‘The Butler’ TV rights are acquired by Oprah’s OWN network
No surprise here. It looks like “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” will have a second life as a TV show on OWN, the network created by Oprah Winfrey, who starred in the movie.
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network said on Thursday that it has acquired the network television rights to the hit film from the Weinstein Co. to begin airing a show in 2017.
The drama, in which Forest Whitaker plays a White House butler who serves three decades’ worth of presidents, hit theaters in August, has made more than $113 million at the box office worldwide and has generated awards buzz for Winfrey.
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Winfrey plays the wife of Whitaker’s character.
“OWN is the ideal broadcast home for this film, which has had such a tremendous response from theatrical audiences,” said Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Co.
Said OWN President Erik Logan: “On the heels of the film’s fantastic debut, we couldn’t be more excited to showcase this incredible movie for our viewers.”
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