Lee Daniels Page 4

Madonna has denied that her ex-husband Sean Penn ever struck her during their short-lived marriage in the 1980s, as she offered up evidence on his behalf of his defamation case against the co-creator of the hit TV show ‘Empire.

Lee Daniels, who helped create the hit Fox show, gave an interview to The Hollywood Reporter in September this year defending cast member Terrence Howard, who had come in for criticism after he had admitted hitting his wife. Daniels had said that Howard “ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn,” but because he is black, “he’s some fucking demon. That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America.”

Sean Penn with former girlfriend Charlize Theron in May 2015

Continue reading: Madonna Submits Court Declaration That Sean Penn Never Assaulted Her

On the same day as the nominations for this year's Academy Awards ceremony were revealed, the latest instalment of the ongoing awards season went by at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California, where the 19th annual Critic's Choice Awards honoured the cast and crew of some of last's year's biggest and best films.

Gravity soared to success at the Critic's Choice Awards

The big winner on the night was the space thriller Gravity, which soared to success with seven wins by the end of the night. Among it's credits the film earned Alfonso Cuarón the award for Best Director and the award for Best Editing, shared with co-editor Mark Sanger. The film also earned Sandra Bullock the award for Best Actress In An Action Movie and was crowned as crowned the Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie. The film also scored recognition for Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography and Best Score.

Continue reading: 'Gravity,' 'American Hustle' And '12 Years A Slave' Scoop Major Wins At Critic's Choice Awards: Full Nominees & Winners

The third instalment of the 'Riddick' series, this time called Riddick, has shot to the top of the US Box Office on it's opening weekend with estimated takings of $18.7 million. In what has been a relatively disappointing weekend in terms of box office earnings, Vin Diesel's latest turn as the formidable ex-con Richard B. Riddick out-muscled it's nearest performer by around $10 mil. and managed to bring in less than $10 mil. from overseas markets such as the UK and Hong Kong.

David Twohy (L), Vin Diesel, Katee Sackhoff and Jordi Molla (R) attend the premiere of Riddick

See what our in-house reviewer made of Riddick

Continue reading: 'Riddick' Shines At The Top Of A Weak Box Office Weekend With $18.7 Mil Debut

It was a tense fight, but this weekend’s box office goes to the Vin Diesel sci-fi action Riddick, meaning Lee Daniels’ The Butler has finished its three-week run. Riddick made $18.7 making it the first weekend box office winner of Hollywood’s fall season (estimates according to Hollywood.com). The Butler made around $8.9million and was closely followed in the box office chart by Instructions Not Included, We’re The Millers and Planes.

Watch the Riddick trailer below.

Continue reading: Weekend Box Office: "Riddick" Triumphs Over First Fall Weekend For Hollywood

The first shaky reports of the Labor Day holiday box office taking couldn't decide whether Lee Daniel's The Butler or Morgan Spurlock's One Direction documentary This Is Us had sold the most movie tickets across the weekend, so neck and neck they were for a while.

Watch The Butler Trailer:

Initially, it did look as though the 1D concert documentary would race ahead, with a predicted $21 million in takings. However, the boyband movie performed well, raking in $18 million but not well enough to overtake The Butler's massive earnings of $20 million. Not only did the two films collectively help made this year's Labor Day the highest earning ever, with $156 million, compared to 2007's $148 million, reports THR, but  the weekend also helped contribute to a record breaking summer where an incredible $4.7 billion was taken thanks to a wide array of film to entice filmgoers.

Continue reading: 'The Butler' Gives Rivals The Brush Off Over Labor Day Weekend: Why Is Lee Daniel's Movie So Successful?

This year's Labor Day box office takings marked a record year for Hollywood, with an estimated $156 million paid to see movies across the national holiday weekend. One film "steamed" ahead over the weekend to give all other contenders the "brush" off by "sweeping" in $20 million over the four day holiday. Ok, enough of the cleaning puns; if you hadn't guessed, Lee Daniels' The Butler was the highest earning movie of the weekend, advancing its existing domestic earnings to a total of $79.3 million, according to THR.

Watch The Butler Trailer:

Continue reading: The Labor Day Box Office Round-Up: Which Film "Cleaned Up" Over The Record Weekend?

The Butler, the star-studded historical drama by director Lee Daniels, has topped the North American box office for a second week with $17 million in takings, reports BBC News.

Forest Whitaker [L] and Cuba Gooding Jr [R] In 'The Butler

Officially titled Lee Daniels' The Butler owing to a legal battle, the movie stars Forest Whitaker as a long-serving member of the White House team. Despite early Oscars talk, the movie appeared to have taken a knock with several mediocre reviews, though it battled to a box-office win in its first week.

Continue reading: 'The Butler' Serves Up $17 Million Box-Office To Remain No.1

The Butler has outperformed all of its rivals upon its first weekend, having been released on 16th August to much nodding from critics and $25 million (£15.9m) earned. The film showcases an all-star cast, who portray a period of dramatic social upheaval in America, set around the life of the not-entirely-fictional butler, Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker).

A Shot From The Movie Showing The Kennedys Meeting The Whitehouse's Staff.

