mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero! >> everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler! >> rose: that's danny's brilliant line. >> you wrote that line, thank you! >> you delivered it. >> rose: we often ask men how they can write through a woman's voice and we ask women how they write through a man's voice and we ask you in terms of capturing the black experience. part of that has to do with, i assume, something is within you but also something you went in search of to make sure you had right. >> yeah, absolutely. it's the job of the writer to write characters that aren't themselves, from men writing women, women writing men. in the case of this project, i had a few powerful weapons at my disposal. one was memoirs of people that worked at the white house that i read that really helped get me into the mind-set of what that world was like. my other big secret weapon was lee daniels. lee was an amazing collaborator on the scripts and had a great deal of influence and it was -- we just had a wonderful ex

mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero! >> everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler! >> rose: that's danny's brilliant line. >> you wrote that line, thank you! >> you delivered it. >> rose: we often ask men how they can write through a woman's voice and we ask women how they write through a man's voice and we ask you in terms of capturing the black experience. part of that has to do with, i assume, something is within you but also something you went in search of to make sure you had right. >> yeah, absolutely. it's the job of the writer to write characters that aren't themselves, from men writing women, women writing men. in the case of this project, i had a few powerful weapons at my disposal. one was memoirs of people that worked at the white house that i read that really helped get me into the mind-set of what that world was like. my other big secret weapon was lee daniels. lee was an amazing collaborator on the scripts and had a great deal of influence and it was -- we just had a wonderful ex

mr. butler. mean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler. >> why was that dynamic so important to you? >> because everything he was because of that butler. you know? i often wonder. i showed my son the movie. and he liked it. i was surprised. he gave me props. and i said to him, isn't this a great achievement for african-american cinema? and he goes no, dad. i mean it's good, yeah. but not until i see myself as superman. and i thought to myself, this ain't no difference. it's generational. >> that's right. you know, it's an all-star cast. and what was it like working with forrest whittaker? >> he is a -- you know, he taught me how to be humble. he is a very -- he is a humble human being. and it trickled down to everybody else. >> how was it to direct oprah? >> what do you think? what do you, you know, it took a minute to break through. but once i broke through, she was raw. she was vulnerable, she was fragile. and she was a sister that jus

butler." >> are you political mr. gaines? >> no, sir. >> good. e no tolerance for politics at the white house. >> i'm cecil gaines. i'm the new butler. >> you hear nothing, you say nothing. you only serve. >> you know he got that job himself? the white house called him, he didn't call the white house. >> i want to hear all the stories. >> i don't know how many stories you're going to hear because they done swore them to some kind of secret code. >> did you go to an all-colored school, cecil? >> i didn't go to school, mr. president, i grew up on the cotton farm. >> don't you lose your temp we are that man. it's his world, we just live in it. >> about time you go ahead. >> you looking for some help? >> you done broke our window, you done stole our food and now you're asking for a job. >> i know how to serve. >> they said this new white boy's smooth. >> i'm thrilled to be working with all of you over the next four years. >> dr. king, what did your daddy do? >> he was a butler. the black domestic plays an important role in our history. >> something sp

mr. butler. i didn't mean to make fun of your hero! >> everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler. >> that's danny's brilliant line. >> you wrote that line, thank you. >> you delivered it. >> rose: we often ask men how they can write through a woman's voice and we asked women how they write in a man's voice and we asked you, you know, in terms of capturing the black experience part of that have has to do with, i assume, something that's within you but also something you went in search of to make sure you had right. >> yeah, absolutely. it's the job of the writer to write characters that aren't themselves. for men to write women, women to write men. in this case of this project i had a few powerful weapons at my disposal. one was memoirs of people that worked at the white house that i read that really helped get me into the mind-set of what that world was like and then my other big secret weapon was lee daniels. lee was an amazing collaborator on the scripts and had a great deal of influence and it was -- we ju

mr. butler, seen by seen, job by job. scott budman, nbc bay area news. >>> just before headlining outside lands tonight red hot chili peppers front man spent some time with the america's cup. he found the boats fascinating and was able to get a firsthand action on the bay yesterday. the lead singer got a behind the scenes tour of oracle team usa, got to suit up and check out their training regimen. >> i'm a total novice when it comes to anything to do with this sport, but that's kind of great because it's all fresh and new and exciting. excuse me while i zip up my britches here. i went from knowing nothing to a little something all in a day. >> reporter: after signing autographs, he got to ride along on an umpire boat at 50 miles an hour out on the bay on the final day of the louis vuitton semifinal round, he said it loved it so much, he's coming back next month. the red hot chili peppers close out the festival tonight. >>> rob mayeda talks about the weather. >> a little chilly out there around the bay and the peninsula.

