The trailer: After scoring big with 2009's Oscar-nominated Precious, director Lee Daniels stumbled with his offbeat follow-up The Paperboy, which is better-known as "that movie where Nicole Kidman pees on Zac Efron." But his follow-up film, The Butler — which hits theaters in October — is clearly angling to reclaim Daniels' former Oscar glory. The Butler, which is adapted from a 2008 Washington Post article by Wil Haygood, is based on the real-life story of White House butler Eugene Allen, who spent over 30 years serving eight presidential administrations through one of the most tumultuous times in American history. The film adaptation stars Forest Whitaker, who leads an all-star cast that includes numerous big-name actors playing U.S. presidents, including John Cusack (Richard Nixon), Robin Williams (Dwight Eisenhower), James Marsden (John F. Kennedy), and Alan Rickman (Ronald Reagan). Is The Butler already shaping up to be the film to beat at the 2014 Academy Awards?
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