This year's Oscar race is already in full swing, but that doesn't mean you can't look ahead to next year's competition. The Weinstein Company announced that it acquired Lee Daniels' historical epic "The Butler," thrusting that still-filming feature into the hilariously early Academy Awards conversation for 2013.
"The Butler" focuses on Eugene Allen (played by Academy Award winner Forrest Whitaker), a service worker at the White House through eight administrations. Oprah Winfrey plays Allen's wife, while actors John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Robin Williams and James Marsden portray, respectively, former U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.
Winfrey, who hasn't appeared onscreen since 1998, recently tweeted a photo from the set of "The Butler," showing her, Rickman and Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan.
Despite her relative lack of recent acting experience, Daniels recently raved to HuffPost about Winfrey's work ethic.
"She’s a monster, man!" he said. "She’s bringing it and I’m really proud of her. It’s crazy when you’re working with her because people are obsessed. I got to make sure there are no phones around. But we’re having a good time and I think that she’s able to escape the pressures of being Oprah while on my set, because she’s able to sort of be the character. Which is really nice to witness. I wrote this film for her."
For more on TWC's acquisition of "The Butler," head over to THR.
[via THR]
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