This film explores the real life of Eugene Allen, known in the movie as Cecil Gaines, who served in the White House as a butler to the presidents of the United States from the Truman era to the Regan era. Lee Daniels directed the film and it was written by Danny Strong and Wil Haygood. It was released in 2013. It was nominated for several actors guild rewards and won for movie of the year at the Acapulco Black Film Festival.
2. “The Paper Boy”
“The Paper Boy” was directed by Daniels and co-written with Peter Dexter. The movie starring Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, is about a reporter who returns home to Florida to help solve a case about an inmate on death row. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe.
This film was directed by Daniels and focuses on the life of a teenage girl, played by Gabourey Sidibe, living in Harlem in 1987. Already having one child and pregnant with her second she is hoping to attend an alternative school that can help her get a better foot in life and escape the abuse and poverty of her home life. The film won two Oscars a Golden Globe and many other awards!
4. “Shadowboxer”
Another film directed by Lee Daniels that was released in 2005. It’s an action film about an assassin, played by Vanessa Ferlito, who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and decides to carry out one last job before she goes. She’s helped by her lover and stepson who is played by Cuba Gooding Jr. The film won a Women Film Critics Circle Award.
5. “Star”
Created by Lee Daniels and Tom Donaghy, “Star” featuring Queen Latifah, Jude Demorest, Brittany O’Grady, Ryan Destiny, is about three women form a musical group in Atlanta. It was nominated for the Choice Breakout TV Show by the Teen Choice Award.
This popular Fox show aired in 2015 and stars Terence Howard, Taraji P. Henson. It’s about Hip Hop star Lucious Lion, played by Howard, who has to choose which of his three sons will run his million dollar empire. Taraji P. Henson won a Golden Globe for best performance by an actress in a television series. The show won an AFI award for the best T.V. Program of the year. Both Penson & Howard won the BET for best actress and actor on this show.
7. “The Woodsmen”
Lee Daniels was a producer on this film. It’s about a child molester who returns to his hometown after 12 years in prison and tries to start a new life.
8. “Monster’s Ball”
Lee Daniels was also a producer on “Monster’s Ball”. It’s about a racist prison guard who reexamines his actions after a family tragedy. At the same time he falls in love with the African American wife of the last prisoner he executed.
