The Butler Page #4

Synopsis: The Butler is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and produced by Lee Daniels and written by Danny Strong. It is inspired by Wil Haygood's Washington Post article "A Butler Well Served by This Election".
Genre: Drama, History
Year:
2013
2,052 Views


EXT. ALLEY WAY - LATE AFTERNOON - 1933

On a break, Cecil and Maynard sit on the kitchen stoop. Both

smoking. It’s raining.

MAYNARD:

(to workers)

Don’t forget to save me chitlins.

CECIL:

Why do you like chitlins so much?

MAYNARD:

It’s good eating.

(To Cecil)

The manager of the Excelsior in DC,

he came by yesterday. He offered me

a job as a butler.

Both are quiet. Cecil looks up sadly.

CECIL:

They must be paying you top dollar,

huh boss?

MAYNARD:

Yeah... I was thinking about taking

it... But I dunno, I’m too old to

be leaving North Carolina. I’m just

fine right here. I told them to

hire you.

Surprised, Cecil looks up at Maynard.

CECIL:

I’m just now finding my way ‘round

this hotel. I’m not ready for those

high falootin’ white people with

all their fancy words.

Maynard laughs.

MAYNARD:

Cecil, we got two faces. Ours, and

the one we got to show the white

folks. Now to get up in the world,

we have to make them feel

nonthreatened. Go on and use all

them fancy words that I taught you.

White folks up north love them some

uppity coloreds.

Cecil ponders all of this. Smiles. He’s grown fond of this

old man.

10.

EXT. WASHINGTON, DC SKYLINE - NIGHT

SEQUENCE:
ESTABLISHING SHOTS of 1950’s Washington DC ending

on the gorgeous Excelsior Hotel.

CECIL V.O.

When I took that job up in

Washington, DC it was the most

beautiful hotel I had ever seen.

INT. EXCELSIOR HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT - 1954

A WEALTHY COUPLE, 50’s, white, he in top hat, she in mink,

walk into the stunning lobby. Waiting to greet them is:

Cecil Gaines, now 36. Wearing a black vest and bow tie, he

looks like a different person - filled out, handsome, exudes

class and refinement.

Holding a silver tray with a tumbler of scotch and a glass of

champagne, he gives the wealthy couple an elegant head bow.

CECIL:

I hope I wasn’t too presumptuous to

have prepared a few spirits after

your long journey in from Buffalo.

INT. EXCELSIOR HOTEL - STUDY - NIGHT - 1954

Older men in three piece suits are crammed in the hotel’s

study smoking cigars, drinking bourbon. An elegant 36 yearold

Cecil walks in with a tray of martinis.

A LOUD PATRON talking politics sits across from a man with a

CREW CUT, Cecil’s age, he holds a cigar. The Crew Cut Man

searches his pockets for matches.

LOUD PATRON:

Best decision that court ever made

was to slow this whole mess down.

N*gger boys in school with white

girls?! Who ever heard of such a

thing? Next thing you know they’d

be fornicatin’. Gentlemen, this

could start another Civil War.

He sets his scotch down close to the table’s edge. Cecil

glances at it, noting how full the other glasses are.

11.

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

Danny Strong

Daniel W. Strong (born June 6, 1974) is an American actor, film and television writer, director, and producer. As an actor, Strong is best known for his roles as Jonathan Levinson in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doyle McMaster in Gilmore Girls. more…

All Danny Strong scripts | Danny Strong Scripts

1 fan

Submitted by acronimous on March 03, 2019

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Butler" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_butler_24131>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    The Butler

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.