Forest Whitaker As 'The Butler' Could Be A Recipe For Success [Trailer] 23 May 2013 'The Butler' boasts a superb supporting cast including Robin Williams, John Cusack, Alan Rickman and Cuba Gooding Jr. (CONTACT MUSIC)

 In the mould as The King's Speech and The Iron Lady, the historical biopic is set for release on October 18th - just in time to be wafted under the nose of the Academy. As well as Whitaker returning to a leading role, 'The Butler' boasts one of the more spectacular casts of the year, including Robin Williams (Dwight Eisenhower), John Cusack (Richard Nixon), James Marsden (JFK), Liev Schreiber (Lydon B. Johnson), Alan Rickman (Reagan), Cuba Gooding Jr (Carter Wilson). David Oyelowo (Loius Gaines) and Oprah Winfrey (Gloria Gaines) are among the supporting cast though this one appears to be set up for Whitaker.

READ MORE: http://www.contactmusic.com/news/the-butler-trailer_3683469

Alan Rickman: The Butler - first trailer

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Alan Rickman has three new movies in 2013 (EXAMINER)

DECEMBER 15, 2012BY: PATRICIA TAUB

Gainesville viewers will have the opportunity to see three new Alan Rickman movies in 2013. Mr. Rickman is best know for his roles as professor Snape in the Harry Potter series.

Alan Rickman will play Lionel Shahbandar in the 1966 remake of the movie Gambit. The film will also feature Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz. The original movie starred Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine.

Also scheduled to be released next year is The Butler. This film tells the story of the man who served as butler for eight presidents in the White House. Mr. Rickman will be playing Ronald Reagan, while Jane Fonda will be his wife, Nancy. The film also stars Robin Williams as Dwight Eisenhower, and John Cusack as Richard Nixon.


READ MORE: http://www.examiner.com/article/alan-rickman-has-three-new-movies-2013?cid=rss

PHOTO: Oprah Lights One Up After Final Love Scene In “The Butler” (QUEERTV)

The Butler possesses one of the greatest casts ever assembled, hands down.

Let’s see, we’ve got Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower; Melissa Leo as Mamie Eisenhower; Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan; Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan; James Marsden as JFK; John Cusack as Tricky Dick Nixon; Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson; True Blood‘s Nelsan Ellis (yes, children, Lafayette) as Martin Luther King, Jr; and rounding out the cast, Forest Whitaker, Vanessa Redgrave, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Alex Pettyfer, Cuba Gooding Jr, Terrence Howard and a little lady you may have heard of – Oprah Fucking Winfrey.


Full story here:  http://www.queerty.com/photo-oprah-the-butler-20121002/

The Butler, Starring Alan Rickman, Vanessa Redgrave and Liev Schreiber, Gets Weinstein Company Pick-Up NEWS By Broadway.com Staff September 24, 2012 - 3:45PM (BROADWAY.COM)

The Weinstein Company has acquired distribution rights for The Butler, the upcoming ensemble drama from Precious director Lee Daniels. The film  stars Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber and Robin Williams. No release date has been announced.

The Butler follows an African-American man (Whitaker) who served as a butler in the White House for more than thirty years, tending to eight Presidents. The all-star cast will play various public figures, including Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson, Rickman as Ronald Reagan and Williams as Dwight Eisenhower.

READ MORE: http://www.broadway.com/buzz/164227/the-butler-starring-alan-rickman-vanessa-redgrave-and-liev-schreiber-gets-weinstein-company-pick-up/

Jane Fonda & Alan Rickman Are Spot-On As The Reagans In New Movie - Christina Austin (BUSINESS INSIDER)

No, you're not seeing things.

Jane Fonda and Alan Rickman do, in fact, bear a striking resemblance to Nancy and Ronald Reagan.
They're all dressed up as the President and former First Lady for the Lee Daniels-directed film "The Butler," coming out next year, according to E! News.