mr. butler. i didn't make fun of your hero. >> you're slapping, punching, smoking. >> why do you think god brought us next to each other? >> god got nothing to do with this. >> i was not a smoker. i didn't smoke as a kid. i think it helped me get into character whenever i wanted to go there i'd start smoking. >> you didn't get addicted? >> no. i was smoking -- of course i inhaled. what's the point? and i've inhaled before. >> good, nice to know. >> not cigarettes but anyway. >> and if you think that's shocking, wait until you hear her exclusive lindsay lohan sitdown. >> lindsay is on track. >> you think so? >> yeah. est >> she's like the train -- >> no, no. everybody has their second chance and third chance. you get as many chances as you get. don't start that. >> well, how about we get this started? o's oscar campaign, a powerful performance. is there more in store? >> will you do more acting now? >> no. i'm busy. >> how busy can you be? >> i got my day job. >> and she has her new movie in theat

mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> great story.or some reason, oprah has been all over town talking race the last couple weeks. here she is talking about people using the "n" word. >> a lot of people think if they're not using the "n" word themselves, they physically are not using the "n" word themselves and do not harbor ill will towards black people, but to me it is ridiculous to look at that case and not think race is involved. >> she's comparing trayvon martin to emmitt till. >> he became a symbol for those times as trayvon martin is a symbol for this time. there are multiple trayvon martins whose names never make the newspapers or the headlines. the circumstances surrounding that allowed it to be, but there were multiple emmitt tills, multiple lynchings, multiple young black boys. >> whose names are not remembered. >> whose names are not remembered and often not reported. >> so is this a smart move? millions of people admire oprah for what she accomplished, me inclusive, a great american success story. why does she want to get

mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero! everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler. >> joining me now, charles allen, son of former white house butler eugene allen, and emmy award winning screenwriting. charles, i have to ask you, what was it like for you watching this film, this depiction of your father? >> it was great, danny spent a lot of time with us. that is one of the things that i was happy about, he actually got to meet my father and talk with him extensively and with myself. and a lot of these things, he has pretty accurately captured the contention, a lot of the contention that was between my dad and i. my dad, being a very conservative person, and myself, of a more liberal bent. >> charles, talk a minute about where you -- where your conversations with your father, where would they be now if he was still with us, and now that you're an older man and you have a perspective on your youth, and you have a perspective on what your father went through and what america has gone through during y

mr. butler i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have is becausethat butler. >> very powerful scene. where are we in race relations today? a lot of people left that movie thinking so many things resonated with the zimmerman trial and the killing of mar more. t trayvon martin. the voting rights act that was pushed back. did it resonate the current state of race relations? >> when i did the movie we didn't write any man could kill any -- any white man could kill any black man and get away with it. trayvon martin hadn't happened yet. i hoped we come out of the bubble of the butler and find out this happened. it was very strange for me. how was it for you? >> i think there's a cycle that we should try to break as a country. even touching on why this young man decides to go it. he's looking at emmett till and what happened with him. we're trying to figure out how do we break this sickle and the dialogue and that's happening. we have to always be mindful and watching and make sure that we're like finding human justice where ever we can. tha that's part o

mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have is becauseat butler. >> i spoke at length to forest whitaker and oprah winfrey about the film and the trayvon martin case. here is the interview. you talk about this coming at an important time and there has been in the wake of the trayvon martin case a discuss about race in this country. i saw a gallup poll says this needs to be had. majority of whites says too much is being made of -- of this discussion of race. >> oh, i know. i know. i know. that's why i love the film in light of this discussion is because it brings context to the discussion. when you look at the film beginning with that lynching scene and ending with, you know, walking into obama's office, look at what has happened in the span of one man's lifetime in our country. >> this movie reminds us the circular motion working itself out is going on and we're looking at trayvon and oscar grant and all these situations and recognizing we have to move ourselves forward in this chain. in order for us to achieve potential or what we said w

mr. butler. didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are, and everything you have is because of that butler. >> i spoke at length to forest whittaker and oprah winfrey about the film and about race in america, particularly after the trayvon martin case. here's part of that interview. you talked about this coming at apimportant time. certainly there has been in the wake of the trayvon martin case a discussion about raise in this country. i saw a poll recently the majority of african-americans says this is a discussion that needs to be had. a majority of whites say too much is being too much of this. >> i know, i know. that's why i love the film, in light of this discussion, because it brings context to the discussion. when you look at the film, beginning with that lynching scene and ending with, you know, walking into obama's office, look at what has happened in the span of one man's lifetime, in our country. >> this movie reminds us that the circular motion of things is still going

