First trailer for Lee Daniels’ ‘The Butler’ released

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The first trailer for the the upcoming Lee Daniels film The Butler has been released.

Starring Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, the movie is based on the life of Eugene Allen, a White House employee who served eight different presidents throughout the 20th Century.

Oprah Winfrey plays the wife of Whitaker’s character, marking her first movie role since Beloved in 1998.

The star studded cast also includes Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, David Oyelow, Nelsan Ellis, Robin Williams, Mariah Carey, and Terrance Howard.

Gooding, who stars as one of the three butlers in the film, told theGrio that the final project is “a beast.”

“It’s beautifully shot,” Gooding said.  “There are scenes in it that will be disturbing and beautiful at the same time.”

The Butler is set to hit theaters in October 18, 2013.

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.