rights history from a new perspective". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
51. ^ Child, Ben (August 28, 2013). "Barack Obama 'teared up' watching Oscar-tipped drama The Butler". The Guardian.
52. ^ "AARP Names '12 Years a Slave' Best Movie for Grownups". AFI. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
53. ^ Couch, Aaron; Washington, Arlene (February 22, 2014). "NAACP Image Awards: The Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
54. ^ Dockterman, Eliana (August 16, 2013). "The True Story of The Butler: Fact vs. Fiction in Lee Daniels' The Butler". Time. Archived from the original on August 18, 2013.
55. ^ Bond, Paul (August 26, 2013). "President Reagan's Son Attacks 'Lee Daniels' The Butler'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
56. ^ Child, Ben (August 29, 2013). "The Butler falsely portrays Ronald Reagan as racist, says son". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
57. ^ "Lee Daniels' 'The Butler': Reagan Biographers Slam President's Portrayal". The Hollywood Reporter. August 16, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* The Butler at IMDb
* The Butler at Box Office Mojo

* v
* t
* e

Lee Daniels

Films directed|

* Shadowboxer (2005)
* Precious (2009)
* The Paperboy (2012)
* Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)
* The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
* The Deliverance (2024)

Films produced|

* Monster's Ball (2001)
* The Woodsman (2004)
* Tennessee (2008)
* Concrete Cowboy (2020)

TV series created|

* Empire (2015–2020)
* Star (2016–2019)

* v
* t
* e

Danny Strong

Films written|

* Recount (2008)
* Game Change (2012)
* The Butler (2013)
* The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)
* The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)
* Rebel in the Rye (2017, also directed)

TV series created|

* Empire (2015–2020)
* Dopesick (2021)

* v
* t
* e

Civil rights movement (1954–1968)

Events
(timeline)|

| Prior to 1954|

* Journey of Reconciliation
* Executive Order 9981
* Murders of Harry and Harriette Moore
* Sweatt v. Painter (1950)
* McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950)
* Baton Rouge bus boycott

|

1954–1959|

* Brown v. Board of Education
* Bolling v. Sharpe
* Briggs v. Elliott
* Davis v. Prince Edward County
* Gebhart v. Belton
* Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company
* Emmett Till
* Montgomery bus boycott
* Browder v. Gayle
* Tallahassee bus boycott
* Mansfield school desegregation
* 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom
* "Give Us the Ballot"
* Royal Ice Cream sit-in
* Little Rock Nine
* Cooper v. Aaron
* Civil Rights Act of 1957
* Ministers' Manifesto
* Katz Drug Store sit-in
* Kissing Case
* Biloxi wade-ins

1960–1963|

* New Year's Day March
* Sit-in movement
* Greensboro sit-ins
* Nashville sit-ins
* Sibley Commission
* Atlanta sit-ins
* Savannah Protest Movement
* Greenville Eight
* Civil Rights Act of 1960
* Ax Handle Saturday
* Gomillion v. Lightfoot
* Boynton v. Virginia
* University of Georgia desegregation riot
* Rock Hill sit-ins
* Robert F. Kennedy's Law Day Address
* Freedom Rides
* Anniston and Birmingham bus attacks
* Garner v. Louisiana
* Albany Movement
* Cambridge movement
* University of Chicago sit-ins
* "Second Emancipation Proclamation"
* Meredith enrollment, Ole Miss riot
* Atlanta's Berlin Wall
* "Segregation now, segregation forever"
* Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
* 1963 Birmingham campaign
* Letter from Birmingham Jail
* Children's Crusade
* Birmingham riot
* 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
* John F. Kennedy's speech to the nation on Civil Rights
* Detroit Walk to Freedom
* March on Washington
* "I Have a Dream"
* Big Six
* St. Augustine movement

1964–1968|

* Twenty-fourth Amendment
* Chester school protests
* Bloody Tuesday
* 1964 Monson Motor Lodge protests
* Freedom Summer
* workers' murders
* Civil Rights Act of 1964
* Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States
* Katzenbach v. McClung
* 1964–1965 Scripto strike
* 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches
* "How Long, Not Long"
* SCOPE Project
* Voting Rights Act of 1965
* Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
* March Against Fear
* White House Conference on Civil Rights
* Chicago Freedom Movement/Chicago open housing movement
* Loving v. Virginia
* Memphis sanitation strike
* King assassination
* funeral
* riots
* Civil Rights Act of 1968
* Poor People's Campaign
* Green v. County School Board of New Kent County
* Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co.
* 1968 Olympics Black Power salute

