Lee Daniels may not have After Earth star Will Smith for his newest flick, The Butler, but he sure seems to have every other A-list actor on his cast list. In fact, the cast of the movie is so well-known and impressive that the poster for the movie is barely able to fit the names of all the actors, even when they only included the main ones. Between the talented cast and director, who is best known for his work on the movie Precious, the movie is expected to bring in hundreds of millions, as well as a little gold statue for the director himself come awards season.
Be on the look out for The Butler, a film about, well, a butler (Forrest Whitaker) in the White House and his family. The movie presents an almost Forrest Gump-tian panorama of race relations through the 20th century, with Whitaker’s character staying the course as history is made around him while his son, played by David Oyelowo (Jack Reacher, Red Tails) is an active participant in the events which transpire.
The script was co-written by Danny Strong, who, though his writing credits to this point are sparse, is an industry veteran actor. It would appear he’s looking to move behind the camera, however; perhaps on the strength of The Butler‘s script, Strong at work on adaptations of Mockingjay (part 3 of the Hunger Games series) and The Lost Symbol, Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown’s latest book.
The Butler hits theaters August 16.