Movies
Columbia picks up White House butler tale
Published Thursday, Nov 20 2008, 12:02 GMT | By Sarah Rollo
The story of a black man who served as a White House butler as racial history was being made is to become a big screen feature.
Columbia has picked up the life rights of Eugene Allen, who was employed as a pantry man in 1952 and remained in the White House for more than three decades until his departure in 1986. Events such as the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy unfolded during his time in the official residence.
The studio has also acquired the rights to a news article published in the Washington Post three days after Barack Obama was made President elect, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Allen and his wife had followed Obama's campaign and marvelled at the thought of a black man as President. The day before Election Day, his wife of 65 years died, leaving Allen to cast his vote alone.
Laura Ziskin, who will produce the film, said it would be "a portrait of an extraordinary African-American man who has lived to see the world turn".
"It's about the essence of this man and what he saw, as well as the love story with his wife," she said.
Columbia has picked up the life rights of Eugene Allen, who was employed as a pantry man in 1952 and remained in the White House for more than three decades until his departure in 1986. Events such as the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy unfolded during his time in the official residence.
The studio has also acquired the rights to a news article published in the Washington Post three days after Barack Obama was made President elect, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Allen and his wife had followed Obama's campaign and marvelled at the thought of a black man as President. The day before Election Day, his wife of 65 years died, leaving Allen to cast his vote alone.
Laura Ziskin, who will produce the film, said it would be "a portrait of an extraordinary African-American man who has lived to see the world turn".
"It's about the essence of this man and what he saw, as well as the love story with his wife," she said.
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