Activist
groups|

* Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights
* American Friends Service Committee
* Atlanta Negro Voters League
* Atlanta Student Movement
* Black Panther Party
* Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
* Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
* Committee for Freedom Now
* Committee on Appeal for Human Rights
* An Appeal for Human Rights
* Council for United Civil Rights Leadership
* Council of Federated Organizations
* Dallas County Voters League
* Deacons for Defense and Justice
* Georgia Council on Human Relations
* Highlander Folk School
* Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
* Lowndes County Freedom Organization
* Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
* Montgomery Improvement Association
* NAACP
* Youth Council
* Nashville Student Movement
* Nation of Islam
* Northern Student Movement
* National Council of Negro Women
* National Urban League
* Operation Breadbasket
* Regional Council of Negro Leadership
* Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
* Southern Regional Council
* Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
* The Freedom Singers
* United Auto Workers (UAW)
* Wednesdays in Mississippi
* Women's Political Council

Activists|

* Juanita Abernathy
* Ralph Abernathy
* Victoria Gray Adams
* Zev Aelony
* Mathew Ahmann
* Muhammad Ali
* William G. Anderson
* Gwendolyn Armstrong
* Arnold Aronson
* Ella Baker
* James Baldwin
* Marion Barry
* Daisy Bates
* Harry Belafonte
* James Bevel
* Claude Black
* Gloria Blackwell
* Randolph Blackwell
* Unita Blackwell
* Ezell Blair Jr.
* Joanne Bland
* Julian Bond
* Joseph E. Boone
* William Holmes Borders
* Amelia Boynton
* Bruce Boynton
* Raylawni Branch
* Stanley Branche
* Ruby Bridges
* Aurelia Browder
* H. Rap Brown
* Ralph Bunche
* John H. Calhoun
* Guy Carawan
* Stokely Carmichael
* Johnnie Carr
* James Chaney
* J. L. Chestnut
* Shirley Chisholm
* Colia Lafayette Clark
* Ramsey Clark
* Septima Clark
* Xernona Clayton
* Eldridge Cleaver
* Kathleen Cleaver
* Josephine Dobbs Clement
* Charles E. Cobb Jr.
* Annie Lee Cooper
* Dorothy Cotton
* Claudette Colvin
* Vernon Dahmer
* Jonathan Daniels
* Abraham Lincoln Davis
* Angela Davis
* Joseph DeLaine
* Dave Dennis
* Annie Bell Robinson Devine
* John Wesley Dobbs
* Patricia Stephens Due
* Joseph Ellwanger
* Charles Evers
* Medgar Evers
* Myrlie Evers-Williams
* Chuck Fager
* James Farmer
* Walter Fauntroy
* James Forman
* Marie Foster
* Golden Frinks
* Andrew Goodman
* Robert Graetz
* Fred Gray
* Jack Greenberg
* Dick Gregory
* Lawrence Guyot
* Prathia Hall
* Fannie Lou Hamer
* Fred Hampton
* William E. Harbour
* Vincent Harding
* Dorothy Height
* Audrey Faye Hendricks
* Lola Hendricks
* Aaron Henry
* Oliver Hill
* Donald L. Hollowell
* James Hood
* Myles Horton
* Zilphia Horton
* T. R. M. Howard
* Ruby Hurley
* Cecil Ivory
* Jesse Jackson
* Jimmie Lee Jackson
* Richie Jean Jackson
* T. J. Jemison
* Esau Jenkins
* Barbara Rose Johns
* Vernon Johns
* Frank Minis Johnson
* Clarence Jones
* J. Charles Jones
* Matthew Jones
* Vernon Jordan
* Tom Kahn
* Clyde Kennard
* A. D. King
* C.B. King
* Coretta Scott King
* Martin Luther King Jr.
* Martin Luther King Sr.
* Bernard Lafayette
* James Lawson
* Bernard Lee
* Sanford R. Leigh
* Jim Letherer
* Stanley Levison
* John Lewis
* Viola Liuzzo
* Z. Alexander Looby
* Joseph Lowery
* Clara Luper
* Danny Lyon
* Malcolm X
* Mae Mallory
* Vivian Malone
* Bob Mants
* Thurgood Marshall
* Benjamin Mays
* Franklin McCain
* Charles McDew
* Ralph McGill
* Floyd McKissick
* Joseph McNeil
* James Meredith
* William Ming
* Jack Minnis
* Amzie Moore
* Cecil B. Moore
* Douglas E. Moore
* Harriette Moore
* Harry T. Moore
* Queen Mother Moore
* William Lewis Moore
* Irene Morgan
* Bob Moses
* William Moyer
* Elijah Muhammad
* Diane Nash
* Charles Neblett
* Huey P. Newton
* Edgar Nixon
* Jack O'Dell
* James Orange
* Rosa Parks
* James Peck
* Charles Person
* Homer Plessy
* Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
* Fay Bellamy Powell
* Rodney N. Powell
* Al Raby
* Lincoln Ragsdale
* A. Philip Randolph
* George Raymond
* George Raymond Jr.
* Bernice Johnson Reagon
* Cordell Reagon
* James Reeb
* Frederick D. Reese
* Walter Reuther
* Gloria Richardson
* David Richmond
* Bernice Robinson
* Jo Ann Robinson
* Angela Russell
* Bayard Rustin
* Bernie Sanders
* Michael Schwerner
* Bobby Seale
* Pete Seeger
* Cleveland Sellers
* Charles Sherrod
* Alexander D. Shimkin
* Fred Shuttlesworth
* Modjeska Monteith Simkins
* Glenn E. Smiley
* A. Maceo Smith
* Kelly Miller Smith
* Mary Louise Smith
* Maxine Smith
* Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson
* Charles Kenzie Steele
* Hank Thomas
* Dorothy Tillman
* A. P. Tureaud
* Hartman Turnbow
* Albert Turner
* C. T. Vivian
* A. T. Walden
* Wyatt Tee Walker
* Hollis Watkins
* Walter Francis White
* Roy Wilkins
* Hosea Williams
* Kale Williams
* Robert F. Williams
* Q. V. Williamson
* Andrew Young
* Whitney Young
* Sammy Younge Jr.
* Bob Zellner
* James Zwerg

