Last May, when Oprah Winfrey ended her talk show afte 27 years, the silver lining -- despite "O Magazine" and that confusing network powerhouse OWN -- was hard to see. Now it seems Oprah may be coming back -- and this time, it's to the big screen.
Winfrey is eying a role in Lee Daniels's ("Precious") upcoming drama, "The Butler." The film follows the story of Eugene Allen, a black man who spent over three decades as the White House's butler, serving eight presidents from 1952-1986; his story was first printed on the pages of The Washington Post just days after Barack Obama was elected as the nation's first black president.
According to THR, Daniels is eying "Red Tails" lead David Oyelowo to play the titular butler and has a laundry list of A-listers linked to the production, Mila Kunis may, apparently, take the role of Jackie Kennedy (??), John Cusack could be Richard Nixon (?!?), and Hugh Jackman is an actual question mark -- he could be anyone from John F. Kennedy to Dwight Eisenhower. Winfrey, however, would play Allen's wife, this despite the fact that she's 23 years older than Oyelowo.
The film was first backed by Columbia and is now struggling to find its financial independence. (Ahem, Oprah!)
This would mark Winfrey's return to acting since 1998's "Beloved," and it may be a good thing; "The Butler" seems to have all the trappings of a Best Picture-in-waiting.
[via THR]