Posted by | Ray Cornelius
“You like potato and I like potahto, You like tomato and I like tomahto; Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto!
Let’s call the whole thing off!”
Well that’s exactly what almost happened to Lee Daniels’ new epic film about former White House butler, Eugene Allen. The film was almost “called off” due to a simple name dispute between Warner Brothers Studios and The Weinstein Company.
According to BET, Lee Daniels and TWC were already promoting the film as The Butler. However, WB took issue with the name because it had been previously used for a 1916 film in their catalog. Daniels and TWC, appealed the MPAA’s original ruling that they must change the name, arguing that the 1916 film had been out of circulation for decades. Now a new MPAA ruling is allowing Daniels and TWC to use a different variation of the words ‘The Butler’ and the film is now entitled, Lee Daniels’ The Butler. The news was confirmed on Saturday by TWC spokesperson Dani Weinstein, who said in a statement, “We are now ‘Lee Daniels’ The Butler’ – we are thrilled.”
TWC Chairman, Harvey Weinstein also released a statement about the new ruling. “We are thrilled this has all come to an end and has been resolved. The MPAA’s overturning of their original decision to now allow the use of ‘butler’ in the title is a victory for Lee Daniels, the film’s 28 investors who believed in it, America’s greatest attorney David Boies, and especially in the memory of my friend and the film’s producer Laura Ziskin. Now we can focus on the importance of Lee Daniels’ film, the amazing performances by Forest, Oprah and the incredible cast who spent countless months bringing this story about American history and civil rights to screen.”
Weinstein later acknowledged Civil Right leaders Rev. Jessie Jackson, NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous and CORE’s National Chairman Roy Innis for their assistance in the title dispute against WB. The victory, however, does come with a price. Indie Wire is reporting that TWC will have to pay $400,000 (and more) in fines for violating the July 2 MPAA ruling and they will also have to change all the marketing materials for the film to reflect the new title.
As previously reported, the film stars an A-list cast that includes: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Colman Domingo, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Melissa Leo, Liev Schreiber, Jesse Williams, Aml Ameen, Lenny Kravitz, and Cuba Gooding Jr. Music for the film is composed by the legendary Quincy Jones.
Lee Daniel’s The Butler opens in theaters nationwide on August 16.
Photo Credit: Variety
