Celebrity News

Presidents’ private ‘Butler’

Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush are getting an advance, private screening of hotly tipped film, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” in Kennebunkport, Maine, this week, we hear. The film has already stirred controversy in Hollywood because of a dispute between the Weinstein Company and Warner Bros. over its original title, “The Butler.” The film stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, who served eight presidents over 34 years. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has already screened the film, we hear, which comes out Aug. 16, and a private screening’s also being held at Hearst Tower, where Daniels, Whitaker and co-star Oprah Winfrey are expected and Gayle King will moderate a Q&A. On Friday, the Motion Picture Association of America ruled after an arbitration hearing that the film can be called “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” after ruling that Harvey Weinstein could not use “The Butler,” since Warner Bros. owns rights to an obscure 1916 film of the same name. The Weinstein Co. hired legal eagle David Boies during its negotiations.