Precious' Director Takes On "The Butler"
HOLLYWOOD - Precious director Lee Daniels has signed a deal to rewrite and direct The Butler, a film based on the life of Eugene Allen, the African-American butler who worked in the White House through eight presidents. Producing will be Laura Ziskin, of the Spider-Man series. Actor--screenwriter Danny Strong wrote the first draft of the script. Denzel Washington is said to be in talks for the lead role. The film is based on a series of articles by Washington Post writer Wil Haygood, which chronicle the 34 years Allen spent "watching the eight presidents he worked for wrestle with and finally stem the tide of segregation." Allen died earlier this year, nearly two months after attending the inauguration of the nation's first African-American president, Barack Obama. Lee Daniels, was set to direct Selma, the film about Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous Civil Rights marches. Although a credible cast has been lined up, funding has been difficult to secure. If the Butler proves box-office worthy, Selma may be able to ride on it's coattails all the way to the big screen,