Gaines serves as a butler in the White House for 34 years and eight presidents and uses his unique position to witness important presidential discussions of national civil rights issues as the historical events play out. The movie charts such landmark events as Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, the Vietnam war, the Nixon resignation, Obama's presidential campaign and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Gaines' character is based upon the life of Eugene Allen who worked in the White House from 1952 to 1986.

Continue reading: 'The Butler' Gives Competitors The Brush-Off In First Weekend Success

Lee Daniels' The Butler has defeated other newcomers Kick-Ass 2 and Jobs in the US Weekend Box Office. The Butler has headed straight to number one whilst Kick-Ass 2 and Jobs have respectively gained 4th and 7th place.

Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey who star in Lee Daniels' The Butler as Cecil and Gloria Gaines at the L.A. premiere.

The Butler has made $25 million in its opening weekend and has gained critical praise. The historical epic is inspired by the true story of Cecil Gaines, a black butler who whilst serving at the White House, saw the offices of eight presidents. His life and family form a touchstone for the audience when addressing such historical events as the Civil Rights Movement and the rise of Black Power in the US. 

Continue reading: 'Lee Daniels' The Butler' Beats 'Kick-Ass 2' And 'Jobs' In US Weekend Box Office

Lee Daniels’ The Butler will only see its US-wide release tomorrow (August 16), but the film, telling the story of a White House butler, who saw eight presidents come and go during his residency, is already being praised across the internet and back.

The Butler might be patchy, but it's not bad, say critics.

For once, everyone seems to agree what’s so great about the film. The story of Cecil Gains is captivating in many ways, not least of all for its portrayal of the civil rights movement, but for Forest Whitaker in the title role, who steals the show.

Continue reading: Lee Daniels' 'The Butler' Already Aiming At The Distant Glow Of The Oscars

The big news this week was that Harrison Ford will join the Expendables for their third film adventure. Sylvester Stallone tweeted the announcement, then went on to mention that Bruce Willis won't be around this time, apparently because he asked for too much money. Stallone was also caught on camera poking fun at Arnold Schwarzenegger's "big ego". Before they re-team for the next Expendables movie, they're costarring in the prison-break thriller Escape Plan. Watch Sly talking about Arnie at Comic Con here.

The next big superhero blockbuster will be Thor: The Dark World, and we got a more detailed look at the film in a new trailer this week. Pretty much everyone is back, including Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba and Stellan Skarsgard. The movie looks like a huge-scale action adventure with a sense of humour about it. It opens in October. Watch the trailer for Thor: The Dark World here.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Ford Joins The Expendables, Thor Strikes Back, And Get Ready For The Biopics

Lee Daniels has earned his reputation as the director of difficult, socially loaded pictures and his latest, The Butler, is no exception to the rule. The film, based on a true story, details the life of Eugene Allen, a butler, who worked in cotton fields, before being employed by the White House for 34 years and serving during several presidential administration. In the script, Allen has been renamed to Cecil Gaines and the number of presidents, as well as some other details, has been changed, but the film still maintains historical accuracy. The film offers an intimate perspective of the dramatic twists of African-American history in the 20th century.

Watch the trailer for Lee Daniels' The Butler below.

Continue reading: Lee Daniels' The Butler" Premiere Gathers Celebrities For Some Heavy Social Commentary [Trailer] [Pictures]

Bad things happen when Warner Bros. gets crossed regarding copyright, that much is a given, but director Lee Daniels isn’t letting the company intimidate him. While the case against his movie The Butler is slowly getting dragged through the lawyer machine (because of a nearly century-old Disney short by the same name) Daniels is taking his appeal directly to the top. In a heartfelt email, obtained by Deadline, Lee pleads his case with Warner Bros Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara in an attempt to secure the right to screen his own film. And that’s how you know Warner has more expensive lawyers than the Winestein company.

Daniels is also known for directing The Paperboy and Precious.

“There are so few depictions of strong black families in our cinematic history and it was of paramount importance to make this movie about a family who endured and survived unimaginable discrimination in their quest for the American Dream,” reads one particularly powerful passage from the letter “Through the eyes of this loving and hard-working African American family, the film tells the story of the Civil Rights Movement from the sit-ins and the Freedom Riders, to Selma, Martin Luther King’s assassination, and the election of the first Black President. THE BUTLER is not only a story about a black family and black history; it is a universal story about family and OUR history.”

Continue reading: Lee Daniels' Battle With Warner Over 'The Butler' Title Continues Via Email

Nicole Kidman's latest film, The Paperboy has caused controversy, as she refused to utter the N-word, after an instruction from the film's director to do so, reports The Los Angeles Times.

It's no secret that Lee Daniels sets out to "discombobulate" actors on set, but Kidman was having none of it, and flat out refused to say the N-Word for the upcoming movie. "I didn't feel like it was right for the character," she explained. "I have a son who's African American and I just didn't feel it was right. It wasn't right." That wasn't all Daniels did to throw his stars. "I thought when am I going to shoot the film if we're all doing our own hair and makeup?" explained Kidman after he indeed asked her to do her own makeup, which he thought "freaked her out at the beginning." He also "expected Zac Efron at catering." Fun.

The Paperboy, which also stars Matthew Mcconaughey and John Cusack, sees a reporter return to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate. Early reactions have been mixed, with the film scoring an unimpressive 6.5 on IMDB, and an even less impressive 45% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The film is due for limited release today (October 5th 2012).