By region|

* Omaha, Nebraska
* South Carolina

Movement
songs|

* "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round"
* "If You Miss Me at the Back of the Bus"
* "Kumbaya"
* "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize"
* "Oh, Freedom"
* "This Little Light of Mine"
* "We Shall Not Be Moved"
* "We Shall Overcome"
* "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed On Freedom)"

Influences|

* Nonviolence
* Padayatra
* Sermon on the Mount
* Mahatma Gandhi
* Ahimsa
* Satyagraha
* The Kingdom of God Is Within You
* Frederick Douglass
* W. E. B. Du Bois
* Mary McLeod Bethune

Related|

* Lyndon B. Johnson
* Jim Crow laws
* Lynching in the United States
* Plessy v. Ferguson
* Separate but equal
* Buchanan v. Warley
* Hocutt v. Wilson
* Sweatt v. Painter
* Hernandez v. Texas
* Loving v. Virginia
* African-American women in the movement
* Jews in the civil rights movement
* Fifth Circuit Four
* 16th Street Baptist Church
* Kelly Ingram Park
* A.G. Gaston Motel
* Bethel Baptist Church
* Brown Chapel
* Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
* Holt Street Baptist Church
* Edmund Pettus Bridge
* March on Washington Movement
* African-American churches attacked
* List of lynching victims in the United States
* Freedom Schools
* Freedom songs
* Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam
* "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence"
* Voter Education Project
* 1960s counterculture
* African American founding fathers of the United States
* Eyes on the Prize

Legacy|

* In popular culture
* Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
* Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
* Civil Rights Memorial
* Civil Rights Movement Archive
* Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument
* Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument
* Freedom Rides Museum
* Freedom Riders National Monument
* King Center for Nonviolent Social Change
* Martin Luther King Jr. Day
* Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
* other King memorials
* Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
* National Civil Rights Museum
* National Voting Rights Museum
* St. Augustine Foot Soldiers Monument
* Olympic Black Power Statue

Noted
historians|

* Taylor Branch
* Clayborne Carson
* John Dittmer
* Michael Eric Dyson
* Chuck Fager
* Adam Fairclough
* David Garrow
* David Halberstam
* Vincent Harding
* Steven F. Lawson
* Doug McAdam
* Diane McWhorter
* Charles M. Payne
* Thomas E. Ricks
* Timothy Tyson
* Akinyele Umoja
* Movement photographers

Civil rights movement portal

* v
* t
* e

Ronald Reagan

* 40th President of the United States (1981–1989)
* 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975)

