Inspirational biopic **The Butler **has been quietly wandering the halls of development hell for a few years now. First picked up by Sony in early 2009,
The script has been adapted from Wil Haygood’s 2008 Washington Post article A Butler Well Served By This Election, which tracked the impressive story of Eugene Allen, a black man who rose to the position of butler in the White House and eventually worked for eight presidents between 1952 and 1986.
Back when he first joined the kitchen staff as a young man, he wasn’t even allowed to use public toilets in his home state of Virginia. He watched the country slowly grow up as his career progressed, experiencing such historical points as Vietnam and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and both Kennedy brothers from within the halls of power. The story charted how Allen marvelled at President Obama being elected in late 2008, an event tinged with sadness as he lost his wife of 65 years hours before Election Day.
As of right now, the movie is still struggling to come together. While actors have been approached, no deals are in place just yet. Daniels has been making the rounds with several past collaborators or contacts – Winfrey was an executive producer on Precious, Jackman was set to star in the director’s delayed Civil Rights drama Selma and Cusack is one of the stars of his next film, steamy thriller The Paperboy. That one should either be delivered later this year or early 2013.