“The Weinstein Company has graciously invited former Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush to screen its newest drama, Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” Christian Toto writes at Big Hollywood:
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 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.
“Will the ex-presidents face a heartfelt drama or a liberal sucker punch?”, Christian asks, presumably rhetorically. In any case, while past performance is no guarantee of future results, perhaps this 2004 comment from Harvey Weinstein to the New York Metro newspaper offers a clue:
On this Wednesday morning, a healthy dusting of gray and brown stubble covers the lower half of Harvey Weinstein’s fleshy face. He’s been living in lower Manhattan as of late; Weinstein and his wife, Eve—who began work as his assistant in 1986—separated earlier this year.Weinstein has with him a duffel bag and a metal briefcase he’s used since his days as a rock promoter in the seventies. HALLIBURTON is stamped on the top of the briefcase, near the handle—“It reminds me of this corrupt f***ing administration, you know what I mean?”
As I noted nine years ago, “Ironically, if [Weinstein] was quoted as saying that about the previous administration, he’d have the IRS knocking on his door the next day.” And likely, the current administration as well.
But that’s different somehow. Isn’t it?
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