NEW ORLEANS –
By 2009, Laura Ziskin had earned the kind of credits that open exclusive doors in Hollywood.
Her long record of successes included producer credits on blockbusters such as “Pretty Woman,” “As Good as It Gets” and the original “Spider-Man” trilogy, but she had little luck in finding financial backers for “The Butler.” Major studios passed on a film based on the life of Eugene Allen (and inspired by a 2008 Washington Post article by Wil Haygood). As a White House butler who served eight presidents, Allen had a unique, up-close view of history in progress, as both his country and his family wrestled with major issues from the 1950s through the 1980s.
So Ziskin turned to Lee Daniels, her chosen director for the film, to help raise money independently. Daniels had done this many times before, most notably for “Precious,” his 2009 box office hit that brought him best picture and best director Oscar nominations. Together, the duo pulled in more than $20 million and set about making “The Butler” on their own terms, even as Ziskin suffered through and eventually succumbed to breast cancer in June 2011.
“When the studios all told her no, she was terminal but refused to accept it, and so did I,” Daniels said in his private trailer near the set Oct. 1, the final day of filming. “And so she said . . . ‘How do we do this together? Because this movie has to come to light.’ ”
The memory of Ziskin choked him up. He paused, wiped his tears and continued: “She quit ‘Spider- Man’ for me, and we worked on this film together on her death bed.”
Around the corner from Daniels’s trailer at the historic Gallier Hall, the city’s old administration building, a few members of the star-studded cast remained, shooting final scenes of a White House state dinner. There was Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, the butler at the heart of the film; Melissa Leo as Mamie Eisenhower; Robin Williams as President Dwight Eisenhower; and Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lenny Kravitz as fellow butlers.
They represented just some of the big names who worked on the production. Oprah Winfrey, who plays Gloria Gaines, the butler’s wife, had wrapped up her scenes and left the city, as had an array of A-listers and Oscar winners who accepted small roles just to be part of film, including Terrence Howard, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Mariah Carey and Clarence Williams III.
After Ziskin’s death, making the movie became something between a mission and a movement. One star after another fell in love with the story and signed up, almost uniformly accepting far less pay than usual, and in some cases even losing money by clearing busy schedules and canceling tour dates to be on set. Legendary composer Quincy Jones came on board to do the music. And suddenly, there was a bidding war for a film that previously had scant interest.
In May at the Cannes Film Festival, where filmmakers try to sell their films to domestic and foreign distributors, “The Butler” far exceeded expectations, scoring big deals in countries including France and Japan, while also reinvigorating domestic interest. Four companies competed to distribute the film in the United States, with the Weinstein Co. eventually prevailing and preparing for a fall 2013 release.
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