The film tells the story of a White House servant, played by Forest Whitaker, who served eight presidential familes over 30 years.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/first-look-jane-fonda-and-alan-rickman-are-spot-on-as-the-reagans-in-new-movie-2012-9

WATCH: Gerard Butler Coaches Kids, Woos Soccer Moms in Playing For Keeps WATCH THIS || BY: JEN YAMATO || AUGUST 8, 2012 01:35 PM EDT (MOVIE LINE)

I'll go see this Playing for Keeps because it vaguely reminds me of those '90s rom-coms that used to star Michelle Pfeiffer and Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and John Cusack, the kind of movies about grown-ups of a certain age dealing with parenting and careers and their own crippling failings while still falling in love. (Like I said: A vague reminder. Let's just all blow off work and go Netflix One Fine Day, shall we?) Also, those brief soccer-tot scenes remind me of Ladybugs. And The Big Green. And I kinda want to see Gerard Butler juggle a few balls and shoot a Gatorade bottle off a goalpost with a soccer ball. For that matter, forget Butler: I'd like to see Biel, reportedly a soccer ace in real life, dribble circles around Butler on the pitch. Give me that movie, Hollywood.

Read More at:http://movieline.com/2012/08/08/gerard-butler-soccer-playing-for-keeps-jessica-biel/

Luke Evans at L. A. special screening of The Raven

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rSHdw5ymlRg

Alan Rickman to star as U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 'The Butler' (MUGGLENET)

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Alan Rickman - who portrayed Potions Master and ultimate good guy Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films - is slated to star as the 40th United States President, Ronald Reagan, in a new film titled The Butler.

Alan Rickman is just the latest of the big-name stars to join the cast that includes Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, Jane Fonda, Liam Neeson, and John Cusack. Matthew McConaughey, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Terrence Howard have also been mentioned for the film.

The Butler will present the details of the life of Eugene Allen (Forest Whitaker), a White House servant who worked for every president from Harry Truman to Reagan

READ MORE:  http://www.mugglenet.com/app/news/show/5640

MOVIE NEWS Alan Rickman, Matthew McConaughey And More Up For Lee Daniels' Butler 1 Comment published: 2012-05-10 07:41:33 Author: Kristy Puchko (CINEMA BLEND)

Since garnering widespread notice and acclaim with his Oscar-winning tearjerker Precious, writer-director Lee Daniels has set his sights on even more ambitious endeavors. His upcoming feature, The Paperboy, will make its world premiere later this month at the Cannes Film Festival, where IM Global will be shopping his next sure-to-be star-studded film, The Butler. Based on a Washington Post article that revealed the storied career of African-American White House butler Eugene Allen, the biopic will chart the evolution of politics and race relations through the terms of eight presidents beginning in 1952 with Harry S. Truman.

Forest Whitaker will headline the historical drama, playing the title role. Also on board are Paperboy star John Cusack, Jane Fonda, and Oprah Winfrey. But Daniels is looking to stuff his revolving door White House with stars, and THR reveals Cusack's Paperboy co-star Matthew McConaughey, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard and Alan Rickman are said to be up for The Butler. At this time there's no word on what roles these new potential additions to the cast may play.


READ MORE:  http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Alan-Rickman-Matthew-McConaughey-More-Up-Lee-Daniels-Butler-30867.html

Review: For fans of Poe and Cusack, 'The Raven' does not disappoint Special LIKE THIS ARTICLE41 Kay By Kay Mathews (DIGITAL JOURNAL)

Directed by James McTeigue, "The Raven" is a tale of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe in which grisly murders, inspired by the troubled writer, are taking place in a dreary Baltimore.

Have you ever contemplated the final days of the troubled, prolific writer Edgar Allan Poe? Those days are exactly what Intrepid Pictures' film "The Raven" brings to the screen.

This "fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life" was released on April 27 and stars John Cusack as Poe. It was the combination of the two that drew me to opening day at the theater. Poe is one of my favorite authors, and Cusack is one of my favorite actors.

This mystery/thriller brings the two together quite nicely. The MPAA Rating for "The Raven" is R "for bloody violence and grisly images," all emanating from the mind and through the pen of Poe. After the first scene involving bloody violence against humans and grisly images of death, a connection is made to Poe by Inspector Fields (Luke Evans).

"Your imagination is the inspiration of horrendous crime," Inspector Fields says to Poe. It is the fall of 1849 in the City of Baltimore where horrendous crimes, inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, are being committed. Baltimore is as dark as the mind of Poe, with the only color being that of crimson, masquerade costumes, and the white skin and blue eyes of Poe's love interest Emily Hamilton (Alice Eve).

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/323862

The Raven Movie Review POSTED BY KAREN BENARDELLO ON APRIL - 26 - 2012 (SHOCKYA)

Technical: B+

Acting: B

Story: B

Overall: B

Read more: http://www.shockya.com/news/2012/04/26/the-raven-movie-review/#ixzz1tC3favtu

‘The Raven’ follows a young Detective, Emmett Fields (played by Luke Evans), who takes the lead on a brutal killing spree that terrorizes Baltimore in the 1840s. After a mother and daughter are found viciously murdered, Emmet recognizes the details as resembling a fictional killing described in detail in a story in the local newspaper.

