The summer movie season generally isn’t a place known for edifying dramas covering a wide sweep of American history, but The Weinstein Company believes it’s the perfect time to release “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” Based on a true story of a White House servant who served through eight presidencies, the picture is bringing with it star power and thus far, some positive advance buzz too. But up against sequels and blockbusters, a little extra effort will need to be made to get audiences out and buying tickets, so five new clips have landed to give folks a preview.
In these scenes, we see just how far-reaching the film will be in covering the social changes in the country, ranging from the Freedom Riders of the early ’60s to the Black Power activism in the latter part of the decade, and so much more. The performers, particularly Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, look solid in the roles and director Lee Daniels seems to be holding back his sometimes tendency to veer towards more outlandish visuals. Could this be a sleeper surprise to cap off the summer? We’ll soon see…
“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” opens on August 16th. Watch below. [Blackfilm]