Last we heard, Lee Daniels’ gestating civil rights story “Selma” seemed to be on its last legs. Despite lining up a cast that included Hugh Jackman, Liam Neeson, David Oyelowo, Ray Winstone, Robert De Niro, and Cedric the Entertainer, all of whom cleared time in their schedules and agreed to work for scale, financing was reported as being the only stumbling block left to clear. However, it now appears director Lee Daniels himself is unsure if he even wants to direct the picture.
Speaking with BV On Movies, Daniels reveals that financing is now in place along with the cast but he has his own reservations saying, “The script is in, the actors are there, some of them are stars. The money is there, it’s just a matter of whether I’m able to do it right now. Is it the one for me? I’m just trying to figure it out for me, right now. Is it the right piece?”
With Daniels recently signing on to re-write and direct “The Butler” he’s now unsure if he wants to do two civil rights stories back-to-back as this film is based on the true story of White House servant Eugene Allen who worked in the most important house in the land for 34 years, watching “eight presidents he worked for wrestle with and finally stem the tide of segregation.” Daniels tells BVoM, “I believe that you can only do one. For me, I don’t want to do two Civil Rights films back-to-back , so it’s gonna be one or the other. I wanna look at my options. ‘The Butler’ is a story very near and dear to my heart, about a butler (Eugene Allen) who has lived with six or seven Presidents….This guy went from picking cotton to Eisenhower to today. It’s our ‘Gone With the Wind,’ and it’s my ‘Gone With the Wind.’ It’s my ‘Forrest Gump.’ We’ve never seen the world from an African American’s eyes, pre-Civil Rights to today.”
It certainly sounds like Daniels is far more excited about “The Butler,” particularly noting the epic scope of the project. But it would be shame for “Selma,” which has a cast, script and financing together to fall apart if Daniels exits. That story, based on the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches, certainly deserves to be told and we hope that if Daniels ultimately decides to move on, that a new director is found to keep the project moving. Though we can imagine the window of time to get it done, which was already narrowing earlier this year, might be shutting soon.