Emmet decides to reach out to the writer of the poem, social outcast Edgar Allan Poe (portrayed by John Cusack). As Edgar is being questioned by police, another killing inspired by his work is taking place. Emmett decides to have Edgar help the police search for the killer, before he can make every fictional murder described in his poems into a reality.

While Edgar is helping the police, he becomes engaged to Emily (played by Alice Eve), the daughter of a local businessman, Captain Charles Hamilton (portrayed by Brendan Gleeson). Charles is initially opposed to his daughter marrying the socially inept poet. However, he turns to Edgar for help after Emily is kidnapped by the killer, and the two learn to work together so that they can help the police search for Emily.

‘The Raven’s screenwriters, Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare, created an intense murder mystery that mixed true elements of Poe’s real life with fictional elements that created an intriguing tale based on his most well-known works. The scribes smartly infused the story with facts about the poet’s life to give the mystery thriller historical context that will allow viewers to recognize elements of the writer’s work.

His poems provide frightening murder scenarios, particularly for his time period, and posed the question of what would really happen if someone decided to carry out murders based on his poems, including ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ and ‘The Pit and the Pendulum.’ Poe was the perfect poet to base a fictional murder mystery on, because he reflected the fears and hopes of everyone who lived during the time he was alive.

People were afraid to find their children murdered, or be killed themselves because of their profession and the arguments they had with their rivals. Poe also embodied people’s fears of losing a loved one, as he witnessed his mother and wife die of illness, but he had the determination to continue with his writing. He hoped to reach people with his poems, and find success in doing what he loved.

Luke Evans Talks Tone, Gore And Character Dynamics In ‘The Raven’ MOVIES Posted by EvanDickson on April (BLOODY DISGUSTING)

As Detective Fields in The Raven, Luke Evans plays the straight man to John Cusack’s Edgar Allan Poe. The film is, in many ways, structured like a buddy cop movie – albeit with a historical figure in a period setting and lots and lots of blood. Nevertheless, two leads from opposite walks of life are forced to team up to solve a series of crimes. It’s not the easiest job to maintain the screen with a more flamboyant presence, but Evans rises to the occasion.

I hopped on the phone with Evans late last week to discuss his role, balancing fiction with reality and staying true to the gruesomely beautiful spirit of Edgar Allan Poe’s writing.

The film is actually quite a bit different from the trailer that was initially released last year. Initially it indicated that the film might be tonally like Sherlock Holmes, but it’s not. It’s much darker. 

Yes. There’s no bubblegum about this movie. We don’t veer away from an accurate portrayal of Poe’s works. They were bloody and very violent. And we had to honor his work by having as many macabre and bloody death scenes as we could.



READ THE REST OF EVAN DICKSON'S INTERESTING INTERVIEW
http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3135506/luke-evans-talks-tone-gore-and-character-dynamics-in-the-raven/

Luke Evans: IAR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: LUKE EVANS TALKS 'THE RAVEN' AND 'THE HOBBIT' FILMS Tuesday, 24 April 2012 07:20 Written by Jami Philbrick

Actor Luke Evans has recently gained attention worldwide for his work in a string of period films including Clash of the Titans, Robin Hood, The Three Musketeers and director Tarsem Singh’s Immortals. Not to mention that he will soon be seen playing Bard the Bowman in director Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. But first, Evans will be starring in another period movie entitled The Raven, which opens in theaters on April 27th and features a fictional account of the final days of acclaimed author Edgar Allan Poe’s life.

In the film, Evans plays Detective Emmett Fields, a 19th century Baltimore policeman who makes a shocking discovery: the crime he is investigating resembles a fictional murder described in detail as part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack). Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as inspiration for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks.

However, when it appears as if the murderer’s next victim is someone Poe cares about, the stakes become even higher and now the inventor of modern detective stories must call on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before its too late. The Raven was directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), and in addition to Cusack and Evans, also stars Alice Eve (ATM), Brendan Gleeson (The Guard), and Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides).


