News
Movies
continued from page 6
graphic nudity) Romantic comedy
examining the toll exacted on a
newlywed couple’s (Rose Byrne
and Rafe Spall) marriage when the
groom starts spending time with
his ex-girlfriend (Anna Faris)
while the bride finds herself
attracted to a business client
(Simon Baker). With Alex Mac-
queen, Minnie Driver and Stephen
Merchant.
In a World… (R for profanity
and sexual references) Lake Bell
wrote, directed and stars in this
dysfunctional family comedy as
an aspiring voiceover artist
attempting to follow in the foot-
steps of her movie trailer legend
father (Fred Melamed), despite the
fact that the field is dominated by
stentorian-throated males. Cast
includes Geena Davis, Rob
Corddry, Jeff Garlin and Nick
Offerman.
Elysium
Jug Face (R for profanity, sexu-
ality and gory violence) Hillbilly
horror flick about a teenager (Lau-
ren Ashley Carter), impregnated
by her brother (Daniel Manche),
who tries to escape from her back-
woods community of redneck
moonshiners when she becomes
aware of their plan to sacrifice her
to a wild animal in a deep pit.
Lovelace (R for nudity, profani-
ty, drug use, domestic violence
and graphic sexuality) Amanda
Seyfried plays the title character in
this sexplicit biopic about Linda
Lovelace (1949-2002), popular
porn star-turned-anti smut crusad-
er who claimed she’d been forced
to perform at gunpoint by her
domineering husband (Peter Sars-
gaard). Ensemble includes James
Franco, Sharon Stone, Juno Tem-
ple, Adam Brody, Chris Noth,
Robert Patrick, Eric Roberts and
Hank Azaria.
‘The Butler’
continued from page 6
color. That’s what was sort of there on the
page, but it wasn’t until I started shooting
that we began getting into the Woolworth’s
sit-ins and the Freedom Riders with the
Molotov cocktails that I asked myself,
“What have I stumbled upon?” It was then
that I realized the film was much bigger
than just the father-son story.
KW: Did you decide to tackle the civil
rights material because of the Trayvon Mar-
tin shooting?
LD: No, it hadn’t happened when Danny
Strong wrote the script, including the line
“Any white man can kill any of us at any
time and get away with it.”
KW: You got Oscar-winners in Forest
Whitaker, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jane Fonda,
Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Williams and
Melissa Leo, and Oscar-nominees in Ter-
rence Howard and Oprah Winfrey to come
aboard. How were you able to assemble
such an outstanding cast?
LD: My usual way… throwing out a net,
and fishing. [LOL] This one was easy
because the material was so good. The
actors I approached took the bait because
they wanted to serve the material. We really
didn’t have any money to pay them, so most
of them lost money in relation to what their
normal acting fee would be.
KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: How
has the tempest over re-using the title The
Butler affected you?
LD: Well, I just finished editing the movie
five days ago. When did you see it, Kam?
KW: Earlier today.
LD: Well, I’m not sure which version you
saw. Anyway, when I’m working on a
Page 8 The Portland Skanner August 7, 2013
movie, it’s like being in a cocoon. I consid-
erate it like giving birth, and I don’t leave
the bubble, because if I do, then it’s bad and
affects the child. But I was pulled out for a
minute when my kids told me about some-
thing they saw online. I didn’t even hear
about it from the studio. It disturbed me, but
I didn’t have time to think about it.
KW: Well, it’s now called Lee Daniels’
The Butler.
LD: The MPAA [Motion Pictures Associ-
ation of America] gave me that title
and I still don’t know how to feel
about it. I just finished giving birth to
the movie. “Lee Daniels’ The But-
ler!” It sounds like “The Greatest
Show on Earth!”
KW: Well Tyler Perry, Dino De
Laurentis and others are famous for
placing their names before the title?
LD: I’m not Tyler Perry. I’m not Dino De
Laurentis. I think it’s a bit much to put one’s
name in front of the film. It makes me
uncomfortable. Here’s the thing. Insiders
like you know the whole story and about the
legal issues, but not the average person. I
worry that young kids in Oklahoma or Ala-
bama might end up asking, “Who is this
filmmaker to be so full of himself?” That
bothers me. The MPAA handed down this
edict. So, I don’t know how I feel about it
right now. Ask me tomorrow. [Chuckles]
KW: My eyes must have welled up at
least a half-dozen times while watching the
film. As the director, you must be too close
to the film for it to have that sort of emo-
tional effect on you.
LD: No, when I actually sat down all
alone to watch the final cut just for pleasure,
I broke down in tears.
KW: You did a masterful job of portray-
ing the tensions and differences between the
Civil Rights and Black Power Generations.
LD: There was no right and wrong. Cecil
[played by Forest Whitaker] was right and
so was his son [played by David Oyelowo].
You’ve got a problem when neither is
wrong, yet you have a conflict.
KW: I also appreciated the evenhanded
way in which you approached each of the
presidents Cecil served under, like how
Reagan could give his African-American
help a raise to make their pay equal to that
Two-Time Oscar-Nominee
Talks about His Latest
Offering
of whites, while hypocritically still support-
ing Apartheid in South Africa.
LD: Ain’t that interesting? We don’t make
Kennedy out to be a Goody Two-Shoes
either.
KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier was
wondering whether you’ve seen the TV
miniseries Backstairs at the White House?
LD: I did. I think it was a great movie for
its time, but I wanted to avoid the episodic
feeling of that film.
KW: Patricia also asks: What message do
you want the public to take away from The
Butler?
LD: I hate that question, Patricia, because
it forces me to be philosophical… I think
the message is that we have got a long way
to go. I hope that this film rips a scab off the
sore that is racism in America today.
KW: Thanks again for the time, Lee, and
best of luck with the film.
LD: Thanks, Kam.