Earlier in the week we reported the news that dropped over at Deadline that Warner Bros was forcing director Lee Daniels to change the title of his Oscar-hopeful film The Butler .
Now after Warner Bros has won an arbitration for the title of The Butler , director Lee Daniels has written a letter to fight for his film, which is set for an August 16 release. Daniels sent the letter to Warner Bros. Entertainment’s CEO Kevin Tsujihara pleading with him to let him keep the original title.
The Inquisitr has decided to share an abridged version of the very public letter by director Lee Daniels as he pleads with Warner Bros:
“I have spent the last four years of my life working on the film, The Butler , and it is the proudest moment of my professional career. I am heartbroken as I write this letter to you. I made this film so I could show my kids, my family, and my country some of the injustices and victories African-Americans and their families have experienced in the fight for Civil Rights.”
Daniels continued to talk about the significance of the film, writing:
“This movie is not a blockbuster, nor did we intend it to be. We just wanted to tell the dark and beautiful story of our nation’s racial history, where we came from, and how far we have come.”
So far there hasn’t been any official announcement by Warner Bros. but The Weinstein Company does plan to fight this arbitration decision. It was announced that the Weinstein Bros hired attorney David Boies to defend them. As some of you may know, Boies is famous for recently challenging Prop 8 in the Supreme Court.
With the decision of the arbitration set, Lee Daniels is forced to pick a new title to represent The Butler . This is troubling seeing its upcoming release date. In addition promotion for The Butler has rolled out, which will be in conflict with a new title that’s yet to be chosen.
As stated in our previous report, Warner Bros is citing that they own the rights to the title after a 1916 short silent comedy titled The Butler now belongs to their library.
What do you think is a good alternative title? Butler ? The Butler’s Confession , Confessions of A Butler ? Aside from our lackluster title suggestions we do hope that this works out for all parties involved.
To read Lee Daniels’ full letter click here .