Photo Of An Aged Forest Whitaker As Eugene Allen In Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'

"What moves me most about this man is his quiet nature, grace and unmatched perspective that comes from being in one place -- a very powerful one -- during what was arguably the period in American history that saw the most change."

Words from Lee Daniels on his White House drama The Butler, lifted from a Philly.com profile of the director and film, where I found the above photo of Forest Whitaker in character, as Eugene Allen.

We've seen a number of photos from the film's set, but none of them has included Whitaker; it's been mostly Oprah Winfrey, Lenny Kravitz, Jane Fonda, Alan Rickman.

The Weinstein Company acquired USA distribution rights to the film, for a 2013 release.

The film is scripted to cover several decades in the life of Allen, the White House butler who served many presidents.

Principal photography is in full swing in New Orleans, with a loaded cast that includes: Forest Whitaker(as the title character) Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Melissa Leo, Liev Schreiber, Jesse Williams, Mariah Carey, Yaya DaCosta, and many more.

Music for the film will be composed by the legendary Quincy Jones.

A Laura Ziskin Production, The Butler is being produced by Pamela Oas Williams, the late Laura Ziskin, Lee Daniels, and Cassian Elwes; executive produced by Hilary Shor and Adam Merims; and co-produced by David Jacobson.

The independently-financed film is bankrolled by Follow Through Productions, Windy Hill Pictures, Salamander Media, Salloway Rubenstein Productions/Crystal City Entertainment, Earl W. Stafford, Starstream Films, Yogi Entertainment, and Inner Media Capital. 

We've read the script; for our thoughts on the film's script, and casting, read Vanessa's review HERE, as well as Natasha's casting close-up of the film HERE.