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Defending Our Interests: ‘The Butler’ Movie Title May Change

Director Lee Daniels stepped up his efforts in pleading his case to Warner Bros. Entertainment’s new CEO Kevin Tsujihara. He sent a letter saying that if the title to his upcoming film, The Butler, has to change, “it will most certainly hurt the film.”

The MPAA’s Title Registry Bureau ruled in Warner Bros. favor that the Weinstein Company cannot use the title, because it’s also the name of a 1916 short film that Warner Bros. owns in their library.

Daniels’ letter tried to pull at the hearts of Warner Bros. executives by saying he made this movie so he could show his kids, his family and his country some of the injustices and victories Afreican-Americans and their families have experienced in the fight for civil rights.

He added, “Working on the film is the proudest moment of my professional career, I am heartbroken as I write this letter.”

Will Daniels’ plea to Warner Bros. work? Or will The Butler be titled something else?

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