READ MORE:  http://www.iamrogue.com/news/interviews/item/6329-iar-exclusive-interview-luke-evans-talks-the-raven-and-the-hobbit-films.html

Luke Evans Talks THE HOBBIT and What It’s Like to Shoot at 48 Frames Per Second on the RED EPIC by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub Posted:April 18th, 2012 at 7:42 pm (COLLIDER)

With director James McTeigue‘s (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin) The Raven opening April 27, earlier today I got to speak with Luke Evans by phone since he’s busy shooting Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit movies in New Zealand. If you’re not familiar with The Raven, the story takes place in 1840s Baltimore where a series of grisly murders appear to have been inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe (played by John Cusack). Poe and a detective (Evans) must team up to find the killer before he takes out the woman Poe loves (Alice Eve). The film also stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and Brendan Gleeson. For more on the film, here’s the trailer and 40 images.

While I’ll have the full interview with Evans online next week, I wanted to share what he said about The Hobbit today. As most of you know, Jackson is shooting the films digitally on the RED EPIC in 3D and he’s pushing the boundaries of cinema forward by filming 48fps (frames per second) instead of the normal 24fps. What that means is, you’ll see very little motion blur when the camera moves or during the action scenes. I’ve seen 48fps and 60fps first hand and it’s like you’re looking through a window without any glass. It’s incredible. For more on 48fps, here’s Jackson’s recent video blog. Anyway, Evans talks about his reaction to this new way of filming and what it means to be involved in the films.


READ MORE:  http://collider.com/luke-evans-the-hobbit-interview/160241/

Luke Evans: 4 Clips and Nearly 4 Minutes of Behind-the-Scenes Footage from THE RAVEN by Adam Chitwood (COLLIDER)

We’ve been provided with four clips and almost four minutes of behind-the-scenes-footage from director James McTeigue’s (V for Vendetta) thriller The Raven to share with our readers. The film stars John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe, and follows the author as he teams up with a detective (Luke Evans) in order to catch a killer who is modeling his crimes after Poe’s stories. It’s certainly an intriguing premise and Cusack isn’t one for phoning it in, so I’m hoping we’re in for a solid thriller with some nice surprises.


FOR MORE CLIPS AND THE FULL ARTICLE:  http://collider.com/the-raven-movie-clips/159711/

Luke Evans: Watch the first clip from The Raven (DAILY DEAD)

The Raven is due out on April 27th, and we have the first clip from the movie for you to watch. The film is directed by James McTeigue and stars John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.


READ MORE:  http://dailydead.com/watch-the-first-clip-from-the-raven/

Luke Evans: The Raven review "Dark and intriguing gothic thriller" by Johan Galea (TIMES OF MALTA)

The Raven (2012)
Certified: 16
Duration: 111 minutes
Directed by: James McTeigue
Starring: John Cusack, Alice Eve, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Luke Evans, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McNally, Sam Hazeldine, Pam Ferris, Sergej Trifunović, Ian Virgo, Brendan Coyle, M. Emmet Walsh KRS release


James McTeigue, who had been responsible for the direction of V for Vendetta, returns with another picture that is very intriguing for genre fans. This film mixes historical truth with fiction and fantasy.

This kind of treatment of historical figures seems to be evolving into quite a trend, with an upcoming film depicting Abraham Lincoln as a vampire hunter.

The Raven centres around Edgar Allan Poe, the writer whose influence is felt on the horror genre to this very day while countless films have been produced from his books.

At its core The Raven is a classical whodunit in the traditional sense.


READ MORE:  http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120405/arts-entertainment/Dark-and-intriguing-gothic-thriller.414316

Alan Rickman: Harry Potter's Snape Could Play Ronnie to Jane Fonda's Nancy Reagan (FORBES)

Roger Friedman, Contributor

Yes, it’s true: Jane Fonda will play Nancy Reagan in a movie about the butler who served several presidents in the White House. Variety reported it yesterday because yours truly was asked to hold off reporting it for a day. (Won’t do that again.)

My scoop: Alan Rickman, the fine British actor known to children everywhere as the evil Snape from “Harry Potter,” will likely be Ronald Reagan to Jane’s Nancy. Rickman has a wonderful sneer to bring to his role.


READ MORE:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerfriedman/2012/03/28/harry-potters-snape-could-play-ronnie-to-jane-fondas-nancy-reagan/

Luke Evans: Some new images from "The Raven" (BEYOND HOLLYWOOD)

A new batch of images from James McTeigue’s “The Raven” have flown online for your perusal pleasure, so get to perusin’ already, why doncha.

READ MORE:  http://www.beyondhollywood.com/new-batch-of-images-from-the-raven/