mr., miss reagan. >> no, not as a butler, cecil. as a guest. >> but the president prefers for me to serve in person. >> don't you worry about ronnie. isle take care of that. so we'll see you next week. you and your wife. >> my wife. >> it's gloria. yes e? >> we're back. that was a scene from the new movie "the butler," which opens this weekend. the movie's inspired by the real-life story of eugene allen, a white house butler who spent decades serving u.s. presidents. in 2008, as barack obama was campaigning to become the nation's fist african-american president, "washington post" reporter wig hegland set out to find an african-american who worked in the white house before the idea of a black president ever seemed possible. his article, "a butler well served by this election," was published in the aftermath of the election, and here's how it describes mr. allen. "president truman called him gene, president ford liked to talk golf with him. he saw eight presidential administrations come and go, often working six somedays a week. he wa

mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> oprah winfrey, the number one in the box office.ssion last night with lee daniels. obviously, he's the man behind the movie and lenny kravitz. i want to play you what lee daniels said about this when i asked if he thought america was more or less racist as a result. lee, do you think america is more or less racist country since barack obama became president? wow, that's a powerful question. i think that people are angry that he's president, and i think that they are showing their true colors, and i think that -- i think that you know when danny strung wrote those words, any black man could be killed by any white man and get away with it, trayvon martin had not happened. i end the movie with hope. you know, he's walking down and obama is giving that famous speech, you know, and i come out of my edit room and trayvon martin has happened. so yeah, i think, i think so. sadly, i think so. >> very provocative but if you're watching at home and want to give me a view, tweet me at piers morgan. i got a tweet in from the last segment from ro

mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have is because butler. >> you can see it's an all-star cast. ron reagan, on that last subject of discretion, the folks who serve a first family, they really do know where all the bodies are buried and what a wonderful thing that in a 24/7 news bubble world like that in which we live, there's still keeper of secrets. >> it's true. i can remember being in the white house in 1986 and having an argument over dinner with my father about iran contra actually. we adjourned to the living quarters and things got a little more heated. i was really giving it to the old man. i was in my 20s and all. suddenly i looked up and realized there is one of the ushers there with a tray of decaf coffee for after dinner. i thought, oh my god, i've been venting in front of this person but then realized absolute discretion on their part. they've heard much worse i'm sure, and nothing ever leaks from that white house from the stewards office there. >> wil haygood, congratulations. i remember as i say in 2008, a couple of day

mr. butler. ean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler. >> washington post reporter first told alan about the article just days after the 2008 election of barack obama. will is executive producer of the movie. will, we appreciate you spending time. i've had a chance to listen to some of your discussions on this topic. some of your answers i know. why did you find or what were you looking for when you first went out looking for eugene allen? >> well, i wanted to find somebody who had worked in the white house during the era of segregation in this country before the big civil rights bills were passed in 1964 and 1965. i thought if i could find such a person, they could really illuminate what the moment might mean to generations of americans. >> he's such a remarkable character who served, as you know, in the white house in 1952. president trueman called him gene. he talked golf with president ford. you had an opportunity to visit with eugene

mr. butler. n to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have is because of that butler. >> that was a clip from lee daniels' "the butler" telling the story of cecil gains who served at the white house through seven presidents from 1957 through 1986. the film is based on the story of eugene allen who viewed the history of our country from the civil rights movement through watergate and beyond all from within the walls of the white house. martin bashir sat down with the film's director this week. >> and i'm delighted to say i'm joined by the very director of the butler," lee daniels himself. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon to you, sir. >> it's a great privilege to have you here. >> thank you. >> what was it about mr. allen's story that inspired you to make a movie? what specifically was it? >> it was the father and son. it was the father, i have a -- at the time, i got the script, my son was 13. and it was a love story and you know, my friends had problems with their

mr. butler. any mean to make fun of your hero! >> pretty emotional scene there. as politico was pointing out, oprah's return coincide with a senate endorsement controversial comment on trayvon martin's case. oprah and director "the butler" lee daniels sat down on "morning joe" to talk about it. >> trayvon is the emma till of our era. >> joining me is marvet britto and emily henderson. marvet, start with you. oprah seems to be on a high right now especially with the fact that the movie no way is getting so much buzz you but her network is now thriving where it had been seeming to be a black hole for money and now seems to be turning a profit which she is proud of and she is back to acting but there was the shopping incident in switzerland that has brought a lot of attention her way where she thought that there was a racial bias from the store clerk. take a listen. >> she said, no, no, no. you don't want to see that one. you want to see this one because that one will cost, you are not able to afford that. and i said, well, no i really did want to see that one. she r

mr. butler. thing you have is because of that butler. >> i have to tell you, when i was watching with friends, many of us cheered when you slapped him like that because it was a moment for us to realize that a lot of us people used to think of as butlers and maids in a derogatory way. and they were very much a part of the civil rights movement and your life experiences with your family. >> for sure. my mother was a maid. my grandmother was a maid. her mother was a maid and her mother was a slave so i come from a line of domestics and a descendant of slaves and wouldn't be where i was without them. and the real beauty of this movie that people come away with is the father's way of being a warrior. that was his way. and a new generation obviously was ushered in and said, that's not our way anymore. we don't want to be called colored. we don't want to be called negroes and we want changes and believe we deserve them. and the father had to learn how to accept that and both were right. both were right.

mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> eugene allen, the real life butler, did not experience to express it. >> in many ways, the mind-set of the butler is similar to that of the president, is that we are kind of scared of what's happening here. >> reporter: a white house history buff before and after his service, admiral rashon knows the trance firm mags was real. >> they were converted from what was happening to the butler's son and what he experienced and being jailed and beaten and bitten by dogs and watered down by fire hoses. >> the admiral met allen when he came to visit him at the white house. allen and other black but letters sparred with previous white ushers over better pay and promotions. alan had to see the first black chief usher. >> he was shocked when i extended my hand and reached out to him and told him what an honor it was for me to meet him. >> reporter: 230 years worth of history wrapped up in that single hand shake? >> now, president obama runs the white house and the entire nation. allen lived to see the day and cast the most memorable ballot of his life

mr. butler. ing you are and everything you have is because of that butler. >> reporter: which focuses on the generation's long struggle of civil rights. the boutique owner in switzerland says the incident was a misunderstooding and caused by a lanl barrier and has, quote, nothing to do with racism. she apologized to oprah as has the board. >> in response to the apology, she said quote, turns out she did me a favor. it was $38,000. she was right. i was not going to buy it. >> now here's a look at the weather for your weekend. >>> up next web retailers have captured a lot of american shoppers. would you buy a car online? you might when you hear what our next guest has to say. you're watching "cbs this morning saturday." victory is seeing him find balance, watching a little girl become a little lady, and finding the courage to let her go. but what about the little victories? a smile... a confident glow... or a "thanks, mom." these are the victories we're famous for. famous brands, famously easy... fa

mr. butler, i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have because. >> i spoke at length to forest whittaker and oprah about the film. here's part of that interview. >> you talked about this coming up on time and certainly, there has been in the wake of the trayvon martin case, a discussion about race in this country that it's interesting. i saw a gallup poll that a majority of african-americans, this is a decision which needs to be had. majority of whites say too much is being made of this discussion. >> i know, i know. that's why i love the film. in light of this is because it brings context to the discussion. when you look at the film beginning with that lynching scene and ending with walking into obama's office, look at what has happened in the span of one man's lifetime. in our country. >> this movie reminds us that the circular motion of things still trying to work themselves out is going out and that now, it's moving and we're looking at trayvon, oscar grant and recognizing that we have to move ourselves forward in this chain. what we said we

mr. butler i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> everything you are and everything you have is because >> yeah yeah. >> welcome to you, oprah winfrey. feels weird to call you oprah winfrey. i'm just going to call you oprah. >> okay. >> fifteen years to come back and i know you had trepidation. was it smoking? >> it was because i was in the middle of building a network and couldn't have called me at a worse time. it's like an instrument, the acting tool. it's like laying down an instrument if you haven't picked up a piano, a trombone in 15 years, you put it in the corner. i had given up the idea of acting because i just thought the day job and complications of trying to figure out somebody who could do a movie at the same time i was also working, i just sort of let that go. >> you said you just didn't want to be embarrassed. >> lee was like listen i wrote this for you. danny strong and i wrote this for you. you have to say yes. i ended up saying yes because of the story. >> acting is tough and you've got some tough things to deliver here. >> yeah, yeah yeah. i was really nervous about i

mr. butler i didn't mean to make fun of your hero. >> oprah winfrey is boosting sales at the box office for "the butler." it should win the weekend. >>> i heard that. >> good job. >>> that's awesome. it is a 4-year-old hearing his mother's voice for the first time in his life thanks to the miracle of a cochlear implant. he can now hear. it will change his life forever. those are your number ones here on your weekends with alex witt. to master the quiet sneeze... [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] zyrtec®. love the air. [ female announcer ] this week only, save up to $15 on zyrtec® products. see sunday's newspaper. and you know what i walked out with? [ slurps ] [ dad ] a new passat. [ dad ] 0% apr. 60 months. done and done. [ dad ] in that driveway, is a german-engineered piece of awesome. that i got for 0% apr. good one, dad. th

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