Hurricane Isaac halts production on Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'

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Lee Daniels’ all-star biopic The Butler (which features Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey in lead roles) was one of the unintended causalities of Hurricane Isaac this week. The film, which is largely being shot in and around New Orleans had to halt production due the Category 1 storm. The film tells he story of Eugene Allen, who served under eight presidents over three decades. The New York Post reports:

Shooting on the big-budget Lee Daniels-directed movie “The Butler” was shut down in New Orleans as Hurricane Isaac barreled down on the Gulf on Tuesday evening, Page Six can exclusively reveal.

Cast and crew of the film — including Daniels, Cuba Gooding Jr., Alan Rickman, Oprah Winfrey, Robin Williams, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, Forest Whitaker and producer Hilary Shor — were evacuated to safe locations until the storm passes.

“Evacuating Louisiana. Hurricane Isaac please be gentle! Everyone be safe!” co-star Alex Pettyfer posted on his Twitter feed on Monday.