The Butler has gone through a slight name change.
The judge ruled that The Weinstein Co. will be allowed to use some form of “The Butler” in the title of the new Lee Daniels movie.
The ruling was mixed but marketing materials will have to be changed and a $400,000 fine will have to be paid for violating the July 2 ruling by the MPAA.
The MPAA’s Title Registration Bureau has long been used by the industry to regulate use of titles.
TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein is very happy that they can move on with the project.
“We are thrilled this has all come to an end and has been resolved. The MPAA’s overturning of their original decision to now allow the use of ‘butler’ in the title is a victory for Lee Daniels, the film’s 28 investors who believed in it, America’s greatest attorney David Boies, and especially in the memory of my friend and the film’s producer Laura Ziskin. Now we can focus on the importance of Lee Daniels’ film, the amazing performances by Forest, Oprah and the incredible cast who spent countless months bringing this story about American history and civil rights to screen.”
Spokesperson Dani Weinstein also shared the excitement.
“We are now ‘Lee Daniels’ The Butler’ – we are thrilled.”
The conditions of the use of “The Butler” as part of the title include that all words in the title must be the same size unless TWC chooses to the use “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” in which case the “Lee Daniels” part of title has to be 75% percent the size of “The Butler.”
The Butler is centered around African-American butler Eugene Allen, who worked in the White House during eight presidencies throughout the civil rights era.
TWC plans to release the film, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, on Aug. 16.
All is well in the land of film!
PHOTO CREDIT: THE VARIETY
