Lee Daniels' 'The Butler' tells the sweeping story of Cecil Gaines, (Forest Whitaker) a man who witnesses many major historical events during the thirty years that he spent working as a butler in the White House. Backed by The Weinstein Company and being a comfortable box office hit, it seemed that the First Lady of American culture, Oprah Winfrey, was nailed on for an Oscar nomination in her role as Cecil's wife, Gloria. But that was before the Golden Globes nominations were revealed to have snubbed her. Following suit the Oscars also backed away. It is a hammy film that was clearly devised as Oscar bait. If it weren't for '12 Years A Slave' this may well have got a lot more attention but as it is the main shock is that someone said no to Oprah.