Life and
politics|

* Birthplace
* Pitney Store
* Boyhood home
* General Electric Showcase House
* Rancho del Cielo
* 668 St. Cloud Road
* Filmography
* Political positions
* Governorship of California
* Presidential Library and Museum
* Reagan Era
* Official White House portraits
* 1989 trip to Japan
* Death and state funeral
* Riderless horse

Presidency|

* Transition
* First inauguration
* Second inauguration
* Domestic policy
* Economic policy
* Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981
* Tax Reform Act of 1986
* Assassination attempt
* Strategic Defense Initiative
* Foreign policy
* Reagan Doctrine
* Cold War
* 1st term
* 2nd term
* Soviet Union summits
* Geneva
* Reykjavík
* Washington
* INF Treaty
* Moscow
* Governors Island
* Constructive engagement
* Invasion of Grenada
* Iran–Contra affair
* Libya bombing
* Cannabis policy
* International trips
* The Grace Commission
* Cabinet
* Judicial appointments
* Supreme Court
* controversies
* Administration scandals
* "We begin bombing in five minutes"
* Impeachment efforts
* Executive orders
* Presidential proclamations
* Bush transition

Speeches|

* Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine (1961)
* "A Time for Choosing" (1964)
* Neshoba County Fair "states' rights" speech (1980)
* First inaugural address (1981)
* Joint session of Congress (1981)
* "Ash heap of history" (1982)
* "Evil empire" (1983)
* Second inaugural address (1985)
* "Tear down this wall!" (1987)
* State of the Union
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988

Books|

* An American Life
* The Reagan Diaries

Elections|

* 1966 California gubernatorial election
* 11th commandment
* 1970 California gubernatorial election
* Republican presidential primaries (1968
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984)
* Republican National Convention (1968
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984)
* 1976 presidential campaign
* 1980 presidential campaign
* "There you go again"
* "Let's make America great again"
* 1984 presidential campaign
* "Morning in America"
* "Bear in the woods"
* United States presidential election (1976
* 1980
* 1984)

Cultural
depictions|

* Bibliography
* In music
* Let Them Eat Jellybeans! (1981)
* U.S. Postage stamps
* Rap Master Ronnie
* Ed the Happy Clown (1983 comic series)
* Spitting Image (TV series) (1984)
* A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985 game)
* The Dark Knight Returns (1986)
* film adaptation
* Pizza Man (1991 film)
* The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001 film)
* Reagan's War (2002 book)
* The Reagans (2003 film)
* Reagan (2011 documentary)
* The Butler (2013 film)
* Killing Reagan (2015 book)
* Killing Reagan (2016 film)
* Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020 game)
* The Reagans (2020 miniseries)
* Reagan (2024 film)
* Reykjavik (TBA)

Memorials|

* U.S. Capitol statue
* Namesakes and memorials
* Ronald Reagan Day
* Reagan Day Dinner
* USS Ronald Reagan
* Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
* Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
* Virginia statue
* Budapest statue
* Ronald Reagan Monument, Warshaw

Family|

* Jane Wyman (first wife)
* Nancy Reagan (second wife)
* Maureen Reagan (daughter)
* Michael Reagan (adopted son)
* Patti Davis (daughter)
* Ron Reagan (son)
* Jack Reagan (father)
* Nelle Wilson Reagan (mother)
* Neil Reagan (brother)
* Rex (dog)

Related|

* "What would Reagan do?"

* <- Jimmy Carter
* George H. W. Bush ->
* Category

* v
* t
* e

Nancy Reagan

* First Lady of the United States (1981–1989)
* First Lady of California (1967–1975)

Life|

* Just Say No
* Foster Grandparents Program
* White House china
* 1989 trip to Japan
* Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute
* General Electric Showcase House
* 668 St. Cloud Road
* Rancho del Cielo
* Official White House portrait
* Reagan Presidential Library, burial site

Books|

* My Turn (autobiography)

Cultural depictions|

* The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001 film)
* The Reagans (2003 film)
* Reagan (2011 documentary)
* The Butler (2013 film)
* Killing Reagan (2016 film)
* The Reagans (2020 miniseries)
* Reagan (2024 film)
* Reykjavik (upcoming film)

Family|

* Ronald Reagan (husband, presidency)
* Patricia Ann Davis (daughter)
* Ronald Prescott Reagan (son)
* Maureen Reagan Revell (step-daughter)
* Michael Reagan (step-son)
* Edith Luckett Davis (mother)
* Rex (dog)

Related|

* Nancy Reagan defense

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Spain

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